Minnesota Vikings: 5 Reasons Starting Christian Ponder Would Be a Mistake

First of all, let me say that I was never in favor of the Vikings signing Donovan McNabb. From the very beginning, it just never seemed to make sense to me.

Sure, the Vikings needed to do something since the lockout forced the cancellation of OTAs and mini camps, and there was no way first-round draft choice Christian Ponder would be ready to take over the Vikings at the start of the season.

Somewhere, I honestly believe that head coach Leslie Frazier truly felt the Vikings were only a decent quarterback away from returning to the playoffs—there is no other explanation that justifies bringing McNabb on board.

With an 0-4 start to the season, a lot of fans are clamoring for Frazier to bench McNabb and start Ponder. The problem with this move is that it will not change anything. With the exception of the first game against the Chargers, the losses have not been McNabb's fault, and changing quarterbacks will not help, and could possibly hurt the Vikings long term.

Here are five reasons the Vikings should stay the course with McNabb—for now.

There Is No No. 1 Receiver

Through the first four games this season, Donovan McNabb has the lowest average per attempt since his rookie season in 1999 when he played in only six games. This correlates directly to the lack of a go-to receiver.

While there is no surprise that Percy Harvin leads the Vikings in receptions, he is averaging only 4.25 catches per game. So far this season, only three Vikings have caught more than 10 passes—that's only 2.25 catches per game!

Harvin currently ranks 37th in the league in receptions. His 17 receptions would place him third among Packers receivers and fourth for the Lions.

Another problem, as the Vikings slot receiver, Harvin isn't even on the field with the Vikings' offense. The Vikings are trying to use more three-tight-end formations, resulting in their best offensive weapon to be on the sideline.  

This was the season that Bernard Berrian was supposed to resurrect his career and become the Vikings' downfield threat. The problem is, with only two receptions in four games, Berrian has more drops than catches and has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season. 

I fear that if Christian Ponder were thrown out there now, he would turn into the second coming of Matt Stafford—that is, the Matt Stafford in his rookie season, playing for the then pathetic Lions, back in 2009 when he had a passer rating of only 61.0.

Ponder would have the propensity to tuck the ball and run. If he is not adept at performing the quarterback slide, the risk of an injury would increase dramatically and, like Stafford, could result in a season-ending injury.

The Offensive Line Is Porous

So far this season, Donovan McNabb has been sacked a total of 10 times in four games—this ranks 11th in the league.

The near constant pressure has a lot to do with the problems that the Vikings' offense has had so far this season.

McNabb, in his 13th year in the NFL, has the experience to avoid the sack by either getting rid of the ball or being able to move within the pocket.  

Unless the Vikings plan to significantly increase the percentage of running plays from the 48 percent they've demonstrated through the first four games, there is a very good chance that the number of sacks with Christian Ponder at quarterback will increase.

One of the biggest adjustments for a rookie quarterback is the speed of the NFL. While the only way for Ponder to make that adjustment is to play, throwing him out there behind this offensive line could spell disaster.

Head Coach Leslie Frazier Would Lose the Trust of His Players

While Vikings fans are looking for a reason to keep supporting the team, a change in quarterback is not the answer.

The old adage that the most popular player on the roster is the backup quarterback is because it's the most visible change that a team can make.

Instead of letting the fans call for Donovan McNabb's head, Leslie Frazier needs to step up and take a lot of the blame for the team's 0-4 start.

For the first three games, the Vikings went into halftime with a lead, only to come out in the second half and give it away. Whatever adjustments the opposition made at halftime, Frazier and his coaches have been unable to counter them so far this season.

Donovan McNabb is Frazier's guy. He brought him on board, and so far with four touchdowns and two interceptions, McNabb has not played poorly enough to deserve benching.

His 80.9 passer rating is higher than he had last season while with the Redskins, and also higher than that of former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. Granted, that is not saying much, but the Vikings' woes don't fully fall onto McNabb's shoulders.

The only reason to make the change would be to assess whether or not Ponder is truly a long-term option for the Vikings. That does not need to be done yet. Pulling McNabb at this point would appear as a panic move to placate the fans and send a signal through the locker room that Frazier is really not in control of this team.

There are other moves that need to be made before benching McNabb—releasing Bernard Berrian is on the top of my list.  

There's No Room to Dumb Down the Offensive Game Plan

So far this season, to say the Vikings' offense has struggled would be an understatement.

Against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Vikings' offense had their first third-down conversion in the second half of a game since Week 1 against the Chargers.

The Vikings rank 23rd in the NFL in total yards per game and 31st in passing. Even though the Vikings cannot drop much lower, replacing Donovan McNabb with Christian Ponder at quarterback will more than likely result in fewer passing yards per game. 

Bill Musgrave, in his first year as an offensive coordinator, has not been able to put together a very impressive game plan.

The most creative play-calling so far this season has been using Harvin on the reverse—a play that worked extremely well against the Chiefs when Harvin gained 67 yards on only four rushes.

There's got to be a whole lot more to Musgrave's playbook that we have yet to see. If the Vikings turn the offense over to Ponder, it's likely that the playbook would be scaled back until he gets acclimated to the speed of the NFL game—and based on what we've seen so far out of the Vikings' offense, it does not bode well for any kind of turnaround this season.

Christian Ponder Will Most Likely Be Needed Later This Season

In his previous 12 seasons in the NFL, Donovan McNabb has only played in all 16 games four times. The fact that he has averaged 12.9 games per season means that Christian Ponder will get at least two, if not three starts this season.

Last season, two starts were more than enough to know that Joe Webb was not going to be the quarterback of the future for the Vikings.

With an 0-4 start to the season, and the only two undefeated teams left in the NFL ahead of the Vikings within the NFC North, this is a lost season. There is no reason to rush Ponder into the starting lineup.

This team needs to find some upgrades at wide receiver and offensive line before they will be ready to make a run for a playoff spot.

Give Ponder a little more time in practice and on the sideline to become more familiar with the game plan and the nuances of the Vikings' offense before throwing him to the Lions, Bears or Packers.

The only advantage the Vikings may have by rushing him into the starting quarterback role would to finish as the winner of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes for 2012.