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.”
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QB's tend to look for tight ends when they have, on average, about 2.25 seconds of time to look. Yeah, Christian, until you get some serious time alone in the backfield, I recommend you keep looking for the TE.
Good to see you again, coach. Be sure to join us for the live chat on Thursday, that way one of us can call the local mounties to do wellness check on you IF the Vikings select someone other than Kalil :)
I would need it, that's for sure. I'll try to drop in, although I do have a bit of a conflict that night, depending on the timing of things. If that pick turns into anything but Kalil, I might have to stay off the airwaves for awhile just to save my dignity. If that happens, you may have to post on my behalf, Adam. Thanks!