Posts tagged: christian ponder

Links Of The Week: OTAs End

June 17, 2012, by 2 comments

Mike Wobschall from Vikings.com makes some observations from OTA #7. In one note, “Wobby” describes plays where both Christian Ponder and Joe Webb are scrambling to the right. Don’t like to hear that our QBs are still fleeing from pressure but glad that they’re able to if their hand is forced. There are also some great notes for OTAs #4-6.

Jared Allen is awesome. Watch Allen’s latest charitable event “Night Ops Golf” here on Youtube.

Stop the press. Everyone’s favorite hip-hop entrepreneur Bryant McKinnie showed up to camp phat. (See what I did there?) Will he even make the Raven’s roster this year?

I missed this one over the course of the week. Apparently, NFL Comissioner, Roger Goodell, sent out a memo to all teams addressing recent DUIs and reminding team players and personnel to “be responsible.”

The folks over at Pro Football Focus have been looking at each NFL team and determining that team’s “Secret Superstar.” Who was their selection for the Vikings? Go check it out. Who should we look out for on the Packers, Bears and Lions according to PFT? Linebacker D.J. Smith, cornerback Tim Jennings and defensive end Willie Young, respectively.

I really can’t stand this idea that the NFL is strictly a passing game and running the ball has lost its importance in the NFL. Adam and I will have to take the topic up in our next “Coin Toss.” Nevertheless, National Football Post has a good article up discussing the topic, using the Vikings lack of success even with Adrian Peterson as a prime example.

Although ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski expects Christian Ponder to “improve significantly this season” he still has Ponder ranked 28th out of 30 on his “Top QBs” list. Kevin Seifert from ESPN’s NFL North blog further inspects Jaworski’s analysis.

Vikings.com has some great OTA videos. Definitely check those out.

Our buddy Gil over at The Vikings Den landed a writing gig with Rant Sports. He’ll continue writing for TVD though and we wish him the best of luck. In this particular post, TVD looks at if the Vikings missed out by not signing linebacker Rocky McIntosh.

While the Vikings run play-action more than almost every team in the NFL, it turns out they’re not very good at it. (This is always something that has bothered me. With such an incredible running back, you think our play-action would be much more effective. I absolutely hate it when a quarterback doesn’t know how to sell the play-action. I think a good “just kidding” hand-off can really screw up a defense. Hopefully this is something Vikings QB Christian Ponder has been working on this offseason. Okay, rant over.)

Today is Father’s Day. And despite the fact that Chad Greenway’s father was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is now receiving hospice care, the Vikings linebacker still decided to host a Father’s Day fundraising 5k run. Please keep Chad and the Greenway family in your thoughts through these trying times for them.

Ponder Breaking NCAA Rules On Behalf of Agency?

May 24, 2012, by 7 comments

Well, as if we needed another completely dull and unfulfilling storyline to follow, it appears our young franchise quarterback may have just got himself wrapped up in a yet-to-come (but probably soon-to-come) investigation of the people currently representing him.

Yay?

I’ll just go ahead and defer to Riley Schmitt of Rant Sports for all the details:

Kohl Stewart was just your average high school recruit until Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder texted him.  Stewart was so excited about the text that he uploaded it to Twitter.  Unfortunately for him, it might cause him a lot of trouble.

Ponder said he was texting Kohl Stewart on behalf of the CAA. The CAA is also known as the Creative Arts Agency, which is a grouping of sports agents. Now why would Ponder be texting a high schooler about an agency? The kid has not even stepped on a college football field, much less thought about an agency.

Then again, this could easily be someone posing as Ponder and texting Kohl Stewart. It’s unlikely, but possible. The area code is one that is found in the suburbs of the Twin Cities so I would guess it is Ponder.

In the world of social media, Kohl Stewart may have just exposed some dirty practices by the CAA. I am not sure why they had Ponder text him, but I would guess it would be to have Stewart consider being represented by the agency. Then again, the NCAA tends to frown upon agents contacting college players.

Kohl Stewart seemed excited that he was being texted by a pro quarterback but this is going to raise some serious questions about the CAA. It is getting a lot harder for agencies to contact players. Why not use pro players to convince kids to sign with you? It’d be a good theory if you thought you would never get exposed.

I have a feeling Kohl Stewart is going to find himself in the middle of a controversy. Once the NCAA and others find out about this, it probably will not be pretty.

On the plus side, we all now have the first seven digits of Ponder’s personal cell.

Pre-Camp Buzz

May 19, 2012, by 23 comments

Between now and the season opener, the Minnesota media will follow a very specific formula to make sure their sports pages are still interesting despite the relatively boring period of time that is the middle of the offseason.

I am, of course, referring to the strategy creating a scattershot of “fluff” pieces that will profile a player, perhaps give us a snapshot of their personal history, and leave us all with a hopeful message:  This guy could be the answer at his respective position.

I’m not saying these articles don’t serve a worthwhile purpose, and aren’t interesting to those of us that love our Vikings football, but I just want to help you temper your expectations by reminding you that these articles come and go every year.  Sometimes the player turns out to be a nobody (i.e. Logan Payne) and sometimes the player actually does become a contributor (i.e. Marcus Sherels) despite the stacked odds.

I’m not trying to be the poster child of pessimism.  Rather, I am just trying to keep your expectations in check, as it is always a dangerous time when the hopes of Vikings fans begin to rise.

Okay, so with all of that said, I want to highlight some stories about the pre-camp Vikings and how they are doing.  After the jump.

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Links Of The Weekend: Stadium Euphoria

May 12, 2012, by 2 comments

Well, we all know what topic has dominated Vikings news this week, and we’ll get back to assessing the ongoing roster transformation soon, but in the meantime let’s highlight some of best articles available right now.  Most are stadium related, but I tried to find a good mix.

Webb Excited To Focus On One Position

May 5, 2012, by 8 comments

Joe Webb will focus solely on playing the quarterback position for the first time in his young NFL career.

He is currently number two on the Vikings depth chart, sandwiched between starter Christian Ponder and veteran backup Sage Rosenfels.  The Vikings hope that Webb will improve on his already impressive resume as a surprise NFL quarterback after being drafted as, and receiving reps as, a wide out.

“It’s a great role to have,” Webb recently said. “Any time you can concentrate on one position, that’s always a positive.”

“I want to be able to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Webb continued. “Any chance I can get on the field, I want to help the offense move the chains and score points. But right now, I’m just focusing on quarterback.”

A recent survey of five NFL analysts in a recent NFL.com article, two of the five predict it will be the Vikings that “beat out” the other 31 NFL teams for 2013’s first overall selection in the NFL Draft.  That means, of course, that the Vikings have earned a horrible record under the leadership of Christian Ponder.

Those analysts forget one thing, however.

If the Vikings go down a path towards being the worst team in 2012, Joe Webb will likely be making an appearance or two throughout the season.

If Webb plays, we all know what that means for our Draft position.

Ponder and Greenway Take On Unusual (But Worthwhile) Cause

April 29, 2012, by 1 comment

Financial Literacy.

Now, there is a term that one doesn’t hear about too often, especially in relation to professional football players.  Players that sign big contracts will often take part in some sort of charity work or civic service that warms the heart or helps somebody with an incredible need.

VISA and the NFL have teamed up, however, to unroll a program teaching kids about their personal finances and Ponder enlisted to unroll the program in Minnesota while Greenway has done the same in Iowa.  The intent is to warn students of the dangers that exist with debt and also how to properly invest and safeguard their money.

As someone who listens religiously to the wise words of Dave Ramsey, I am glad to see that financial literacy is being brought to the forefront of America’s mind, and am proud to see our Vikings players getting involved.

“Kids need to know how to make smart money management decisions early in life,” said Ponder. “It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance.”

The financial education center around an NFL video game called Financial Football.  In the game, students have to answer questions in order to gain yardage and score touchdowns.  When the players go to the classrooms, they split into two teams and face off with each other using Financial Football as the tool.

Greenway gave students a warning not to repeat his mistakes when they go to college.  Greenway told a story of piling up credit card debt and, were it not for his football career, it could have just snowballed from there.

“I eventually paid it off and I pay it off every month now,” Greenway told the students. “It’s important to learn how to manage money, and in the future, hopefully, to watch your budget grow.”

Kudos to Ponder and Greenway for representing the team very well and taking time to make a difference for these kids in the mid-west.

If you have interest in giving the Financial Football video game a try (I did, its… okay) you can do so by clicking here.  At the very least, your kids might be interested in giving it a shot.

Ponder Sees Tight Ends As His Best Friends On The Field

April 23, 2012, by 3 comments

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder knows that the upcoming season will be all about him.

A little of confidence mixed with a little bit of realism has him predicting and eight or nine win season for the Vikings.  Ponder says there will be a lot of pressure on him this season, but feels that tight ends Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson will aide him in his efforts to turn this team around.

“The guy is a freak,” Ponder said of Rudolph in a recent 1500 ESPN interview. “For how big he is (6-foot-6, 258 pounds) and how well he moves, and his hands are unbelievable. A tight end really is a quarterback’s best friend, especially when he’s a young guy. I think the sky’s the limit for him.

“I think he’ll be a Pro Bowl guy within the next two years, and I think by adding another tight end, John Carlson, You realize how important the tight end is in our system, Musgrave’s system. Kyle’s going to be getting the ball a lot more and I’m excited for him. I’m excited for myself. Having a target like that makes it a lot easier for me.”

Ponder sees confident that the Vikings can turn things around quickly under his leadership and seems plenty aware that the offense can only go as far as he can take them.

“If I play well, then things will build off of me, and I realize that. Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure on me, and we’ll see. We did get some good guys through free agency, and we’ll get a lot of good guys in the draft and we’ll see how it goes.”