The Minnesota Vikings' success relies on a few key components, one of them being trust. As quarterback Christian Ponder prepares to enter his third year in the NFL, the Vikings made a big move to add several big time offensive weapons to help him succeed on the field. Newly signed receiver Greg Jennings understands that if everyone is going to be successful, Ponder must have trust in the players.
When Jennings watches film of Ponder, he sees plenty of talent, but not a lot of confidence.
"I know he trusts himself, but at times, it's like, 'Ahh, I don't know if he's going to do it,' "Jennings said via TwinCities.com. "It's that split-second. And we've got to have that split-second."
Jennings has made a career on big-time plays with the Green Bay Packers and is looking to bring that same amount of success to the Minnesota Vikings. He just needs Ponder to believe that they can get it done together. So far, the two are working well together in training camp and Ponder believes that they will continue to build a relationship as the season goes on.
"That's one of those things," Ponder said. "The whole trust factor kind of encompasses a big -- especially the quarterback position -- it's a big aspect of the game. We need to keep building that trust."
Ponder was uneven in the team's first preseason game. He threw an interception on his second pass, ending his night. The first-team offense will likely play deep into the first quarter in the team's game this week in order for them to continue to mesh together. Jennings believes Ponder has the tools to be successful, but he is begging the quarterback to understand the receivers do as well.
"I've told Christian this: You have all the tools," Jennings said. "I've been around some really good quarterbacks, and he has all the tools. When you have a guy that has all the tools, but he doesn't completely trust himself, it's a maturation process, too."
The retooled receiving corps will be a big help for Ponder once the chemistry is built. In the team's first game, the breakout star was easily rookie receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. He spent time as both a kick returner and receiver. Along with 50-yard return for a touchdown, Patterson put up 54 yards on four catches. Head coach Leslie Frazier is pretty excited over the progress the rookie is showing so far into training camp.
"He made some good plays for us," Frazier said. "The opening kickoff obviously was a big one and then some of the catches he was able to make on the inside breaking routes, he's shown some ability to break a couple of tackles. So that was very encouraging and something we can definitely build on."
