Comparing the Vikings' Christian Ponder and the Panthers' Cam Newton

Love them or hate them, but it’s the week of rookie quarterbacks. Christian Ponder vs. Cam Newton.

They're about the only reason to watch this week’s game featuring the Minnesota Vikings against the Carolina Panthers. It’s not like it’s a game of great football, with the Vikings being 1-6 and the Panthers being 2-5. However, this matchup does give us a glimpse of what may be coming for the NFL.

Many NFL starters are less than five years into their pro careers, guys like Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Matt Ryan and Tim Tebow, just to name a few. The main question this week is, who will do better, Ponder or Newton?

This week, it’s going to be Cam Newton for a couple reasons:

1. He’s been starting since the beginning of the season (the 1-5 Vikings learned a lesson about that after benching veteran Donovan McNabb).

2. Look at the Vikings' secondary, there’s nothing there. Antoine Winfield may be finally playing this week after suffering a neck injury, which kept him out a couple weeks, but he’ll be limited if he does play. Also, the team’s second-best cornerback, Chris Cook, is suspended and was in jail during last week’s game against the Packers.

Cam Newton may be better this week, but throughout their careers it’s going to be Christian Ponder.

He seems to be the much more conventional quarterback. He’s not going to get hit as much as Newton; however, Ponder will run the ball, which will help his longevity. Ponder was impressive in a loss to Green Bay last week; if you saw Ponder’s first pass you know, but maybe it was seen through rose-colored glasses due to the fact that it wasn't Donovan McNabb.

It’s hard to compare Newton’s game to anyone, but Herm Edwards didn't have a problem comparing Christian Ponder to a prominent NFL QB. In his weekly appearance on Minneapolis/St. Paul’s ESPN 1500-AM’s Reusse and Mackey, he compared Ponder’s game to that of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers'. That’s pretty good company to hold.

Many things could change between now and the end of these two players’ careers, but as Herm Edwards said, “You play to win the game.” And if both Ponder and Newton do that, they may not only one day be incomparable, but they could also be the biggest blooming stars in the NFL.