Me with Broncos OL Tony Hills (left) and RB Willis McGahee (right)

Since I live so close to Minneapolis, you know there was no question I was going to be in town when the Broncos come to town, and that was even before I knew Tim Tebow would be the starting quarterback.

The Denver Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now taking on the Vikings, who have had a really rough stretch of injuries in a tough season. I was able to score a photo with Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee and offensive lineman Tony Hills outside the Mall of America yesterday, so the weekend is already off to a great start.

As for the game, I feel like this is a game the Broncos should win, but the Vikings always play tough on their home field, so I don’t expect it to be easy. Ironically, the Broncos might be best served utilizing the passing game to beat the Vikings on Sunday. Minnesota is without their top cornerbacks Antoine Winfield and Chris Cook, as well as safeties Tyrell Johnson and Jamarca Sanford.

The Vikes will also be without star running back Adrian Peterson, and earlier in the week they placed wide receiver Michael Jenkins on injured reserve. Percy Harvin is also questionable for the game, but that doesn’t mean the Broncos aren’t without fault right now.

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Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings: More Tim Tebow Magic Sunday? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Is Christian Ponder the Savior of the Vikings franchise?

What is great about being apart of the fansided community is collaborating  with all the dedicated team bloggers. One such blogger is Dan Zinski of the Minnesota Vikings blog: The Viking age. Be sure to swing over there and check them out.

1). What draft picks do the Vikings have for next year’s draft?
Right now we’ve got a pick every round 1-6 and two sevens. Which is a lot for us cause we’re usually trading all our picks away for old washed-up players. If they win the games they should win the rest of the season they will finish 5-11 and probably be picking around #10. Which will of course tick off all the people who want them to lose on purpose for a better pick.
2). What happened to Donovan Mcnabb?
Donovan suffers from the syndrome that attacks a lot of talented players who are not especially hard workers. He’s older now and needs to work more in the gym and tape room to compensate for the erosion of his physical abilities, but he’s not willing to put in that work. He just doesn’t seem to want to face the reality that he’s not the same player he was 5 years ago and can no longer coast on physical talent alone. I think his lack of motivation caught the team off-guard. They thought he still had enough left to give them a good season and keep Christian Ponder on the bench, but then they found out what a slacker he is and knew there was no sense keeping him in there. I would be shocked if anyone gives him a chance at a starting job next season after this. He might make a decent back-up. He’ll be out of the league in two years and talking on ESPN probably.

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Minnesota Vikings Rookie Review: Christian Ponder the Savior? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Will it Last?

How many times do we see a team or a player exceed expectations in a football game and we think, there is no way that can last.  That player is either too young or not that good.  That team had an easy week or the ball just bounced that way.  Most times it does not last, but every so often those early signs are premonitions of what is to come.  In this weekly column we will look at 3 players and 3 teams who jumped out. 

Players

1. Alex Smith: Lets get one thing straight; he is not setting the world on fire and will probably still give way to Colin Kaepernick in a year or two.  That being said he is a huge reason the 49ers are 6-1.  Jim Harbaugh is an amazing coach.  He has Alex Smith managing games and being efficient.  Alex Smith is completing 63% of his passes, throwing for only 1267 yards but 11.01 yards per completion, and has thrown 9 TD’s to 2 int’s.  With these efficient numbers the question is will it last?  Yes, though mostly to the coaching staff, the dominate run game, and a dominate defense.  Alex Smith finally gets some redemption.         Will last this season.   

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Will it Last Part 5: Alex Smith seeks Redemption, while Tebow gets thrown under a bus - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

But, the Vikings got their guy, and after six games they have decided that enough was enough out of veteran Donovan McNabb, whom some have speculated has played his last game in the NFL.

Ponder is an athletic quarterback prospect who had a lot of injury problems in his days at Florida State but showed this offseason in the Senior Bowl and at the Combine that he is an accurate passer who can make plays.

The Vikings bought in then, and they are going all in right now. The future of the Minnesota Vikings will begin on Sunday with a home game against–who else–the reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

It might not be exactly the team Ponder wants to see on the other sideline for his first NFL start, but I think he will take it. That stadium is going to be revitalized after a 39-10 loss to the Chicago Bears last week on the road, and despite the poor performance I think the fans are going to be giddy to see some ray of hope when Ponder takes the field.

The Vikings’ passing offense needed some kind of boost after the first six games where they rank 31st in the NFL in passing and have more than 20 points only twice this season.

It’s going to be big for Ponder to have Adrian Peterson behind him, though after his performance against the Bears, it’s going to be key for Peterson to also step up his game, even though the Vikings are third in the NFL in rushing this season.

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It’s Christian Ponder Time in the Twin Cities, Vikings Bench McNabb - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Should Minnesota ponder a change at quarterback? (Sorry, that pun was too easy)

 

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For & Against… Donovan McNabb - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Breaking: Donovan McNabb to Minnesota For Draft Picks - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

 Being that Marc Bulger is a proven veteran in the NFL he could surely provide some sort of mentor ship with a rookie that was recently drafted. Teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and Carolina Panthers could all use Marc Bulgers services since they have rookie quarterbacks in Christian Ponder, Jake Locker, and Cam Newton. It’s a much easier transaction in the NFL when you have someone who is a veteran that you can ask questions to if you need help on certain things. Also, If any of those teams believe that their rookie quarterback can’t start right away, that they need a year to sit on the bench and learn the game from a whole different perspective, then Marc Bulger could be that guy.

  He can also provide some insurance to a team that is unsure weather or not that their starting quarterback is a full on starter. Perfect example: Miami Dolphins. The Miami Dolphins current quarterback Chad Henne had a strong outing early last season, but then struggled late into the season showing uncertainty of him being a full time starting quarterback in the NFL. I think with an addition of Marc Bulger, Chad Henne would be more pushed (In a good way) to become a starting quarterback in the NFL. If he fails at being a starting quarterback in the NFL, then they would still have a proven veteran in Marc Bulger, who could step in right away and make an impact for a team.

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Is Marc Bulger the most valuable quarterback in free agency? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Recently, the best FSU talent has been on the defensive side of the ball, but the Vikings hope Christian Ponder is the answer to their offensive problems. (Picture source theheismanwinners.com)

The Florida State Seminoles are known for their terrific defense and has some very high quality defensive players in the N.F.L. now, but they are not devoid of talent on offense in the N.F.L. How well have the Seminoles transitioned to the N.F.L.? Let’s take a look at the currently N.F.L. players that went to school at Florida State and were drafted (I haven’t been including Undrafted Free Agents in any of these yet).

Players in parenthesis are players that have been drafted this year. You can look at who we think will be the Seminoles of 2012 and Beyond here. Quarterback

(Chrisitan Ponder)

Ponder was considered a reach by many, but he was still a first round pick and has some nice characteristics that could translate well into the N.F.L. The good thing for Ponder is that he’s going into a situation where he will be surrounded by a lot of weapons to give him a good chance to succeed.

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Florida State Seminoles In the NFL Now - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

DhsFootball.Webs.com

While the Minnesota Vikings improved many areas of the team during the 2011 NFL Draft, there will be positions that still have questions with no answers. Even with the selection of Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder at No. 12 overall, many still believe the team is poised to make a run at a veteran quarterback in free agency that Ponder could learn under for a year or two. There is also room for improvement in the secondary, where both the cornerback and safety positions were hampered by injuries and inconsistent play during the 2010 season. Here is a look at the positions in which the Vikings might give extra attention to when a free agency period starts, whenever that may be.

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Free Agency Focus: Minnesota Vikings - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Is Jabaal Sheard A Good Candidate for All Rookie First Team? (Artwork done Larry McDaniel of www.withthefirstpick.com)

I’m a little bit crazy, but I’m going to predict who I think has the best chance of making the all-rookie team. We’ll see how that ends up a year from now when I look back on how well (or probably poorly I did). I’m going to go with my philosophy, which served me well in the Huddle Report Rankings where I finished 8th overall: Go big or go home. Make risky picks. The N.F.L. is great because it never turns out the way you think it will. I’ll take the easy route a few times I’m sure, but I’ll try to avoid it every time. Plus how boring would it be if I just chose the first few players drafted at each position? Extremely.

To clarify rookie projections does not mean I think these will be the best players five years down the road. I just think these players are most likely to make an impact this year.

Quarterback: Christian Ponder, Minnesota

The weapons he has surrounding him are the best of any Rookie QB I expect to start. Jake Locke has decent weapons as well, but Ponder’s are better. Ponder also is arguably more pro-ready than either Locker or Newton. Really this comes down to the fact that Ponder will start (Locker might sit behind Collins, It’s possible Palmer can come back and Dalton could sit, Blaine Gabbert probably sits this year) and that he has better weapons and is more pro ready than Cam Newton is, so that’s the pick.

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2011 NFL All Rookie Team Predictions - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football