Categories: General News
| On 11 years ago

Fans chant for Cassel, Frazier plans to stick with Ponder

By Nam Huynh

With plenty of blame to go around in the Vikings’ disappointing 0-3 start, fans are calling for a change at quarterback.

For those at Mall of America Field on Sunday afternoon, fans were heard chanting for backup quarterback Matt Cassel at various moments of the game—including the final play when quarterback Christian Ponder was sacked to end the game.

Ponder is reportedly on a much shorter leash than people think, but head coach Leslie Frazier said after the game that he doesn’t foresee making a switch at quarterback after he watches film from the game.

Nam Huynh

Tags: christian ponder matt cassel

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  • Can't put this on Ponder although I would still like to see Cassel or MBT. Ponder did make some plays with his legs but his arm and accuracy and vision are still a huge problem. I think we all knew when the offense couldn't get 1 damn first down in crunch time the Browns would drive it right down the field and score. I can't count the number of times that has happened over the years. Defense did step it up in the second half but as usual they couldn't seal the deal. This team is a mess from top to bottom, time for some radical changes.

    • True, you can't put this all on Ponder, just like you can't put little bighorn all on Custer...

      FACT: You replace CP with even a B+ QB in this league in games 1-3 and Vikes would be 3-0..

      The only thing thing worse than Ponder is the guy who keeps him starting.

      • Cmon now, I've thought CP7 was terrible since the day he was drafted but he played decent, good enough to win this loss was on our defense and AD. That's right I'm saying our record is on Peterson too 250 yards in 3 games isn't enough for a rb with his salary. Our entire team has been poor this year, only bright spots are Harrison Smith and Jerome Simpson.

  • Got out coached again the team plays with no emotion
    Frazer has to go and take the offensive coordinator with him.
    Terrible embarrassed to go out of the house wearing any Viking gear.

    • I got an idea for you Erv; Quit buying Viking gear.
      In fact, if every Viking fan would stop buying Viking gear for one month and boycott the games, Wilf would fire the entire coaching staff.
      Don't forget, Wilf is a NY Giants fan, always has been. Hell, he has a suite there. It's all about the money for him. Get the message to him that until he makes some radical changes, we ain't buyin' no Vikin' gear.

      • That's a helluva good idea Fran. Make the owners accountable and hit them in the pocketbook, I like that.

          • Ok I'll start with my friends and family and you do the same. We'll get this sucker snowballing before you know it.

          • i just had a movement, a big one, just like the team. i feel ashamed visiting their web site, but i watched the post game video, and frazier looked very uncomfortable, as he should

  • this loss was bad, really bad. it hurts. i know all too well what the bottom of my toilet looks like, and ya know what the worst thing is? stores all give out plastic bags nowadays, not brown paper. now what?

  • Johnny....add one more to ponder's shortcomings: football smarts/decision making.....on that last drive when he threw that 3 yd pass that was going no where with 15-20 sec left and clock keeps running.....stuuuuuuuuuuuuupid.......that one play showed me he doesn't have "it".....win or lose I don't really care, but stupid football, coaches on down, I will not follow.....fan for life but I'm checkin' out until major changes are made.....more power to my buddies who hang in there...

    • I hear ya krugs. It looks like Fran and I are starting a boycott to any financials that benefit Wilf until he makes some smart changes. I don't like the product they're putting out and I refuse to pay for any of it.

  • What I don't understand is while Ponder is running his tail off trying to escape constant pressure and add to a point total of 27, the great Jared Allen hasn't reported for work yet. Why does he get a free pass for not doing his job? How come no one is chanting for a different right defensive end? I'd sure be in favor of it. I would also join a chant for a couple offensive linemen to be replaced. Our O-Line got owned today.

    • Coach, I;m a big Jared Allen fan so I watch him a lot and what I'm seeing is that he is constantly being double teamed and/or chipped. When he's one on one he does get some pressure but the qb is getting rid of the ball fairly quickly most of the time. Could he do better? Yes. Joe Staley is a stud all pro too.

      • I'm sure that's true, johnny, but one sack in three games? Ten total tackles? That's not even close to all-pro caliber. Ponder needs to play better, I agree. So do a lot of other guys on this team.

        • Coach, I think there's a huge difference between the two. You can "call out" Jared Allen, because you know he has the ability. He's shown he can be the man.

          I don't think calling out Ponder will do any good, I just don't think he has the talent to be a franchise QB. Nice guy, tries hard, etc., but in the end, he just can't. When you watch that movie Rudy, it feels good and stuff, but in the end, guy played what, one play? Not a season. Ability matters.

          Doesn't mean I hate Ponder, because I don't think he has the ability. I just hate watching him play for the Vikes.

          • What I'm sayin', Tomb, is that in Ponder I see a guy who is busting his butt, running from pressure, scrambling for first downs and touchdowns, trying to play the most difficult position in the game, while All-Pro Jared Allen is dancing with a Brown lineman and putting no pressure on this third string QB who is backing us down the field for the winning score. I'm tired of Allen waving his hands at the crowd asking for noise. If he wants noise he can earn it by getting some sacks and creating some havoc. What I'm sayin', Tomb, is I got more time for a young game hustling QB than I do for a chatty prima donna high priced DE.

          • Coach why target Jared Allen? Peterson arguably the best rb of all time can't even get to 100 yards heck he's looked very average this year call him out too.

          • Adrian Peterson has 333 yards of total offense - Jared Allen has .33 sacks per game. Adrian Peterson plays on offense for the 7th ranked team in the league in points. Jared Allen plays on defense for the team ranked 30th in the league in points allowed. The Vikings have allowed as many points (96) as the second highest scoring team in the league. Is that what our offense has to do for us to win - LEAD the league in scoring? That was the CLEVELAND BROWNS who just put 31 on us, SKOL. How can we keep ripping the offense, their leaders, and their coordinator while we look at information like that? It totally escapes me. It's the DEFENSIVE coordinator we should be running out of town.

          • Adrian Peterson ranks 5th in the NFL in rushing yards. Jared Allen is tied for 63rd in the league in sacks.

          • I'm not saying we should let 69 off the hook I'm just saying he's not our only star underachieving.

          • Coach, I see the same things you do. No question the guy is busting his butt, under pressure of no fault of his own. (Other than last week when he ran into the only defensive player, who was being BLOCKED, that could have sacked him.)
            I also see the same things I saw of him 3 years ago; inaccuracy, can't go thru his reads, can't seem to see the field. Poor traits for a guy who plays the most difficult position in the game.
            Sadly, I'm just not optimistic he can turn it around. Too many bad traits.

            With our defense playing so poorly to boot, this is going to be a LONG season.
            Geez, we were beat by the freaking Browns, at home!

    • Great QB's adjust to pressure, step up and make big plays... Favre, Montana, etc, etc, etc..... Read Trent Dilfers critique of Ponder when the vikes drafted him. As true today as it was then.

      You can't expect the O-line to stop 7 or 8 men rushing all day long, play after play, but you should be able to expect a starting QB in this league to burn them when they do. He can't. He is not a starter.

      The opposing D can stack 8 men in the box and rush them all because they know that CP can't beat them, he can't play under even a little bit of pressure. He's terrible. Wake up!

    • I noticed that CC and there's more games than just this one that's been the case. Only problem with replacing Muskrat this time of year is who's gonna replace him at this point?

  • I'm left with a lot of thoughts after this game and none of them are positive for the rest of this season. First off, coach, I hear what your saying. With the amount of points we've scored we should not be 0-3, but our head coach is a defensive guy and extremely responsible for the scheme we run on that side of the ball. The performance of that defense is largely on him, and that idiotic move to throw a challenge flag when the return man clearly never had possession of the ball allowed the officials to screw us out of a potentially gift wrapped TD has me pretty upset hours after the game. That's a rookie coach mistake, Frazier isn't a rookie coach. I have been behind him but he lost me today. I'm not going to be mad at Musgrave for trying the throw the ball in the 4th quarter because with the way the line was NOT opening any holes for Peterson, I know damn well we all would just be complaining about him not trying to throw it on obvious run downs. That being said, I'm dumbfounded why on the last two hail Mary's of the game, Joe Webb (6-4 220) and Patterson (6-2 216) were on the sideline and sub 6 footers Jennings and Wright were in. That's just awful, and once again shows me that in tough situations all common sense just seems to leave this coaching staff. So what do we do about it? Nothing, there's absolutely nothing they can do. You can't fire the entire coaching staff after three games. They could go ahead and can Frazier but then you need to elevate either Musgrave, Williams, or Priefer. Of that group Priefer is the best choice and his unit just followed giving up 300 return yards to Devin Hester with two major breakdowns on fakes that lead to ten points. They are going to need to play out this season with the current staff and blow it up if it doesn't get any better. At least this coming off-season we should be able to attract good coaching candidates since the long-term stadium issue is solved. It would also be a great time to look at completely changing defensive schemes with a majority of our D-line set to be FA's (Floyd could play DE in a 3-4 front).
    Next big issue of course is Ponder. I have to say that I think Christian has shown a lot of heart the last 6 quarters...with his legs. His accuracy continues to be poor whether he's completing passes or not. He isn't our long term answer at the position. He would be an outstanding #2 QB on any teams depth chart, and it's really a shame for him that he was taken so high in the draft and had to be thrown into a starting role that he just flat out isn't meant for. I also think that until our line starts playing better he's our best option to role with this year unless of course they want to give MBT a chance. Cassel would get slaughtered behind this line with the way they are playing. MBT showed me in that last pre-season game that he knows how to deliver the ball as soon as his back foot hits the last step in his drop, so I think he could have some success, but ultimately, the QB that is going to open up our new stadium isn't on the roster.
    So that's where I'm at. Three games in, I'm pretty much figuring we're screwed and this is going to be another lost year of Adrian's career. I was glad to see him put his head down and get more of those 3 and 4 yard runs instead of going backwards today, but the fumble issues seem to be returning with him trying to do too much. I also think Harrison Smith is a total stud safety. I really don't care about that last play, that was a great throw to one of the best young TE's in the game. I think he's going to make a play on that ball more times than not over the course of his career. It sucks that it happened but I have a feeling that he's the type of guy that is going to use that play as motivation to get better.

    • Dan,
      Very disappointing game. You're right, it made no sense why Joe Webb or Cordarrelle Patterson wasn't back there on them to hail Mary's...
      Just as everybody said so many many things to improve on.
      Play calling, execution and so on.

  • in seven games so far, including pre-season, we barely won one game by one point. that's gotta have an effect on a team's psyche. now we'll probably hear the 'gotta get a win', and 'better call winfield' statements, which only makes us sound more desperate and makes it harder to win

  • Put Cassel in! He will be hurt or dead by the end of the first quarter. The O-line is so bad.