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Well then.....I guess we needed a QB.

Like the player, not the spot.
I would have rathered Nick Fairley, as I beleived Ponder would have been there at #43.

So who yall peak at 43?

I would have picked Fairly, but I don't think Ponder would have been there at #43. At the spot he was picked, Ponder better be a franchise QB.

just to be safe i think we should take another QB at 43

Our QB depth chart looked like this before the draft:
1. Joe Webb
2. Rhett Bomar

We needed a QB no matter what in this draft and there was no guarantee that one would be available with our second pick. Also, with not having a free agency probably hurt us. The number of QB's taken in the first 10 picks and the teams drafting behind who also needed a QB probably scared us a little bit as well. (Redskins (2), Seahawks, Cardinals)

Definitely a reach but in my opinion we didn't really have that many options. Sounds like we attempted to trade down into Dallas' spot which didn't work. Hopefully Bill Musgrave can mold this kid quick like he did with Matt Ryan in ATL. Our OL is crucial to this kids success and thats still a huge question mark.

What do you guys think of Dilfer's evaluation of Ponder? It makes some sense. But, I don't know if Trent is overplaying his take.

106. Minnesota - Christian Ballard (DL) Iowa

I like this pick, slipped a little and likely BPA

I'm hopeing we consolidate some of the other picks to move up.

I want Henry (K) from Nebraska too.

Dan's with the Wolves wrote:What do you guys think of Dilfer's evaluation of Ponder? It makes some sense. But, I don't know if Trent is overplaying his take.

I didn't hear what he said, but I usually take everything Dilfer says with a grain of salt.

The Duke wrote:106. Minnesota - Christian Ballard (DL) Iowa

I like this pick, slipped a little and likely BPA

Agreed, hes a great value pick in the 4th round and should fit nicely next to Kevin Williams. SI had him projected going in the 1st-2nd round. I'm going to ask my buddy about him a little more about him who's a season ticket holder.

Ponder's broad

^^DANG!!!!!!!

and i also like Ballard a lot, good player i watched him a lot at iowa where i think he was over shadowed some by clayborn

I support Ponder tho Nick fairely was BPA and filled a need as well.
I can understand Vikes taking Ponder. But he was not #1 on their draft board.
Gabbert and possibily Locker were ahead of him.
The were going to trade up to Dallas position to get Gabbert there but a 1st & 2nd rounder were too much to get "their real" guy.

I understand we didn't want to give up more picks, but when it comes to finding a franchise QB we probably shouldn't have cheaped out.

I agree if they valued one of the other QBs much higher then Ponder, then I wouldnt let a 2nd rounder stand in my way of getting that player.

Now maybe they didnt see much difference between Ponder and the other 2 QBs to justify giving up a 2nd rounder.

Interesting interview with coach Jimbo Fisher on PA today about Ponder
http://www.kfan.com/cc-common/mediaplay ... -AM&TRACK=

- Has not played with an offensive player who has been drafted in his 4 years at FSU.
- FSU number 1 in the NCAA on third down conversion, top 10 in red zone.
- Can turn his back to the line of scrimmage during play action. Sounds like its not a common skill QBs have coming out of college.
- His elbow injury was cosmetic bursa sack on his elbow between the muscle and skin. He had 300-500cc's of fluid drained after every game. The elbow pad needed to be cut off after every game. Completely healed, no permanent damage. It did effect his deep throw as it swelled during the game. We will be pleasantly surprised with his arm strength.

I'm sure he probably talked him up to a certain extent but still it makes me feel better about the pick and can't wait to see what he can do.

As with many people it seems, I don't mind the player, just the place they took him. I'm also concerned that the Vikings didn't improve the O-line a lot more. If they're going to throw a rookie QB out there, they better protect him.

Esohny wrote:As with many people it seems, I don't mind the player, just the place they took him. I'm also concerned that the Vikings didn't improve the O-line a lot more. If they're going to throw a rookie QB out there, they better protect him.

If you compare it to some of the "draft guru" boards then yes it looks like a reach. The way I see it is that unless we were in all 32 draft war rooms and saw what each board looked like its not really fair to say its a reach. A surprise? Yeah, maybe.

I agree with you 100% the O-line part. Musgrave said today on the PA show that they are going to be incorporating some new things to work some of those pass protection problems out. Obviously not a for sure thing that it will work but he said that was one of the 1st things he and Leslie Frazier talked about. I hope to see some two TE sets to help on the edges.

I dont think Ponder was a reach.. You had the Redskins and Dolphins lined up to possibly take him and now we know that the Bills were wanting to trade back into the 1st round to get him. The Vikings were not going to get him at any other pick but the 12th. They did what they had to do and I think it will pay off.

In my mind I viewed him as the best all-round QB in the draft.

I hope Ponder does well, no doubt.
I just would have rathered they trade up for their #1 QB (which was not Ponder), than sit at 12 at take the leftovers.

For all we know Ponder may have been rated #4 on the Vikings QB Board.

I don't care much about whether we reached. If we got a franchise QB, he's easily worth the 12th overall pick. If he's not, then he'd still have been a wasted pick in the 2nd round.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "franchise QB." If you mean a player in the Brady/Manning (or heck, say Rodgers), I don't know if that's realistic to expect at any spot in the draft. But there's a wide range between those guys and perfectly solid guys like Flacco or Cassel or Josh Freeman, which you could probably get a bit later in the draft.

I certainly hope that Ponder shows us something.