Just Ugly

In 2004 Daunte Culpepper had one of the best statistical seasons ever seen from an NFL quarterback. The 2005 season didn't start so great for Culpepper or the Minnesota Vikings. It got even worse in game 7 against the Carolina Panthers when Culpepper injured three of the four ligaments that holds his knee together. He never recovered and neither have the Vikings. The most important position on a football field has been just plain ugly in Minnesota ever since. Since that 2005 season, twelve quarterbacks have started games for the Minnesota Vikings. Except for the incredible 2009 season when Brett Favre at 40 somehow played better than Brett Favre at 30, the quarterback position has been keeping some talented Vikings teams from being anything but mediocre. For most of the past decade the Vikings have been searching for that franchise quarterback. Judging by some of the players that have lined up under center since Culpepper went down, that search has been horribly ineffective. Take a look at these starters:

2005:
Daunte Culpepper (7 starts)
Brad Johnson (9)

2006:
Brad Johnson (14)
Tarvaris Jackson (2)

2007:
Tarvaris Jackson (12)
Kelly Holcomb (3)
Brooks Bollinger (1)

2008:
Gus Frerotte (11)
Tarvaris Jackson (5)

2009:
Brett Favre (16)

2010:
Brett Favre (13)
Joe Webb (2)
Tarvaris Jackson (1)

2011:
Christian Ponder (10)
Donovan McNabb (6)

2012:
Christian Ponder (16)

2013:
Christian Ponder (9)
Matt Cassel (6)
Josh Freeman (1)

Favre's 2009 season was special. It ended about a play or two short of where it should have ended but it was special. The Vikings tried the "old guy" stunt again in 2011 with Donovan McNabb and it was a disaster. A new head coach in Leslie Frazier and the chaos caused by that offseason's lockout didn't help but plugging in a clearly disinterested McNabb just didn't work. It also made for a rough start to the career of #1 pick and franchise quarterback hopeful Christian Ponder. 2007 was just U-G-L-Y. It's a good thing that the Vikings had a rookie running back named Adrian Peterson to distract from the revolving door at quarterback in front of him. Brooks Bollinger's one start came against the San Diego Chargers. It was a success because Peterson ran for an NFL-record 296 yards that day. The Vikings started three quarterbacks in a season three times in nine years. There were some injuries involved. Football is a rough game. But, there was a lot of indecision. A lot of waffling. There never seemed to be a plan for the most important position on the field. Head coach Brad Childress picked Tarvaris Jackson in the second round of the 2006 Draft. The supposed "quarterback guru" was going to mold the raw talent. Jackson closed the 2008 season with some momentum. It looked like the Vikings were moving forward with Jackson. It looked like they might have something. They bring in Sage Rosenfels to provide some competition. Training camp brought news helicopters, convoys, and the arrival of Brett Favre. Now, adding Favre was a bold move in 2009. The season was an obvious success despite ending a game short but it was hardly a plan. You can't depend on Favre in the offseason. You can't depend on Favre in the future. He was a walking circus. The 2010 season was about as bad as the 2009 was great. Enter Ponder in 2011. His first three years with the Vikings were much Tarvaris Jackson's first three years. Each got a taste of some action as a rookie under a first-year head coach. Each started the majority of the games their second season. Ponder started all of the games. Each showed some promise but also some inconsistency in that second season. Basically, they played like second-year quarterbacks with some nice potential. Everything fell apart for both in their third seasons. Each started the season playing some decent football. They played well enough to win but they just couldn't get the wins. Each was benched early. Jackson was benched for Gus Frerotte. Ponder was benched for Matt Cassel. An injury helped make the benching of Ponder an easy one for Frazier. But, it wasn't always injuries that made the 2013 season a quarterbacking-carousel.

Excluding Favre's 2009 season, quarterbacking has been simply ugly in Minnesota. It's a little surprising but the revolving door at quarterback, the lack of an obvious plan, has actually been more frustrating than the play on the field. The drafting of Jackson and Ponder have been the only moves made since 2005 with a thought to the future. Both were considered a reach at the spots in which they were selected but the Vikings picked them. They had to develop them. They didn't. Maybe Jackson and Ponder are simply backup-level quarterbacks. Jackson's career is looking that way. If Ponder ever becomes a starter, it will likely be in a different city. It's really no stretch to say that the Vikings quarterback development under Childress and Frazier is an effective script on what not to do.

There's excitement bubbling among fans of the Minnesota Vikings as we creep closer to the 2014 season and future seasons. That excitement started when the Vikings traded up to draft Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Training camp opens in a few weeks. Based on offseason workouts the current depth chart likely reads:

Matt Cassel
Teddy Bridgewater
Christian Ponder

Bridgewater is the future. He may even be the present. Cassel brings dependability and experience. Ponder is the forgotten one. He can start. He can win games. He led the Vikings to the playoffs in 2010. Even if Peterson carried much of the load. From top to bottom, this is probably the most talented group of quarterbacks that the Vikings have had in a very long time. As important as the talent at the position is the coaching surrounding it. First-year coach Mike Zimmer has put together a terrific staff. Norv Turner leads the offense. He knows how offenses should be run. He knows how quarterbacks should play. He knows how they should be developed. For the first time in a very long time the Vikings actually seem to have a plan at the quarterback position. For now and for the future. Maybe the position won't be so ugly in Minnesota.