Thread: Vikings proud of interception-free Ponder

Vikings proud of interception-free Ponder, praise quarterback’s increased pocket awareness

Vikings proud of interception-free Ponder, praise quarterback’s increased pocket awareness - The Washington Post

They should be proud - he has improved considerably from last year and is playing well by anyone's standards.

There have been a few balls that honestly should have been picked off. But I guess you can say that about any QB. Last night I saw both the Rams and the Cards drop sure INTs.

Don't want to sound like a broken drum here, however, (coma)......

Ponder, like the rest of the team has a long way to go before I would consider him a "NFL" ready QB. What I'm looking for out of him this year is....

a. Leadership qualities. Seeing lots of that. Team trusts him. Coaches trust him.

b. Improvement on field.
Already showing alot better pocket awareness but still has a quick "I'm outta here clock" in his head. Just not as bad as last year.
Reads the defense well and seems to know the right guy to throw to, as with the clock, however, he does still miss open guys.
Corrects mistakes from one drive to the next. I sure don't see him making the same mistake twice in games.

In the end, this kid has a long way to go and is eventually going to do something that have the Naysayers ready to throw him under the bus for the QB in the next years draft, but I've seen enough to know that he can and will continue to grow into the type of QB that can lead this team to the place we need to go.

What he needs most, is fan support and above all, a coaching staff that doesn't rotate every other year.

Quick question.

Which of those attributes did you see in tj?

FWIW, they discussed Ponder's "0 INT" stat on Mike & Mike and commented that his average pass, QB to receiver air travel, was 5.4 yards.

I would have guessed no lower than 5.65 yards. That's not good.

Originally Posted by singersp

FWIW, they discussed Ponder's "0 INT" stat on Mike & Mike and commented that his average pass, QB to receiver air travel, was 5.4 yards.

Was that 5.4 yards in the air per completion or 5.4 yards per attempt? If it is attempt, I am actually pretty OK with that.

Hell, even if it is completion, that is good enough to get a first down every other completion.

Yes, defenses will begin to crowd the short passing lanes, so it is still important we throw a few medium and deep balls to keep the defense honest. But truthfully I am OK with them stacking the box against both the run and the short pass - it increases the chance of a big play if we make the first tackle miss. If they start stacking against our screens, run AD up the middle to get them to relax. If they crowd the inside that means either percy, simpson or rudolph are in one on one coverage, and I'll that that matchup in most situations.

6.7 per YPA is not great. The lack of a downfield game is hampering the offense.

Then again, the two big PI's in Detroit do not count in his stats.

Lack of downfield game is over now, seeing that Simpson will be on the field, Ponder and Simpson showed us that last week. This is going to be a very big plus for us, not only in our own game planning and play calling, but also more for the deffense facing us to plan for. Simpson is going to help AD's game and Kyle's also. I believe he's going to be a bigger impact than some might think.

Originally Posted by NodakPaul

Was that 5.4 yards in the air per completion or 5.4 yards per attempt? If it is attempt, I am actually pretty OK with that.

I would assume it is per completion. I got to believe we are averaging more than 1.3 YPC in YAC per passing attempt.

Originally Posted by NodakPaul

Hell, even if it is completion, that is good enough to get a first down every other completion.

I'm not a big fan of using that stat like that. You & I both know that a few mid range passes will greatly skew those numbers, just as it does in rushing.

It would be like saying, with AD averaging 4.2 YPC, that should be enough to get a first down every 3 carries & we'd never have to pass. It just doesn't work that way.