Panthers @ Vikings

Come on. You have to give the Vikings credit for keeping it exciting. Most of us had stopped surfing the Internet for cheap Super Bowl tickets and flights to New Jersey. In fact, we have now discovered that Sundays in December are suddenly open for all those other important duties like picking lint out of the pockets of dress pants.

Plus, it was a bye week for the Vikings. You know - the week where people start to forget there’s supposed to be a professional football team in Minnesota.

Then the Vikings decided it was the perfect time to pick another inconsistent, reject QB from a lousy team to shore up the offensive firepower we were obviously lacking. (Never mind that Josh Robinson couldn’t defend a warship from an attack by garden gnomes.) Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman have been diligent in explaining that this does not change anything for Ponder (who is “still our starter”) or Cassel (who had good “execution as a quarterback”). I mean, why would Ponder worry just because the Vikings bring in another QB at a higher salary than him? It’s not like he has lost the support of fans or anything. He claims he’s recovering quite well from his “rib injury.”

Expect to see Ponder taking advantage of his MBA to land a corporate job before the end of the season. No matter what doublespeak we get from Rick and Leslie, the Ponder era in Minnesota is officially over. I would be surprised if we saw him on the field again this season. Although Frazier insists that Ponder will start if he’s ready to play, my prediction is that Cassel will start this Sunday. If he continues to play well and win, he will remain the starter for a couple of games. Then, don’t be surprised if he gets “injured” and Freeman is forced into the game. Frazier will than hold a press conference about how they had to “do what’s best for the team” and Ponder is a “fine young player with a bright future ahead of him.” Just not with one of the lousiest teams in the league.

Frazier and Spielman have finally realized they would prefer not to be without jobs and have swallowed their pride and admitted they failed miserably with the Ponder experiment. This is a last ditch attempt to save their jobs and if Freeman starts in a few weeks and lights it up – getting the Vikings into the playoffs, both of them will have saved their jobs.

Now if only we can ensure that Musgrave also gets a “rib injury” (the kind that doesn’t involve any actual physical harm to the guy), the team might actually have some hope.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict two consecutive wins. They play the Panthers this week and the Giants next week – both struggling teams. We’ll see …

Hope to see you on Sunday, or sometime this season. Forward this to any new faculty/friends you think should be on this list.