Ponder 2012

[milanb]

[Virginia Viking]

[vikingsrule]

[shah8]

The biggest disasters as far as young QBs go do tend to be Vince Young, JaMarcus Russel, Heath Schuler, etc, etc, where the owner insists that a QB play over the objections of the coach, indeed, insists on drafting a QB that the rest of the coaching staff doesn't want.

It does, in the end, tend to be about marketing. The love of college fanbase for Young/Tebow/McCoy/etc. The drafting of people who look like a QB, like Gabbert and Ponder. Then there's Al Davis. Now, the owner/gm/coaches all have varying says over who to get and who to play, but dysfunctional leadership structures have people who have vivid imaginations and insists on the QB that stars in those imaginary scenarios. And everyone else has to suffer while the dream crumbles.

[ArcticNorseman]

There's no doubt that a overly-engaged owner can be a great detriment to his team, and as stated the HC can be a real problem with a young QB too (see Mike Singletary-Alex Smith, or Cutler-McDaniels).

Bill Parcells is famous for tearing down a young QB, like he did to Phil Simms and Drew Bledsoe -- he re-wired their thinking to what he wanted; how he wanted them to approach the game. The further he kept the owner(s) from his QB, the better results his teams got.

Happens all over this great country -- just talk to any of your favorite Marines or Rangers or Special Forces troops. They get re-programmed through the process of their training, and I'm damn glad they're on our side! Other private sector companies to the same type of thing.

I think when the Vikes drafted Ponder, they made a surprising move only because of where they drafted him. Had they traded back, or got him in the 2nd round, he would still be scrutinized, but as harshly? The team had a need and they rated the combination of his experience at a major program, his intelligence and his physical attributes quite highly. Did they reach? yeah, yeah, yeah . . . we all argued this last year.

Hell, no one thought Oakland reached on Russell at the time, but he's proven to be an un-disciplined, pathetic player and he's having a difficult life now as a person.

A few years ago, Childress moved up in the 2nd to take T-Jack, and two years later, everyone could see T-Jack was not "a young McNabb." He didn't grasp the game, Childress and co. convinced the Wilfs to swoon Favre and they got him. There is absolutely no worse way to express dis-satisfaction with a young QB's development than when a HC and owner do that.

In T-Jack's defense, he never had Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitz or Randy Moss to throw to . . . but he did have AP and because he couldn't overcome other things in the game, he got crushed.

With Ponder, I look at what the Wilfs say about him -- how much to they get into the paper about a specific player? Rarely . . . I like that. They make the paper for getting support things done for the organization . . . funding a coaching staff, facilities etc. I don't think I've read where they have criticized the coach or QB publicly -- that's smart.

As for Frazier, Musgrave and Ponder, I sense they're getting on the same page. They don't brag much about what they're doing. Technically, they ain't done nothing yet. When you read the subtle messages, listen to Frazier's pressers, there's a lot of Dungy-esque confidence.

The next evolution will be Ponder proving he's a NFL QB, not just because he looks the part.

[milanb]

[PrplChilPill]

Um, TJack was quite good his last year, once he came back to start. Other than the debacle of a playoff game, he was effective, but I'm tired of that argument. But yes, I thought they reached for him. I also thought they gave up on him too fast. But maybe not, maybe he is no better than a backup QB.

LOTS of people thought the Raiders reached for Russel, lots of people, so I don't get that comment.

As far as Ponder goes, they reached, but he's hear now. I don't believe anything I read or say about how good a player does or does not look in OTAs. Really, I just want to see him play better than last year, about 20% better (whatever that means). Maybe move into the median in the league range in year two, and top 12 in year three. That seems reasonable, maybe.
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Wins are a team stat, not a QB stat

[vike daddy]

[PurpleMugen]

[PurpleMugen]

[El Raymundo]

[Vikefan79]

[El Raymundo]

[vike daddy]

Ron Jaworski: "Ponder has many of the attributes I look for when I evaluate quarterbacks. I saw pocket movement, the ability to move within the pocket, maintain downfield focus and deliver the football with accuracy. I also saw the added dimension of getting outside the pocket in response to pressure with the speed to create an explosive gain. And how about this for a rookie quarterback: Ponder’s rating was 114, the NFL’s best inside the 20. His movement was also a big factor, as was his willingness to make stick throws into those small windows, a necessity in the tight red zone area."

"As he begins his second season, Ponder needs work as a progression reader. He had a tendency to predetermine some throws, and, in addition, there were too many times he did not recognize the coverage."

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/42855/jaws-qb-countdown-christian-ponder
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[vikingsrule]

Its very common for rookies to pre determine throws. Its just part of the natural maturation process all rookies must go through. When a play is called, there are generally two receivers who the play intends to go to. As a rookie QB, your more likely to stick to what the play requires, meaning you end up forcing the ball or predetermining who will get the ball. Once Ponder is developed to the point where he can comfortably read the defense, he wont rely on so much where the play is intended to go, more so focusing on getting the ball to the most open receiver, even if the play isnt intended to go to that receiver.