Souhan: Time has come to stop comparing Ponder and Bridgewater

In a week, Christian Ponder will attend his last game as a Viking, after watching Teddy Bridgewater complete the most impressive 2014 season of any NFL rookie quarterback.

That would be a good time to stop comparing Ponder and Teddy Bridgewater. Or now. You could stop now, unless you're a member of our local community of serial comparers who think that a couple of circumstantial facts and an occasional Bridgewater misfire link the two quarterbacks like Brett Favre and highly personal texts.

The basis for the comparison is simplistic. The Vikings drafted both in the first round in the past four years, hoping they would successfully run an offense led by Adrian Peterson.

That was fair enough in April. It may even have been fair when Bridgewater slumped during the middle of his rookie year. Today, it's a comforting touchstone for the ignorant.

Here are a few reasons the comparison is inane:

The Vikings' brain trust went into the 2011 draft desperate to draft a quarterback. The Vikings chose Ponder with the 12th pick not because they thought he merited that draft slot, but because three other teams had already taken quarterbacks and the Vikings were afraid to miss out on a potential starter.

The Vikings chose Bridgewater with the 32nd pick, believing they were lucky that other teams didn't value Bridgewater as much as they did.

Ponder played at Florida State, surrounded by tremendous athletes, and his best characteristics as a college quarterback were his impeccable character. Bridgewater, also recommended for impeccable character, chose Louisville and became the star of a rising program. Ponder converted third downs; Bridgewater created touchdowns.

As a rookie, Ponder sprinted from the pocket at the first sign of trouble. In his third season, he did the same. One of Bridgewater's best characteristics in college was the ability to maneuver in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. He is so intent on finding receivers that Vikings coaches have had to encourage him to run when he sees open field.

Ponder played well enough in 2012 for the Vikings to win 10 games and believe they had found their quarterback. Any realist who watched the 2013 opener in Detroit saw a quarterback who had somehow regressed during the offseason.

Bridgewater played poorly against the elite defenses of Detroit and Buffalo. At that point, he had thrown one touchdown pass and five interceptions. Since the Buffalo game ended, he has thrown 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Coaches tried to hide Ponder's deficiencies, relying on a power running game and bootlegs. Veteran offensive coordinator Norv Turner often empties the backfield and emphasizes a deep passing game, putting the onus of the offense on a rookie.

Bridgewater's job is to lead an offense that hands the ball to Matt Asiata, a journeyman, only often enough to keep defenses guessing.

Playing half his games in the passer-friendly Metrodome, Ponder's career completion percentage is 59.8.

Playing half his games at sometimes-windy TCF Bank Stadium, Bridgewater's is 63.5, which would be the second-highest all-time for a rookie quarterback.

Ponder's career yards-per-pass-attempt: 6.3. His quarterback rating: 75.9.

Bridgewater's yards-per-attempt: 7.0. His quarterback rating: 82.7.

They are not, nor were they drafted to be, the same kind of quarterback.

And if you don't see a difference yet, wait until the Vikings build Bridgewater the kind of supporting cast Ponder briefly enjoyed.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at souhanunfiltered.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. jsouhan@startribune.com