Vikings coach Leslie Frazier made sure to leave no wiggle room when he answered a question Tuesday about quarterback Christian Ponder’s status heading into the 2013 season.
“He’s our starter,” Frazier said, via Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
Ponder missed the team’s Wild Card round loss to the Packers because of an injured elbow and had some serious struggles moving the ball through the air for much of the season, but Frazier focused on other things while discussing Ponder’s 2013 season.
“We’re pleased with the progress he’s made,” Frazier said. “We saw glimpses of what he can bring to our football team and the way he led us down the stretch, you feel like you have a chance to win every game when your quarterback plays the way he played.”
When Ponder’s at his best, like in Week 17 against the Packers, that’s definitely true. Too often, though, the Vikings appeared to be trying to work around their quarterback and basing their chances to win on Adrian Peterson and the defense. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s play calling and the receiving corps have also received criticism for the limited passing attack, leaving the Vikings with work to do to avoid putting themselves in the same position again next year.
Frazier was less firm about Joe Webb’s role. He said Webb was in a “tough situation” on Saturday, but said only that he’d compete for the backup job “barring something that we may end up doing at our personnel meetings.”