Ponder wants to complete 75% of his pass attempts

**singersp** · 08-16-2012, 05:47 PM

Christian Ponder has lofty goals

Christian Ponder has lofty goals for Minnesota Vikings - NFL.com

**singersp** · 08-16-2012, 05:55 PM

As for his completion percentage, Mark Craig of the Star Tribune reports Ponder wants to complete 75 percent of his pass attempts on first and second down, a mark that not even Drew Brees (71.1 percent, 71.2 percent), Aaron Rodgers (69.8 percent, 69.4 percent) or Tom Brady (68.3 percent, 67.3 percent) reached last season.

So you think you can be better than Brees, Brady & Rodgers?

LOL! Better take a closer look at the WR corp & a peek or two in the mirror.

**Zeus** · 08-16-2012, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by singersp

So you think you can be better than Brees, Brady & Rodgers?

LOL! Better take a closer look at the WR corp & a peek or two in the mirror.

What's wrong with setting a lofty goal?

=Z=

**PurpleTide** · 08-16-2012, 11:20 PM

Good to see CP is expecting big things. It can't hurt to set lofty goals.

**vikinggreg** · 08-16-2012, 11:27 PM

Well its nice that he has goals even if they are a reach (could have gone for 80%). I do find it better than when the staff asked Jackson to take some MMA training, his response was no and Pat Williams said you have to work hard this isn't like college and Jackson response was I work hard enough. Who knows maybe the Vikings won't have to talk Peyton Manning out of retirement in 3 years, and then again the next year

**singersp** · 08-17-2012, 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by Zeus

What's wrong with setting a lofty goal?

=Z=

Ask Ray Edwards what fans here thought of his goal, as just 1 example.

For many fans here, it's all about who's setting the goal. It can be "great to see he's setting a high goal" if he's a well liked player or "He needs to just shut his pie-hole and prove it on the field", if he's not well liked.

**singersp** · 08-17-2012, 06:14 AM

Originally Posted by vikinggreg

Well its nice that he has goals even if they are a reach (could have gone for 80%). I do find it better than when the staff asked Jackson to take some MMA training, his response was no and Pat Williams said you have to work hard this isn't like college and Jackson response was I work hard enough. Who knows maybe the Vikings won't have to talk Peyton Manning out of retirement in 3 years, and then again the next year

Actually, Jackson was willing to take MMA training...

As he gets ready for his fourth year, Jackson is willing to try some unorthodox measures to improve.

What do I mean by "unorthodox"? I mean MMA.

Tarvaris Jackson Willing to Try MMA Training to Not Suck at Job

**NodakPaul** · 08-17-2012, 09:42 AM

I was listening to the interview on Sirius XM NFL when Ponder said this. He didn't say it as a personal goal, or a prediction style goal like Edwards did. He said it in the context of what the he and the coaches have identified as an area that needed significant work over last season. Ponder said that they needed to be more efficient on first and second downs so they wouldn't have to face many third and longs.

I also think that this statement was taken a bit out of perspective, but to be fair, Ponder didn't really elaborate on it. From a coaching perspective, this sounds like a series goal to me, not a game goal. Yes, it would be unreasonable to expect that for a game or a season, but not during a good drive. Going 3 for 4 on first and second would set up a pretty good drive. In fact...

Ponder completed three of his first four attempts on first and second down in Friday's 17-6 loss. They went for 72 yards and three first downs and helped the Vikings kick a pair of field goals. He said it's a tough balance trying to be efficient yet explosive on first and second down. His first pass on one of those downs on Friday was a 52-yard deep ball to Stephen Burton.

It makes sense to me - ever time Ponder starts a drive he wants to be 75%+ on first and second. He isn't going to get it every time (nobody does), but that is still a very attainable short term (i.e. series) goal.

**vikinggreg** · 08-17-2012, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by singersp

Actually, Jackson was willing to take MMA training...

Tarvaris Jackson Willing to Try MMA Training to Not Suck at Job

he must of reconsidered

Originally Posted by singersp

That's because he had plans to work with famed trainer Tom Shaw in Orlando, Fla. Here's the link for your story, but this was back in January. Things could have changed since then.
[size=13pt]Jackson Has No MMA Plans[/size]

That was page 368 of the T-jack thread

**Caine** · 08-17-2012, 03:50 PM

Goals are nice....but they have to be realistic to be taken seriously.

Further, just because you state a lofty goal doesn't mean you're suddenly a great player. I'm sure Jackson had plenty of lofty goals (like, "I won't suck anymore or rely on the Defense/Running game to win)....or McNabb and his goals (I won't skip the ball to the receiver)....or Favre and his goals (I won't send pictures of my wiener to Jen Sterger, ooops...Brad Childress, ooops....Marrdro, ooops....anyone else). OK, Favre WAS a great player, once, but that's sort of the point.

Ponder needs to PUT up...not TALK up. I get that the media is chasing HIM for a quote, not the other way around, but let's keep it in the realm of believable progress, alright Christian?

Caine