Josh Freeman doesn't appear to be in the Bucs future plans

I agree with what most have already posted. I wouldn't mind seeing Freeman brought in because at the very least we'd have a pretty good backup no matter who won the job. Not that there would be a competition because Frazier already named Ponder the starter for next year. However I could see him being on a much shorter leash with a guy like Freeman on the bench. And if Ponder is too fragile to handle that kind of pressure than all the more reason to move on.

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Originally Posted by Marrdro

No way this staff pays two QB's starter money. No way. They will continue to develop Ponder and add weapons around him and come this time next year we will be talking about some other problem on the roster my friends.

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And don't you think it would be a huge mistake to go into another season without a viable backup plan? Not only are people still divided over the "is he the answer" debate, but now his toughness and the durability of his throwing arm are questionable. After what we've seen the past 2 seasons are you really willing to waste one more full year on Ponder without a backup plan? Good teams stay good because they plan ahead.

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Originally Posted by Reignman

I agree with what most have already posted. I wouldn't mind seeing Freeman brought in because at the very least we'd have a pretty good backup no matter who won the job. Not that there would be a competition because Frazier already named Ponder the starter for next year. However I could see him being on a much shorter leash with a guy like Freeman on the bench. And if Ponder is too fragile to handle that kind of pressure than all the more reason to move on.

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I don't think Ponder would have an issue with Freeman standing on the sidelines/sitting on the bench.

The bigger question is to what end? So that we could have another QB ready to go if something were to go amiss with Ponder?

Lets not forget, Ponder and Freeman are two different types of QB. One is more inline with a Vertical passing attack (Freeman) and one is for a more traditional dink dunk if you will attack (Ponder).

Having said that......

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And don't you think it would be a huge mistake to go into another season without a viable backup plan? Not only are people still divided over the "is he the answer" debate, but now his toughness and the durability of his throwing arm are questionable. After what we've seen the past 2 seasons are you really willing to waste one more full year on Ponder without a backup plan? Good teams stay good because they plan ahead.

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How can you consider having a Vertical backup on the bench backing up a dink/dunk QB a viable option.

Your right, good teams stay good because they plan ahead. Freeman sounds like a plan B behind a plan A.

About the closest thing to this going on is the 49rs and what they've done with Smith and Colin. Only issue there is they had Smith trying to run the vertical attack, with some success, but not enough, which forced their hand early. I'm not so sure that our coaching staff is good enough to pull that off or that we could make Freeman fit into our scheme. It isn't like he's the most accurate thrower in the world. I'd hate to see him trying to complete passes to Percy in all that traffic at his current rate of about 50% and we surely don't have the WR's to run a vertical passing attack so that we could switch over to him seamlessly.

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Originally Posted by Marrdro

How can you consider having a Vertical backup on the bench backing up a dink/dunk QB a viable option.

Your right, good teams stay good because they plan ahead. Freeman sounds like a plan B behind a plan A.

I'd hate to see him trying to complete passes to Percy in all that traffic at his current rate of about 50%

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You mean like Joe Webb? Freeman wouldn't require near the change in our play calling as compared to Webb.

And isn't a Plan B usually behind a Plan A? You lost me on that one.

Freeman had 61.4% and 62.8% completions in 2010 and 2011. Ponder finished 2012 at 62.1%.

Well Ponder and Freeman are indeed two types of passers. And that if Freeman were to come to the Vikings, he would not mind sitting on the bench. As he seems to be a team player type of guy. Unlike other QBs who want to start right then and now!

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Originally Posted by Marrdro

Lets not forget, Ponder and Freeman are two different types of QB. One is more inline with a Vertical passing attack (Freeman) and one is for a more traditional dink dunk if you will attack (Ponder).

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If you can hit the deep ball on a consistent basis, throwing short passes is going to seem like little league. And at least with Freeman, there's a good chance we could see a ball thrown past the sticks on 3rd n 10 xD. But ask yourself, do we run dink in dunks all day because it's the plan or because we know that's all the current QB can handle? That's probably why Musgraves card is so small hahahaha.

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Originally Posted by JPPT1974

Well Ponder and Freeman are indeed two types of passers. And that if Freeman were to come to the Vikings, he would not mind sitting on the bench. As he seems to be a team player type of guy. Unlike other QBs who want to start right then and now!

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That's the thing. I don't think Freeman would want to come here unless he had an opportunity to compete for the starting job. I know I wouldn't like to go from being a starter to being a backup to someone like Ponder without an open competition.

I understand Frazier wants to appear loyal and all that jazz, but sometimes you limit your own options with such premature decisions. How do you expect to lure in a viable plan B if you tell them flat out they'll be riding the pine behind a guy who basically still has the training wheels on?

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Originally Posted by Marrdro

Lets not forget, Ponder and Freeman are two different types of QB. One is more inline with a Vertical passing attack (Freeman) and one is for a more inline with a horizontal passing attack (Ponder).

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Fixed it for you.

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Originally Posted by Marrdro

I'm not so sure that our coaching staff is good enough to pull that off or that we could make Freeman fit into our scheme. It isn't like he's the most accurate thrower in the world. I'd hate to see him trying to complete passes to Percy in all that traffic at his current rate of about 50% and we surely don't have the WR's to run a vertical passing attack so that we could switch over to him seamlessly.

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Actually he's far from that average of 50%. In the 1-10 yard range, he's at 62% to Ponder's 66% so I'm not sure where you dreamed up the 50%.

In the 11-20 yard range, he's at 44% to Ponder's 45%.
In the 21-30 yard range, he's at 43% to Ponder's 19%.
In the 31-40 yard range, he's at 33% to Ponder's 0% in 8 tries.

We may not have had a vertical passing attack due to the WR corp we had last year, but we aren't talking about adding Freeman for last year. We are talking about next year & with Wright getting more play time & the Vikings adding a vertical threat WR, that puts Ponder at the disadvantage, not Freeman.

There's absolutely no chance Freeman would not start if he came to the Vikings.

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Originally Posted by Tad7

There's absolutely no chance Freeman would not start if he came to the Vikings.

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Agreed..


Only the true homers of us would honestly believe that Ponder is better than Freeman (Or Rodgers...*CoughYouKnowWhoYouAre*