Minnesota Vikings: The Christian Ponder Era Begins

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."-- Semisonic

No, Minneapolis songwriter Dan Wilson wasn't addressing his hometown Minnesota Vikings' quarterback situation when he wrote those lyrics just over a decade ago, but they fit quite nicely now.

It was also just over a decade ago that Donovan McNabb made his first start in the NFL, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 35-28 win over the Washington Redskins. McNabb was signed by the Vikings this summer to provide veteran leadership for a team that seemed talented enough for a deep playoff run. 

Some hailed the McNabb signing as a perfect fit, others wondered if McNabb had anything left after his hugely disappointing season with the Redskins. After a disastrous 1-5 start where McNabb was off-target, sloppy, and most concerning, uninspired, the Vikings decided it was time for a new beginning.

Welcome to the NFL world, Christian Ponder.

The Florida State product, who many felt the Vikings reached for with the 12th pick in last spring's NFL draft, got his first start this past Sunday against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. 

The reviews from around the Twin Cities have been generally positive on Ponder's first start. Vikings diehards who see a purple sky have jumped to call him the next Fran Tarkenton. Those who wallow in misery have assigned him a C grade—centering on two things: The Vikings lost and Ponder had a less than stellar 59.2 quarterback rating for the game.

The truth, as it usually is, lies somewhere between those two extremes. I'm willing to give Ponder a B- for the game and having said that, if I were his teacher, I'd expect the grade to keep going up and not down.

First of all, he was certainly the shot-in-the-arm the Vikings were desperately looking for. Though they lost, Ponder quarterbacked the first exciting Vikings game of the season. Those who hadn't paid close enough attention to Donovan McNabb's play can look at his numbers from the first six games and wonder why he was getting so much of the blame: an 82.9 passer rating, completing just over 60 percent of his passes, with four touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Not horrible numbers to be sure, but for the Vikings fan base and eventually the coaching staff, it was the "eyeball test" where McNabb was coming up short. He looked overweight and uninvested. The Vikings blew huge halftime leads and lost their first three games and all the while McNabb seemed dispassionate and offered nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders.

That just doesn't fly in a city that cares about it's NFL team.

Ponder definitely brought a spark to the club. A 73-yard completion to Michael Jenkins on the first play from scrimmage had the home crowd in a frenzy right off the bat. Two plays later Ponder found Visanthe Shiancoe with a nifty little touch pass and the Vikings were seemingly off to the races and the franchise quarterback had been found.

And then they played the rest of the game.

All things considered, Christian Ponder played well. His numbers ended up being slightly underwhelming: 13 for 32, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was off target several times and could have easily had three more balls intercepted. But he played with a panache Vikings fans haven't seen since Brett Favre had the reigns two seasons ago.

Ponder ran the ball well. He moved out of the pocket when he had to and he threw some nice passes on the run. It's a little unsettling that he completed 54.5 percent of his passes outside the pocket and only 33.3 percent inside the pocket—but he gets a pass, it was his first start and it was against the undefeated, reigning Super Bowl Champions.

Ponder played with a competitiveness and a fire that seemed to be lacking from McNabb. Ponder is clearly an athlete and by all accounts a very smart and willing learner. The game will eventually slow down for him and he'll have a better handle on when to trust his pocket, when to improvise, and when to throw the ball away rather than trying to force things to happen.

The Vikings can only hope that Ponder was studying his counterpart, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who's become what Ponder's ceiling could one day be: A smart, efficient, athletic leader who uses not only his arm, but his head and his legs to get the job done.

Rodgers himself liked what he saw from Ponder, "I think he's got a bright future. I like the way he plays. He moves around really well."

For the Vikings and their fans it was clearly a performance that showed enough to get excited about. Ponder's next start will come on the road this Sunday against Carolina and their phenomenal rookie QB Cam Newton. They can only hope that Ponder continues to put them on the road to a new beginning. And a win wouldn't hurt.