Christian Ponder is on the hot seat. After throwing three interceptions in the opening game, there is no question that fans are wondering how much longer the Minnesota Vikings are going to put up with the poor play from the quarterback. For now, head coach Leslie Frazier is promising Ponder's job as the starter is completely safe.
"Christian, he made some mistakes, but he's not the only reason we didn't have success on Sunday," Frazier said, via ESPN.com. "Our team did not play well, and that affects the quarterback as well. It wasn't just Christian, it just so happens that he plays the position that's under the most scrutiny."
While many believed this was the year the quarterback took a step forward with added offensive weapons, mistakes hampered his efforts. Ponder showed little chemistry with new receiver Greg Jennings and could not escape the collapsing pocket around him. The quarterback vows to only improve as the season continues.
"Monday morning, as you head into the film room you get that bad feeling, and as you watch the game you're like, 'Oh man, that's something that was dumb that could have easily just not happened," Ponder said. "As you watch it, it's a bad taste in your mouth. But at the same time it gives you confidence because, hey, these are easily correctable."
Plenty of Ponder's teammates have come to his defense. Running back Adrian Peterson told reporters after the game that it was a team loss, not a Ponder loss. He noted that everyone needed to improve, not just the quarterback. Jennings echoed the statements by Peterson and Frazier.
"He can't win the game for us. He can't just lose the game for us. Trust me," Jennings said. "That's the tough road that he has: If we play well, Christian looks great. If we don't play well, Christian still will not look great. I've spoken to him about that. He doesn't bear the whole load, just like Adrian [Peterson] doesn't bear the whole load. We're a team of 53. We bear the load -- not one man, not one person, not one individual. It's not fair for one person to get all the stones thrown at him when there were mistakes made by 11 guys that were out there on the field."
For now, Ponder's job is safe, but that could also be because the team has little talent sitting behind him on the roster. He will likely get the season to prove himself worthy of the job, but all bets are off once the offseason comes.
