Christian Ponder will head into next season as the Vikings starting quarterback.

Head coach Leslie Frazier gives end of year presser

Head coach Leslie Frazier gave his end of year press conference on Tuesday, although it was earlier than he had hoped. He is excited about 2013 and thinks the Minnesota Vikings have a very bright future with the likes of rookies Harrison Smith, Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh all stepping up to in their respective positions.

“We were looking at continuing our season but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” said Frazier. “I’m very, very proud of our football team and what they accomplished this season. Our guys worked extremely hard, going all the way back to April 23 when they came back in the building and set a foundation for this 2012 season. Because of their work we were able to secure a playoff spot.”

End of season injury report

Injuries: Jared Allen will have surgery on a labral tear after the Pro Bowl. Chris Kluwe will have surgery on his left meniscus. Tyrone McKenzie will heal on his own. Adrian Peterson is going to be evaluated after the Pro Bowl on his core muscles. Christian Ponder will heal on his own. Antoine Winfield is healing and should make full recovery. There were other minor player injuries that should heal on their own in the offseason.

Will Joe Webb remain a member of the Vikings?

» Continue reading “End Of The Season News Bulletin”

Peterson had his seventh consecutive 100-yard game Sunday

Adrian Peterson, for his seventh consecutive 100-yard game, ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings 21-14 win over the Bears at Mall of America Field Sunday. Peterson had a hot start, running 51 yards on his first hand off. Five plays later, Peterson rushed into the end zone to give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead. The Bears next drive was halted early, when CB Josh Robinson intercepted Jay Cutler and took it 49 yards for a score. It was eventually overturned after review, ruling that Robinson had stepped out of bounds at the five yard line. Peterson eventually ran it in, giving the Vikings a 14-0 lead.

If anyone somehow still had doubts of Peterson’s abilities post-surgery, today’s game put those to rest. Peterson topped the 100-yard mark before the first quarter even ended. At halftime, Peterson had 125 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 18 carries.

“I can’t say enough about Adrian Peterson,” said head coach Leslie Frazier.  “When you know you have to play the Vikings, you have to stop Adrian Peterson. For him to come out and get 100 yards in the first quarter, it was an amazing feat by him.”

» Continue reading “An Unstoppable Peterson Rushes the Vikings to Victory”

Can Ponder’s play improve enough to help Peterson carry the Vikings to a victory against the Bears?

The Vikings game Sunday could be one of the biggest of QB Christian Ponder’s young career. Coming off a game in Green Bay in which he took full blame for the loss, Ponder will be under a microscope. This will be the second time the Packers meet this Bears (8-4) this season, with the Bears taking the first game handedly, 28-10.

Ponder’s last game at home, against the Lions, was pretty good. He threw for 221 yards with touchdowns and no interceptions. Ponder’s two games on the road since have been less than spectacular, with Ponder throwing for 278 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. The most recent game in Green Bay was one of the Vikings toughest losses this season. Adrian Peterson ran for 210 yards and the Vikings defense played well, but with a shaky passing game, the Vikings couldn’t get it done. Ponder will again look to return to his early season form at Mall of America Field this Sunday.

“There are some guys who will come in as rookie NFL quarterbacks and light it up and say two or three years later they’re not the same guy,” said head coach Leslie Frazier. “In regards to Christian, we’re still in that process where we see some things where he’s definitely gotten better from a season ago. We saw it throughout the offseason; we’ve seen it during the season. There are still some areas where we know he has to improve; he knows he has to improve.”

» Continue reading “Vikings Looking For Revenge Against Bears Sunday”

“Unhappy??” Harvin out for rest of the season with ankle injury.

The Minnesota Vikings were dealt a big blow today, putting wide receiver Percy Harvin on the season ending injured reserve list.

Harvin, who was the Vikings leading wide receiver, has missed three games since injuring his ankle in Seattle on November 4. Harvin left the game briefly in the third quarter, but returned to the field with an obvious limp. The Vikings have been very ambiguous about Harvin’s injury ever since, claiming it to be an ankle sprain. But after three weeks and Harvin only showing up to practice once, whispers of a more severe injury began to surface.

Harvin’s departure comes at an inopportune time, with the Vikings sliding to a 6-6 record. Harvin, whose name was amongst the few thrown around for Most Valuable Player, finished the season with 677 yards on 62 receptions and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 96 yards on 22 attempts had one touchdown and one kickoff return for a touchdown.

In Leslie Frazier’s presser this morning, he didn’t mention the move to the IR, but hinted toward the move stating there was little change in his condition from last week. The very versatile wide receiver led the league in total rushing, returning and receiving yards.

Harvin will end his season with four games left in the final year of his rookie contract. He has yet to sign an extension with the Vikings.

Are you pondering for a new Vikings QB? If yes, CALM DOWN!

Take a deep breath, everyone. Step away from the edge. It’s going to be okay.

After Sunday’s (mostly) terrible loss to NFC North rival Green Bay 23-14 on their turf, Minnesota Vikings fans are looking for someone to blame. And all those fingers are pointing at Christian Ponder.

Ponder, who admittedly had a less-than-stellar game, went 12 of 25 for 119 yards and two interceptions. These two interceptions were each at crucial points in the game, when the Vikings were driving.

“This one definitely hurts. With what‘s at stake in the season this game was important,” said Ponder. “For what this games means to the team, the state, with how Adrian [Peterson] played, it’s disappointing to go out and throw two interceptions.”

Running back Adrian Peterson had an incredible game, running for 210 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown run – the longest of his career. Ponder pessimists are pushing for an immediate benching of the second-year quarterback. But Vikings fans need to take a step back for a moment and look at the big picture.

Keeping in mind we’ve got four games left in the 2012 season, Ponder has 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 2,305 yards and averages 6.0 yards per completion. Looking for comparison? Drew Brees in his second year at the San Diego Chargers helm had 11 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 2,108 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per completion.

» Continue reading “Pondering a New Quarterback? You Aren’t the Only One..”

YO ADRIAN!

The Vikings jumped out to an early 3-0 lead following Chicago first possession of the game, a Matt Forte fumble, but that would be the last time the Vikings would lead Sunday. Adrian Peterson’s lost fumble and Christian Ponder’s interception in the second quarter both led to Bears touchdowns and the Bears were off to a handed win.

“Very disappointing game,” said head coach Leslie Frazier. “We didn’t execute the way we need to on the road against a good football team. We wanted to be better in the red zone on offense and defense and we did not get that done.”

The third quarter showed a glimmer of home for the Vikings, when Antoine Winfield intercepted one of Jay Cutler’s passes and the Vikings ended up scoring on that drive on a Ponder to Kyle Rudolph two-yard pass. On the Bears next possession, Mistral Raymond picked up what looked like a second Forte fumble and ran it back 52 yards for a touchdown, but upon review the touchdown was called back and the Bears went ahead and kicked a field goal.

“Any time you have opportunities to score touchdowns in the red area on the road, you’ve got to find a way to get it done,” said Frazier.

Vikings standouts for the day were Peterson, who ran for his fifth 100-yard game in a row with 108 yards on 18 carries. Rookie WR Jarius Wright, who has stepped in since the loss of Percy Harvin, also had 7 catches for 49 yards

“[This was] not the kind of performance you need when you’re on the road in a division game,” said Frazier. “We’ve got to go back and look at film and look at what we can do to improve.”

Vikings look towards Ponder to jump start their offense

The Minnesota Vikings will need to get their offense going Sunday if they think to have a shot against the Detroit Lions.

Christian Ponder, who has been less than successful the last few games, is in dire need of getting this 5-4 Vikings team off the ground. The second-year quarterback has played 19 games in his NFL career and has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

“We’ve seen what the passing game can do in the early season. We just have to get back to that. We’re good at throwing the ball. We’ve got good receivers. We have good blocking up front,” said Ponder. “I just have to keep doing a better job of getting the ball in their hands. This team isn’t one-dimensional. This offense isn’t one-dimensional.”

Ponder has been fighting a right knee injury the last couple weeks. Last Sunday against the Seahawks, Ponder was slow to get up on a few plays, so much so that backup QB Joe Webb was alerted to get loose ‘just in case.’ » Continue reading “Ponder, Offense Need To Get Off The Ground To Win Sunday”

Adrian Peterson will need more help if the Vikings want to stay above .500 in the weeks to come

Despite a phenomenal game by Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings fell to the Seattle Seahawks 30-20 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Peterson, who was in prime form Sunday, ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns. But his MVP-type day wasn’t enough to get a Vikings victory. Peterson was lights out from the beginning of the game, including a 74-yard run on the second carry of the game. Peterson averaged 10.7 yards per carry and had runs of 15, 16, 24, 28 and 74 yards throughout the game. Peterson’s 74-yard run was topped off with his first touchdown run from the one yard line, giving the Vikings an early 7-0 lead.

“Really pleased with the production of Adrian [Peterson] and the offensive line, opening up holes, along with our tight ends, did a great job of blocking,” said head coach Leslie Frazier. “That was a good run defense that we faced Sunday and to see Adrian have the type of day that he had, very, very impressive.” » Continue reading “Peterson’s Feet Can’t Carry Vikings to Victory”

Just look at those uniforms, there is no way the Bucs should beat the Vikings looking like that!

The Vikings hope to continue their winning ways at Mall of America Field in a Thursday Night Football match up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings (5-2) are undefeated at home, something they plan to continue on this short rest week. The Buccaneers’ (2-4) record may be under .500, but their quarterback Josh Freeman is coming off a game where he threw for 420 yards in a loss to the Saints.

The Vikings and Buccaneers will have just four days to prepare for Thursday’s game. Both teams are coming off a Sunday game that was decided by seven points. However, the Vikings do have an advantage that the game will be played in Minnesota.

The Vikings are hoping to see a bounce back performance from QB Christian Ponder, who threw for 58 yards in Sunday’s win against the Cardinals. Ponder has shown that he is able to come back from poor performances, making critical passes in games where he’s thrown interceptions or the team is behind. » Continue reading “Vikings Look To Keep Wins Rolling on Short Rest”

Vikings ground attack led them to a 21-14 victory over the Cards

Vikings won, despite less than spectacular performance by quarterback Christian Ponder.

Sunday’s game was certainly the ugliest of their 5-2 season. But despite a dismal game from Ponder, the Vikings, with the help of Adrian Peterson’s legs, ran their way to a 21-14 victory at Mall of America Field. Ponder ended the game with just 58 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“To win an ugly game like this is huge,” said Ponder. “That shows how good of a team we are.”

Peterson was the star of the game, running for a season-high 153 yards and notching his first touchdown since week one. With a quiet day from wide receiver Jerome Simpson and tight end Kyle Rudolph, the Vikings needed Peterson’s feet to get them in the win column Sunday.

“There’s still a little missing. You guys probably think I’m crazy, but it is,” said Peterson. “I feel good. I’m not going to complain. I’m just going to keep working and just keep getting better each week.” » Continue reading “Vikings Pick Up Ugly Win Against Cardinals”