Well, well, well. Look who's still standing behind center.
In another surprising twist to what has been a futile season- long fumble to find consistently good quarterback play, the Vikings did, well, nothing.
Coach Leslie Frazier announced Wednesday that Christian Ponder would keep the starting job despite three more turnovers, a 1-6 record and a fourth-quarter benching at Seattle on Sunday. Then, obviously sensing disbelief among reporters expecting the return of Josh Freeman to finish out a lost season, Frazier pre-empted the day's most obvious sports question in the Twin Cities by asking it himself.
"I'm sure the follow-up questions will be, 'Why?' " Frazier said.
Well, now that you mention it …
"Like every decision, you try to make a decision based on who you think gives you the best chance to succeed," Frazier said. "In our case, we think that's Christian at this point."
So what does that say about Freeman? Has the former Buccaneers first-round draft pick met the coach's expectations since General Manager Rick Spielman signed him Oct. 6?
"He has," Frazier said. "In some ways, based on the information that we received, he's exceeded those. He's been all-in, he's been a professional in everything we've asked him to do. I like the way he handles himself in the pocket, in the meetings in the locker room. Much better than some things that we had heard."