Jaws Talks Ponder

Over on espn.com, Ron Jaworski is breaking down the NFL's best QB's. Jaws is usually pretty good at breaking down the position and is releasing one name a day so I was intrigued when I saw he was doing this. Luckily, when I found out about this analysis, Jaws was done breaking down my favorite NFL QB.

That QB is former FSU standout Christian Ponder. The current Minnesota Viking went to my church when I was in Tallahassee. He is a great football player and a great guy. However, you don't want to hear my analysis you want the analysis of Jaws.

The full article is here. I will break down some key points to the breakdown in this post. Ponder checked in @ #28 on Jaw's countdown. Really, 28 QBs better than Christian Ponder? I understand not putting him in the upper half because he is a rookie, but 28 guys better? That would mean that Ponder is only better than 4 starters. I can name 10 teams that don't have a better QB than Ponder.

Washington
Dallas
Tampa Bay
San Francisco
Arizona
Seattle
New York Jets
Miami
Buffalo
Tennessee
Jacksonville
Indy
Cleveland

That is just the teams that have QBs that are currently worse than Ponder. We aren't even talking about potential of Ponder as a starter. That is 13 teams. So by that standard Ponder should be no lower than 19th on the countdown. 19 is 9 spots higher than he is currently. I understand Alex Smith and Tony Romo being ranked higher out of those teams, but that is it. Personally, I think both teams would be far better without those two, but I understand why some people like them. Other than that, how do you not have Ponder higher? Heck, I'll give you  Flynn and Sanchez. Giving you those 4 QBs though, Ponder should still be nowhere below 23rd.

Anyways, back to Jaws analysis. Here are some quotes from Jaworski...
"Ponder has many of the attributes I look for when I evaluate quarterbacks. I saw pocket movement, the ability to move within the pocket, maintain downfield focus and deliver the football with accuracy. I also saw the added dimension of getting outside the pocket in response to pressure with the speed to create an explosive gain. And how about this for a rookie quarterback: Ponder’s rating was 114, the NFL’s best inside the 20. His movement was also a big factor, as was his willingness to make stick throws into those small windows, a necessity in the tight red zone area. …

As he begins his second season, Ponder needs work as a progression reader. He had a tendency to predetermine some throws, and, in addition, there were too many times he did not recognize the coverage."

It will sure be interesting to see if Ponder can prove some of the haters wrong. Jaws seems to think the right things in regards to Ponder, but he missed the mark some as well. Even Jaws admits that Ponder had the highest QB rating of anyone inside the 20. Additionally, Ponder had a horrible o-line last year. The guy can play. This year he will prove Jaws sold him short.

-Noland