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Smash Articles
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Paul Allen's call of Brett Favre's end of game toss versus the San Francisco 49er's in 2009 may have been the most perfect moment in Viking history, up to that point. That call could stir the dead. By comparison, at that same moment, in watching the NFL feed on Direct TV, that commentator was almost asleep at the switch ... Hey ... I think something happened? To me, what this clearly indicated is that there is no way to separate Paul Allen from the Minnesota Vikings ... as it should be. I can respect his directness and genuine passion. Now, I find myself deeply disturbed watching that same Mr. Allen clear an unconsecrated path for Christian Ponder. How we couldn't measure Ponder as a quarterback on August 24 as he was without Jerome Simpson. How we can't accurately measure Ponder's 2012 first three regular season games, if Ponder falters in any way, as he will be without Jerome Simpson. How we cannot evaluate this kid until Adrian Peterson returns to the fold. The excuses made for this kid are out of control and make me ill. Then I hear how Joe Webb is a great change of pace however he'll never make it based upon his pre-season stats. It's like evaluating the results of a survey with purposely skewed questions that ensure a specific result. To be direct, Christian Ponder's numbers on August 24th were absolutely wretched. Here are the key stats. How many touchdowns did we score? Zero! How many sacks did Ponder take? Five! How many interceptions did he throw? One! Did that interception result in points against? Yes! So what do we do? We need to keep coddling this kid. Keep coddling! Oh! I'm sorry, let's blame the run game because Ponder had 3rd and long on our two opening drives as if that's never existed in the NFL, or better yet, let's single out someone as a scapegoat to cover for Ponder. It's coming people. Allow me to counter. Whether directly or indirectly ... Adrian Peterson's shredded knee is now directly upon Christian Ponder's head. Nothing sticks to Teflon and Ponder is the representation of Teflon incarnate. Why, you might ask, is AD's knee upon Ponder's head? Because if you're sum total is nothing more than a bunch of smoke and mirrors ... then real people are going to have to pay in one way or another. It's not as if I didn't warn AD that it was coming just before it happened. AD had to stand as the leader of this team. He voice didn't reckon ... where coaches never stand in my trench ... only in distant ones (time). I'm 100% certain that not one member of our offense is feeling the effects of the patzer that goes by the name Christian Ponder. Fallacy! Bogus! Pretender! Empty suit! You're dance card is now up. Why? Because my goal is not to tread upon Ponder's thin ice ... it's to realize the true fight ... that brings us to the promised land. We need a little more substance than we all need to protect this organizations wasted #1 pick that was at best ... a reach. No matter what you say ... the facts don't support your case ... only words & conjecture can be used to obscure the truth. So what was Paul Allen espousing last Friday? Christian Ponder can't win in this league unless everything is absolutely "PERFECT". He has to have Jerome Simpson to win. He has to have Adrian Peterson in the back field to win. He has to be untouched (perfect blocking) the entire game to win. Allow me to be the first to remind you all of the most important fact in the NFL ... nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing in the NFL is perfect ... and that my friends is why Christian Ponder is never going to make it in this league. It is because you are going to make excuse after excuse for him and he is going to redirect the blame to someone other than himself and that my friends is a vicious cycle that is about to unfold for us all. Isn't it ironic that the cost to support Ponder is absolutely enormous whereas the cost to shred him, like he's willing to do to you without batting an eyelash, is so insignificant as to be trivial. No! No! We need to build and reinforce the myth at every juncture. Climb aboard. Toot!~ Toot!~ Now let's look a little closer at Joe Webb's stats. How many times did he target Devin Aromashodu in that 2nd contest? Was this the one & only, of last years starting receivers, offered up for Joe? Could it be that Joe Webb is not even going to get a whiff seeing actual starters until Christian Ponder becomes a mangled mess tossed upon the scrap heap of history? Well, Webb didn't score any touchdowns. True. Isn't it easier to score touchdowns with starters, or did I miss something? Oh, not to worry as the Christian Ponder TALK will continue through what will seem to be an eternity. Before you espouse stats to reinforce your case ... you better get a better understanding of what you're talking about. In that first pre-season game, Joe Webb was running for his life ... and it wasn't by choice. Let's see. Joe Webb played outdoors upon an ice hardened college field that shouldn't even been in use after the collapse of the dome. An indoor team forced to play it's home game outdoors, on ice, versus the outdoors Chicago Bears, on short notice & preparation. Joe struggled in an impossible situation. At the very least ... Webb scored. Now let's point to this day forever and throw it into Joe Webb's face ... and we can call that fair play. Wasn't it Webb that rocked a playoff bound Philadelphia Eagles team, on the Eagles outdoor home turf, on a rare Tuesday evening game. How big was that? Culpepper never did that and he had both Moss & Carter. Wasn't that Joe Webb, a non-called face mask penalty away from upsetting a playoff bound Detroit Lion's team, after how many consecutive possessions that resulted in scores. Did I mention Joe Webb's perfect 158.3 passer rating in a week 16 contest versus the Washington Redskins spelling the loopy rag-doll Ponder. Up to that point, Ponder's was excused because he was directing a completely broken down offense and that was with Adrian Peterson behind him. Joe Webb steps in and tosses two touchdown passes using that same broken down offense and that was without Adrian Peterson, as AD's knee injury, and the concussing of Ponder, occurred on back to back plays. Maybe you might of even noticed a few Joe Webb rushing touchdowns in just about every game that he's had significant time playing in. Oh! I know. You want to evaluate Joe Webb in our 2010 and 2011 final contests ... both games that we had to lose for draft order. Really! Really! Yeah! That genie is definitely out of the bottle. Why am I the only voice in the wilderness? Where are those Viking hearts with Beserker Rage shooting from their eyes with bile combined with spittle sputtering from their lips? Who's veins open to purple life draining fluids? The silence out there is deafening.
Here's one to chew on. In not one of all of Ponder's starts has he
achieved anything near to what Joe Webb has already accomplished. Let's not forget
... how often has Webb taken first team snaps? Joe's had to do these
remarkable eye-opening things without the due course of investment lavished over
others. Tell me, what is Peyton Manning without his reps with the
first team ... that in itself is the true measure, of the remarkable nature,
that is Joe Webb. Here's the thing. You
don't get to select or chose champions. Champions are thrust upon
you. You need to look no further than Tom Brady and Kurt Warner.
Here's another little tid bit. How often have the Vikings been correct in
investing their resources into the right quarterback? It's not a problem
though ... this will be corrected in short order either by choice or by a firm
hand. This folly is at it's end. |
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