Leslie Frazier said he was committed to Christian Ponder as a starting quarterback and he meant it. While Matt Cassel may have earned the Minnesota Vikings their first win of the season last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ponder will get the start once he is healthy.
Still recovering from a rib injury, Cassel could get the start in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers. It helps that the Vikings have a bye week, giving Ponder an extra week to recover.
"Christian (Ponder) is still injured," Frazier said, via USA Today Sports. "But yeah, he's our starting quarterback and we'll see how does coming out of the bye. It's hard to be concrete when you know that Christian is dealing with an injury. So, we'll see what happens."
Cassel went 16-of-25 in passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers getting Minnesota the win. That is better than Ponder has looked so far this season. He has one of the worst passer ratings in the NFL as he enters his third season with the team. No matter how Cassel looked on the field, Frazier is not backing down from Ponder as the true starter for the team.
"I don't know what I would base it on [now] other than what I've seen with the naked eye," Frazier said, via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. "I'd have to look at the tape, look at our football team and then come back and evaluate what we need to do to come back a better team. That's what I base it on. I think it would be premature for me to say anything other than what I'm saying now."
Frazier said Ponder's health will be re-evaluated come Monday and a decision will be made as to who gets the start against the Panthers. He is not ruling Cassel out as the option, but remains hopeful Ponder will be ready to go.
Vikings fans might not be too happy about that. During Ponder's last time on the field, fans booed his performance, something that happened in 2012 as well. Right now, the backup has the hot hand under center. Cassel was praised by teammates after the win Sunday. The backup was able to connect with receivers and demonstrate good leadership in the huddle.
"He's more vocal,'' Peterson said, via the Star Tribune. "He was out there saying his two cents worth in the huddle and you see guys buying into it, and keeping the huddle together and that's all you can ask for ...He did a good job.''
Cassel may have done a great job, but Ponder is still the man. Frazier has all the faith in the world in the quarterback and will not falter from that until Ponder gives him a reason to believe otherwise. Some fans may say he already has, but that is another issue.