Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE
This past Sunday’s game didn’t start out well for second year quarterback Christian Ponder. Through the first quarter and a half, Ponder was not in sync with his receivers, and the crowd was becoming restless. I won’t go as far to say that he was lost out there, but it wasn’t pretty.
Then for whatever reason, maybe nerves calming down, a switch was flipped and Ponder was a new quarterback. He began to hit his targets, and march his team down the field, eventually leading to an Adrian Peterson touchdown.
From there on out, Ponder managed the game with smart, safe throws, playing well enough to put his team in a position to win.
Overall he went 20 for 27 with 270 yards, throwing no touchdowns or interceptions, including leading the team down the field for game-tying and winning drives.
So what should fans takeaway from Ponder’s performance?
For me it boils down to two words, game manager.
At this point in his young career, that’s what Ponder is. He’s not good enough yet to put the team on his shoulders, and managing games is the number one thing in his job description.
While it’s somewhat disappointing that Ponder didn’t throw a touchdown pass, I’m completely okay with it. As long as the number of interceptions doesn’t exceed the touchdowns, and his completion percentage is high, the Minnesota Vikings will stay in games. Especially if Peterson continues his trend from week one.
Heading into week two against the Indianapolis Colts, the Vikings have a good chance of starting their season 2-0. However this is only a possibility if Ponder picks up where he left off Sunday.
He has to get the ball to Percy Harvin any way he can, and find the big tight end Kyle Rudolph. If he plays it safe, and doesn’t turn it over, the Vikings will be right there again with a chance for another victory.
A touchdown toss or two, certainly wouldn’t hurt anything either…
Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter @the_realfish
