Matt Cassel is starting at quarterback for the Vikings on Sunday, a move that wasn’t unexpected with Christian Ponder battling a fractured rib.
It’s also a move that the team’s wide receivers are greeting with compliments for the way Cassel leads the offense. Jerome Simpson said, via Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, that the team still loves Ponder, but noted that Cassel had “great composure” and that you “can just tell he has that leader in him.”
Greg Jennings shrugged off concerns about a lack of reps with Cassel and said that this week’s starter was “more verbal” than Ponder and “kind of commanding in the huddle.”
“If anything that’s the difference,” Jennings said, via Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press. “That comes with him having much more experience. He’s been in position where he’s had to be a starter for years now. He knows what’s going on. He’s commanding. So is Christian. But as far as throwing the ball it is what it is. Matt’s a very smart guy.”
Given the issues on the offensive line and a frequent lack of creativity in the play calling, it’s hard to know how much a commanding voice will change things for the Vikings. Should they win on Sunday, however, Cassel’s going to have a good chance to continue proving that his presence in the huddle was just what the doctor ordered.