Teddy Bridgewater is Not the Ponder

I agree that the defense did not step up.  They have given up early point often this year, and that is not a good position to be playing from.


I am not convinced Ponder's arm was hit until the ball was away.  In either case, it was a poor choice of receivers.  If the primary falls down, you move on in the progression.  Timing matters when running progressions.  Ponder also takes forever to get the ball out.  His reads are slow, and his motion is not quick.  He could likely never catch a cab in New York.

The holding call that backed the Vikings up was unfortunate, but Aaron Rodgers made first downs on third and long, so did Drew Brees, and so did Matt Ryan.  Good quarterback can get out of a jam if they can throw a pass more than 12 yards on target.  It also helps a great deal in the offensive coordinator designs plays that do not consistently have one yard deep crossing routes and does not always send out five receivers into patterns.  One problem Musgrave had was that he sent out too many receivers, and protection broke down for Don Knotts, er Christian Ponder in the pocket.  Norv Turner made the same mistake with Ponder.

The Vikings are getting blown out because they do not have great personnel.  When starters go down, there is not much depth.  Vladimir Ducasse had a particularly poor game against the Packers.  The defensive line has three (Joseph, Robison, Griffen) guys who just earned big contracts, but other than Joseph, they are showing very little for it.  The fourth starter, Sharrif Floyd, was a first round draft pick that has not played up to his billing.  I understand that the pressure does not always come from the linemen in this scheme, but on straight up for rush plays, there is little pressure from this group.

I am hoping that the defenders will get better as the year progresses.  This is a new scheme, and both the players and coaches have to fit the pegs into the holes.  Let's just hope the pegs and holes match.