Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Hope

Its wrong to anoint Christian Ponder as the Minnesota Vikings savior. Its too early. One start doesn't make a career. Ten starts don't make a career either. If Ponder did nothing else in his first start, he gave Vikings fans hope.

Christian Ponder has a spark. A game awareness. His cerebral grasp of football inspires thoughts of Drew Brees. That's aiming high. If Ponder reaches his potential, I can see Brees-like abilities. A more mobile Brees. I'd take that. At worst, I see a more accurate Jake Plummer. Right now, Christian Ponder is a rookie quarterback with one start under his belt. One thing is certain, Ponder will put in the work. His effort, drive and desire is high. That and his exciting debut inspires hope.

The Vikings have had a 20-year parade of old quarterbacks. Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Brad Johnson, Gus Frerotte, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb all called Minnesota home late in their careers. Granted Cunningham and Favre each had one fantastic year that ended oh so nearly in a Super Bowl. There were a few hopeful years when Daunte Culpepper looked like a keeper, but he lost his mind rather than rehabbing a knee injury. A revolving door of senior quarterbacks never inspired hope. Christian Ponder inspires hope.

No comments:

Post a Comment