Report: Vikings considering Josh Freeman to start this week

AP

It’s been just a week since the Minnesota Vikings officially signed quarterback Josh Freeman following his release by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now he’s getting that much closer to starting for his new team.

According to Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, the Vikings are pushing Freeman and are considering starting him this Monday night against the New York Giants. Glazer says the Vikings’ plan was to have Freeman learn the offense for two weeks before getting him involved in games.

That plan has obviously changed after the Vikings were blown out at home by the Carolina Panthers last week with Matt Cassel at the helm.

Frazier said Monday he wasn’t sure Freeman would be ready to play by this weekend. The Vikings apparently are going to try everything they can to see if they can get him to that point.

92 responses to “Report: Vikings considering Josh Freeman to start this week

  1. Just do it. Everyone knows what both ponder and cassel bring to the table. Unless you plan on tanking the season you have nothing to lose.

  2. Another QB… that’s not what the doctor ordered.
    the defense needs an overhaul and the O-line needs to work together and the coaches could use a swift kick in the arse.
    A new QB is not gonna save Leslie Fraziers job! he will be fired towards the end of this season.

  3. May as well. The kid has shown talent and certainly is in the position to prove himself to his new team as well as stick it to his former coach.

  4. Freeman will start. Hate to say it but its a lost season for the Vikes. The only thing making me feel better is that the Packers suck too. Cassel has more TDs in 2 games than Rodgers does in his last 3. Pack and Vikes might have the two worst defenses in the NFC. Spit all the stats you want, they are both awful.

  5. Not going to give this kid a free pass, but lets see what he can do. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Freeman’s productivity began to decline when Schiano (probably one of the worst NFL coaches in the entire history of the league) took over the Bucs.

  6. I just want to know if he is a potential franchise guy. If so, then we can quit for Clowney instead of tanking for Teddy 🙂 I kid, of course…

  7. They’re setting him up to fail it seems. With the little time he’s been there I don’t think he’s been able to settle in and learn the playbook all that well. Frazier’s probably trying anything he can to save his job at this point in the season. Atleast if there were an opponent that wouldn’t make the Vikings offense look that bad with Freeman at QB, it’d be the Giants and their pourous defense.

  8. I know I’m going to get a lot of thumbs down but I gotta say it. Cassel had a good game against a crappy team because he was only pressured 11% of the time. And he had two INTs dropped.

    Ponder sucks too, but to believe Cassel was better than Ponder was foolish. Ponder was pressured almost 3x as much, sacked 6 times in a single game (and avoided 3 with his athleticism), has only started 25ish games while Cassel has started 75ish, and Ponder played against a ball-hawk Bears, a browns team that has been nearly perfect since the Vikings meeting, and a tough lions front 4 that crippled even AP. Cassel got an AP loaded up on some Felton and still played just well against the steelers. He averaged 4.2 ypa against the panthers for the first 58 minutes and had an 0-2 TD-INT ratio and his passes were way off. 3 of Ponders INts were good passes batted into a defenders hands by Simpson. And Cassels 70yd TD pass to Jennings looked exactly like something Pinder threw weeks prior but Jennings never broke those. Nothing to do with Cassel.

    It’s surprising to me how a coach, analysts, and even a GM can’t recognize this stuff. I like Freeman but Ponder should stay as his backup for at least a year longer. He had to work with Jenkins as his #1 last year and dealt with bad Oline play this year. He never got a chance to develop. Even luck had Wayne, luck had Garçon, and Wilson had many weapons. Let the kid train in the shadows for a bit please.

  9. As a Vikings fan, this will be no different than any other game. If Freeman works out, so be it. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. I just don’t want Ponder anymore. Not do I want Leslie Frazier. Bill Musgrave can follow him. Why stop there? Josh Robinson, Chris Cook & John Carlson can go too.

  10. So Frazier, out of shear desperation, who knows the only hope he has of keeping the only HC job he’ll ever have is beating the Packers next Sunday is willing to throw the Giants game to get Freeman ready.

  11. The team is in so much disaray that it won’t make much difference. The defense is last in the league and the team is showing no signs of righting the ship.

    The only purpose is to see if Josh can be their franchise quarterback moving foward.

  12. I think he’ll be ready to start this week. Seriously, how long can it really take to learn Musgrave’s crappy, tiny playbook? Did you guys see that thing last week? It looked like a 5×8 photo.

    Hopefully Josh can put up 40 points per week. He’s gonna need to since the defense is allowing at least 30 points every week.

    P.S. Fire Musgrave and Williams

  13. This might be a good idea if QB was the [only] problem.

    Last time Ponder played Vikings were 5th in the league in scoring.

    But that’s right this team is messed up because of Ponder.

    How come they’re not starting four new DB’s?

    Zygi, want to fill your Stadium . . . NEW COACHES!!

  14. You knew they weren’t picking him up to sit behind Ponder. I’d be worried about putting him out there unprepared but it sounds like they really want to move on from Ponder and Cassel.

  15. frazier better get his act together ponder isnt the problem. 1st game loss is on ponder 2nd game special teams gives up 249 yards in special teams 3rd game defense losses 2nd 4 qtr lead… mean while in every game ponder put up 27 + points. give ponder one more shot let him decide what happens with this team

  16. Again, us Vikings fans could run the Musgrave “offense”.

    Run, run, pass (incomplete), punt.

    Repeat…….

    You can’t tell me that he can’t learn 40-50 plays over a week and half?

    The Giants defense is just as bad, maybe worse, than the Vikings……perfect time to start Freeman, possibly get a win, then play the Sunday Night Game (hopefully minus the “opinion” of Costas for a week) against Green Bay.

  17. I had hoped the Browns would pick him up and give him a shot…I hope they made the right choice…looks like we will find out sooner than anyone thought…everyone down here in Florida says he’s no good I think he could be a great QB under the right circumstances…..We’ll see

  18. This move reeks of desperation. How can a QB that’s been with a team less than 2 weeks be better than the 2 other options that have been thru the OTA’s and training camp? How many plays does he know, will the offense have to be limited to a few basic calls, and can he even check into an audible? This is like throwing in the towel. The Giants love this move, they will finally get their first win.

    Either the 2 other options should have never been signed (or drafted at #12 overall) or the GM should be fired.

  19. I think because of the Ponder situation, everyone is looking over the fact that the Vikings Defense has been a major part in the Viking 1 and 4 start.

    Probably best to wait On Freeman until he learns the basics of the system.

  20. Our offense only has about 6 plays, so I’m not sure why our coaches expect it to take him 2 weeks to get prepared. Of course, these are the same coaches who trot Josh Robinson out on the field every Sunday. I think the burn ward in the hospital should be renamed in honor of him

  21. I’m just scared Freeman may put together a couple wins and save this coaching staff from getting canned like Brett Favre did for Childress in 2009 and prolonged the major issue.

  22. thats all well and fine but what is coach Fraiser gonna do with one of the worst secondary’s in the NFL??

  23. He’s not perfect, but he’s the most talented QB on the team. Might as well start him and see what we have.

    Avoiding drafting a QB next year would allow the Vikes lots of options: DB, DE, NT, G. Get the defense and interior o-line right and this could be a good team.

  24. There are a lot of things that need to be changed in MN besides the QB. You could almost plug any QB from the NFL onto that team and they would not succeed . The coaching staff needs to go at the end of the year . Trade Allen and Williams now and get draft picks . They are wasting AP in his prime and it is a shame. Frazier Im sure is a nice guy but he and his staff have to be the worst in Vikes history ( Steckle included) every true Vikes fan thought 8-8 this year at best but they wont even come close the way they look.

  25. It won’t matter who the starter is as long as Bill Musgrave is calling the plays. This offense has talent, but it isn’t being utilized outside of AP, who by the way, only carried the ball ten times last week.

    More passes have been thrown to the second string tight end John Carlson than to Cordarelle Patterson. I’d love to hear an explanation as to why that is.

    Things will get better when the coaching staff learns how to maximize its talent. Matt Cassel didn’t play all that well on Sunday, but he also got creamed several times by a Panther blitz for which Musgrave had no answer.

    I wish Freeman luck; he’s going to need a lot of it.

  26. The team as a whole better do a 180 and play for their jobs as should the coaching staff, a change is needed way too vanilla

  27. Well, if he can put up 35+ points that might give the Vikings a chance to win. A change in QB position does no good if the defense is going to give up points every time it is on the field.

  28. The Giants, according to Tuck, do not prepare for the back up QB so Freeman will torch the Giants. If Freeman wanted to revive his career in a big way, this putrid Giants defense is the team to do it against. Fewell and co. will make Freeman look like a superstar.

    The front four get absolutely zero pressure on the QB so Freeman might not even have to launder his uniform after the game. Smh.

  29. allday28mvpmvp says:Oct 16, 2013 1:39 AM

    The only thing making me feel better is that the Packers suck too. Cassel has more TDs in 2 games than Rodgers does in his last 3. Pack and Vikes might have the two worst defenses in the NFC. Spit all the stats you want, they are both awful.
    ========================

    HAHAHA! Is this one of those things that if you keep telling yourself that over and over you convince yourself that it’s true? I mean, the Packers apparently suck so bad that most neutral observers rank them in the top ten in power rankings…. so yeah, they must really suck.

    Only the purple kool-aid drinkers would believe that.

  30. filthymcnasty1 says:

    2013 is shaping up as one of my all time favorite Viking seasons.
    ______________________________

    I had the pleasure of watching the Packers go from the late 60’s to the early 90’s without scoring a single touchdown in the playoffs of a full regulation season and 17 of those seasons the Packer didn’t even have a winning record.

    That is an exercise in futility that has yet to be duplicated by any other team in the NFL.

    And you’re all hot and bothered about a 1 – 4 start for the Vikings….

    No wonder you’re such a loser.

  31. It couldn’t be that hard to learn Muscrave’s index cars size offensive play calls, it’s either a tight end out, slants, predictable deep post on 3rd and long into the teeth of the safeties, or turn around and hand it to 28.

  32. @gtodriver You are a Vikings fan and claim the Packers showed futility? No wonder you aren’t concerned about a 1-4 record when your team is 0-4 in the only game that counts.

    “No wonder you’re such a loser.”

  33. I’ve seen quite a few comments on either:

    1. Giving Freeman time to learn the offense
    2. Simplifying the offense so Freeman can pick it up quickly

    To that I say – this offense is the same offense you see in Pop Warner. Maybe even less complex. Have you seen Musgrave’s playcard? It’s 5×8 at best and probably 1/8th the size of the average play chart. If Freeman hasn’t learned this offense yet, it’s been a waste of $3 million.

  34. Might as well start him. Sheesh, what’s the worst that could happen? We lose? lol.. big deal, we have already lost 4, might as well make it 5!

    I wonder at what point they will have one of those “players only” meetings…. To really get everyone inspired, and corrected on what’s going on. Only to come out of there with their offseason vacation schedules all ironed out..

    Frazier might be a good guy, but his whole coaching staff needs to go. You can’t have guys like greenway, Williams, smith, allen, Robison on defense and be as bad as what they are! Something stinks! They couldn’t even stop the Golden Gophers offense!

    Ponder has a noodle arm. He can’t throw a forward pass with velocity. But I will give him credit… They were averaging 30 ppg with him in.. He wasn’t the issue. Offensive line, and the 11 guys on defense need help! Ponder was serviceable, and he could have been a winner, but the defense stunk, stinks, and will continue to stink. and the o-line… well they are offensive!

  35. Vikings fans are by far my favorite. Never won a single thing, yet act as though their team has won 20 consecutive Super Bowls. I guess it would be hard to act with class when you have none.

  36. They really should just tank it. Let Freeman go via free agency since I don’t see the season changing very much with him behind center and take Manziel with the second overall pick.

  37. What have they got to lose by playing him right away? They must begin some sort of preparations for the first of their two annual “SuperBowls” coming up on the 27th.

  38. In preparing for his glorious Viking debut, Freeman has the hapless part down pat. But he’ll need to be consistently more tasteless if he’s going to meet the incredibly high standards of the incompetent Vikings.

    MN is so bad that the winless Giants feel sorry for them.

  39. allday28mvpmvp says:
    Oct 16, 2013 1:39 AM
    Freeman will start. Hate to say it but its a lost season for the Vikes. The only thing making me feel better is that the Packers suck too. Cassel has more TDs in 2 games than Rodgers does in his last 3. Pack and Vikes might have the two worst defenses in the NFC. Spit all the stats you want, they are both awful.

    —–

    It’s so cute when these kids try to make fun of a team that is obviously leaps and bounds better than their team could ever hope to be. They’ll say asinine things like “spit all the stats you want” to marginalized facts and bolster their uneducated opinions.

    Unfortunately for this joker, the Packers look poised to run the table. A defense that is improving every week, a running game that is closing out games and is in the top 5 in the NFL, and a team that gets to play the Vikings twice yet (in essence, two more bye weeks!). Can you imagine what Eddie Lacy will do to your pathetic squad after hanging 120 on a top run defense?

    I can imagine that it’s difficult to see your paper championship crash down around you, and it’s even worse because we told you so, but imagine how hard it is for us to be right all the time! It is a great burden, but we, the greatest fans on the planet, will continue to shoulder the responsibility with dignity and grace.

  40. Yeah 28mvp our defense sucks by having the #2 rush defense in the NFL. Not to mention the stat that matters most is points allowed the Pack is 14th and the mighty purple is second to last at a whopping 31pts a game only being eclipsed by Jacksonville. Yet in your delusional world they are the same.

    Do you want to talk offense and the Packs #2 ranking in yds per rush and #5 ranking in yds per game? How about #4 in pts scored or #2 in yds a game. Your only hope area ( rushing) has the vikes at like 19th? Thats right you have another new savior in Freeman, i will be curious to see how he helps plug that sieve defense.

    Almost time to bail on your team like most viking (bandwagon) fans have done when the Pack embarrasses you for the 8th time in 9 games.

  41. One of the things I find most gratifying about posting here at PFT is how so many of these Viking fans now consider me an inspiration and mentor. I take my responsibility as their “life coach” very seriously.

    Is it difficult? Absolutely. At times it feels like I’m tinkering with the evolutionary scale itself. But helping these sub human Viking fans evolve into nearly human Viking detractors is all the reward a man could ever want.

    As I read all these comments from Viking fans tearing into Viking management, and mocking their players on field ineptitude, I know how Gandhi, Mandela and other famous world leaders must have felt as their disciples began to understand.

    So nice…….

  42. LOL at Vikes fans who think Freeman will be anything other than what he’s proven he is in his years in the NFL – a talented, lazy, inconsistent interception machine who shows flashes of brilliance followed by disasters. Over and over and over and over.

  43. @gbmickey

    It’s not worth your time using logic with Vikings fans. You tell them about wins, they say stats are the only things that matter. You show them stats, they dismiss them.

    Misery loves company. Their franchise (not just team) is a mess. They keep trying (and failing) to argue that the Packers are down there with them.

    All you need to say is “0-4” to show the futility that is the Minnesota Viking franchise.

  44. Sure Freeman has mastered Musgrave’s 5 plays, but has he mastered Minnesota culture yet? Let’s do a test….

    Q: Josh, what is Minnesota like?

    Josh: Cultured, sophisticated and elite. ( orders unseasoned, well done steak with ketchup at Applebee’s in monotone voice)

    Q: How is Wisconsin?

    Josh: I hate it. All of the people there are fat, ugly and have no jobs. (Has never been there. In fact, he has never left the western suburbs except the yearly trip to sunny Brainerd.)

    Q: Are you making friends here? I saw you talking to your neighbor about the weather while smiling and nodding.

    Josh: I hate him, but I am deathly afraid of confrontation or eye contact.

    Q: How are the Vikings going to do this year?

    Josh: This is our year! Skol! Super Bowl? We are diehards! Packers are on the decline! (fails miserably and stops caring at Week 5.)

    Yep, he sounds ready!

  45. So glad to hear , I wish only the best for you , those of us that followed your work ethic & leadership skills , never lost faith . What’s important is respect amongst your piers & I know you have that .
    At the game Sunday , Freeman jerseys abound 😊best wishes , sincerely Karen Hartman
    ( Luvbucs28) – 4

  46. Never thought I’d see the defense of the Vikings look this bad. Even though they haven’t had a secondary in the last thirty years, they’ve played respectable defense. What’s out there now isn’t a defense at all. It offensive.
    Frazier has lost this team, or at the very least, Williams, the DC has. Not too sure that Musgrave has much of their ear either.

  47. gbmickey says: Oct 16, 2013 9:50 AM

    Yeah 28mvp our defense sucks by having the #2 rush defense in the NFL. Not to mention the stat that matters most is points allowed the Pack is 14th and the mighty purple is second to last at a whopping 31pts a game only being eclipsed by Jacksonville. Yet in your delusional world they are the same.

    Do you want to talk offense and the Packs #2 ranking in yds per rush and #5 ranking in yds per game? How about #4 in pts scored or #2 in yds a game. Your only hope area ( rushing) has the vikes at like 19th? Thats right you have another new savior in Freeman, i will be curious to see how he helps plug that sieve defense.

    —–

    HAHAHA I said spit all the stats you want and that’s exactly what you did. Look, I saw GBs defense every week. I don’t care were they are ranked after 5 games. They looked absolutely FUTILE against Andy Dalton, blowing a 30 pt lead. San Fran, who is half the team they were last year, destroyed that defense. It doesn’t matter where the Pack are “ranked” by the talking heads on ESPN. After week 5 it literally means nothing. My hope for the season is that Freeman shows some promise and the Vikes win their remaining 4 division games, which is very plausible. Oh yeah, and no matter where your rushing rank after 5 weeks is: Your RBs are still garbage.

    FYI: Adrian has more yards now than he did at this time last year. Hmmmmmmm…..

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