We enjoy reaching rapid conclusions in sports, and the "we'' is a reference to both media and fans. I'm still reminded often of the quick, negative conclusion that I reached on Kevin Love's future in the NBA.
In retrospect, it probably would've been a good idea to wait longer than one ho-hum effort vs. Memphis in the NCAA Final Four and one lousy exhibition performance for the Timberwolves before leaping to that conclusion.
We have thousands of Vikings fans already in possession of expensive jerseys reading "Bridgewater'' who also should have shown caution.
Bridgewater did fine in his exhibition duty, had a nice spot of relief duty in a 20-9 loss at New Orleans, and lit up Atlanta for 317 yards in his first start – a 41-28 victory at TCF Bank Stadium.
The apparel outlets in the Twin Cities couldn't keep Teddy jerseys in stock after that one. And when Teddy and the coaches chose not to have him play on a gimpy ankle vs. Green Bay, and the Vikings lost 42-10, the e-mail file and the Twitter feed were full of assurances from fans that everything would be different with Teddy back in charge against Detroit on Sunday.
As it turned out, offensively, it was no different at all.
With poor protection vs. the Packers, Ponder went 22 for 44 for 222 yards with two interceptions. His quarterback rating was 45.8, a number escalated when Ponder went 9 for 17 for 99 yards in 15 minutes of fourth-quarter garbage time.
Thus, Ponder was 13 for 27 for 123 yards with those two interceptions entering the fourth quarter.
