National Football League

With QB Cassel out, it's 'Teddy's show' and Ponder is backup

Published Sep. 23, 2014 11:30 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Christian Ponder approached his new teammate and the man appointed to take his job as the Minnesota Vikings franchise quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, during the first preseason game.

Ponder asked the 21-year-old rookie if he was nervous as Bridgewater prepared to get his first exposure in an NFL game. The perpetually calm Bridgewater denied feeling any nervousness.

Ponder didn't believe him, at least at first.

"I thought, you know, he's just a liar," Ponder recalled Monday. "But the guy doesn't get nervous. The guy has a ton of poise and played extremely well. I expect that to continue the next game and so on."

The ante has been upped for Bridgewater -- and Ponder, to an extent -- after starting quarterback Matt Cassel suffered a broken foot in Sunday's game at New Orleans. Coach Mike Zimmer said Cassel would see a specialist on Thursday and wouldn't speculate on a timeframe for the quarterback's return.

Cassel's injury led to Bridgewater's first regular-season action on Sunday. The Vikings saw just what Ponder noticed in August -- the poise and composure -- and have confidence in Bridgewater's ability to lead the offense.

"Full confidence," center John Sullivan said. "We should win every single game we play with him at quarterback."

Bridgewater's time as Minnesota's starter came earlier than expected because of Cassel's injury, but it's the position for which he was being groomed. Ponder, who formerly held the spot, will back up Bridgewater and said he remains confident despite having dropped to the third string behind Cassel and Bridgewater this year.

"My confidence is good," Ponder said. "I felt like I've been able to focus on myself these past few weeks, and my technique and working on my fundamentals and things. And also focus on the offense without having the pressure to perform. My confidence is up there.

"I'm prepared if something happens and I'll be excited about the opportunity. But it's Teddy's show right now."

Bridgewater was 12 of 20 for 150 yards in Sunday's 20-9 loss after replacing Cassel early in the second quarter. Most importantly, Bridgewater didn't seem overwhelmed by the situation of being thrust into a loud environment in the Superdome, facing Rob Ryan's defense and a 13-3 deficit.

"I think he's a pretty composed individual anyway," Zimmer said. "He always has been around here. Nothing really flusters him. He's always been great in blitz period, two-minute period, all the pressure situations we have him in."

Zimmer added: "The kid has all the talent in the world. He's smart. He's tough. He's a quick thinker. He makes quick decisions. He's quick with his feet, quick with his drops. So, I'm excited about watching him, especially here at home in front of our fans."

Bridgewater figures to get his first NFL start on Sunday when Minnesota hosts the Atlanta Falcons, who have allowed 262.7 passing yards per game this season, the eighth-highest total in the NFL.

Bridgewater completed his first three passes on Sunday and ran for nine yards on a designed quarterback run on third-and-7, helping the Vikings get into position for a field goal. Bridgewater led two field-goal drives, but Minnesota was held out of the end zone in Sunday's loss.

"He's always been very poised," Sullivan said. "Greg Jennings and I had a conversation about that during training camp. Obviously it's a difficult circumstance. It's never fun coming in as a backup because you don't know specifically that you're going to go in the game. But he came in, handled it well, led us on some long drives. Unfortunately we didn't finish in the red zone, didn't score enough touchdowns to win that game."

Ponder said the offense won't change with Bridgewater at the helm, and offensive coordinator Norv Turner called the game the same way with Bridgewater. Zimmer said there's no reason to have limitations on Bridgewater, and Bridgewater might even be able to offer more, such as increased running ability.

"I don't think Teddy cannot do anything that Matt did," Zimmer said. "I think Teddy can do a few more things than Matt could do at some time. So, obviously, we're going to change some because of who's taking the snaps. What we're going to try to do is what he's doing better and things that he can do better."

Meanwhile, Ponder is closer to seeing the field again for the Vikings and he knows he's one play from being back in the role he held most of the past three seasons.

"I think the one thing that kept me in it was just how much I was learning," Ponder said of dealing with the situation of being the third-string quarterback. "To learn from (quarterbacks coach Scott Turner) and Norv about offenses, about defenses and just learning this offense, I felt like it was really helping me and helping me progress as a quarterback. There was a lot of positives going through this experience."

Ponder said he's had limited reps lately, mostly resigned to working the scout team. He doesn't feel that recalling Minnesota's offense will be any challenge.

"It won't be hard," Ponder said. "I stayed in it, took mental reps, sat there with Teddy when Matt was going through practice and tried calling the plays, and just watching visually and tried to take mental reps. It won't be that difficult to recall."

Ponder will prepare, but for now, its Bridgewater's time.

"The guy was playing well and he knows what he's doing," Ponder said. "He's a confident guy. He did well and we expect him to do well for the rest of the year or however he's going to play. I'm there to help him out."

Follow Brian Hall on Twitter

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League