The Matt Cassel bandwagon is filling up fast. The newest person on the wagon is Vikings legendary quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who in his latest column for the Pioneer Press, argued on behalf of Cassel remaining the Vikings starting QB.
“What gave the Vikings the edge this week was solid, confident, professional quarterback play — something we haven’t had consistently for several years now,” Tarkenton said of Cassel in the column. “Matt Cassel gave the team a chance to win with the way he played — and I would have said that no matter the outcome of the game.”
Another key point in Tarkenton’s column was this line:
What separates players is the mental toughness and confidence to make the right decision over and over again.
Tarkenton is basically saying that while Christian Ponder has the physical tools to play in the NFL, he’s not at the same level as Cassel in terms of “mental toughness and confidence.”
On the other side of the river, at the Star Tribune, Michael Rand believes the decision to keep Cassel the starter is an easy one. Rand writes that he “would 100 percent ride the hot hand of Cassel.”
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert’s guess is that if Ponder is healthy enough to start against Carolina… he will.
