The McLeod Bethel-Thompson Era is here! All hail McLeod Bethel-Thompson!
Well, okay, not exactly clamoring for the Vikes third-string quarterback, but people are pretty, pretty upset about Christian Ponder, perhaps predictably. But that doesn’t make it wrong.
Here’s what they’re saying:
“The good thing for us,” noted Christian Ponder, “is that it counts as one game.”
“Well, there’s that,” snarks Tom Powers over at the Pioneer Press, who says that Ponder “launched more balloons than the National Weather Service, especially in the first half.”
The Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan is all fired up. “Let’s cut through the enabling fog: Ponder cost the Vikings a potentially important victory Sunday, and he should have taken full blame.”
The man himself, Sid Hartman, quotes former Gophers and Lions TE Charlie Sanders, who is now a lifer with the Detroit organization: “[The Lions] ran the ball exceptionally well,” Sanders said. “I thought we were pretty darn good in terms of our offensive line. I did not expect that.”
The Pioneer Press’ Brian Murphy tackles life without Chris Kluwe, pointing out the failings of new punter Jeff Locke: “The rookie punter had a 54-yarder in his Vikings debut, but his 34.8-yard net average left plenty to be desired as Detroit enjoyed good field position throughout its 34-24 win at Ford Field. ‘I didn’t hit the ball good overall,’ Locke said.”
MLive features this nugget about the star of the game, Detroit’s Reggie Bush: On Sunday, Bush gained 90 yards on 21 carries. Four of those runs went for 10 or more yards and not one resulted in a loss of yardage.
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free PRess quips: Reggie Bush ran like the Kardashians were chasing him.
ESPN.com offers this assessment of Ponder: An enigma, which perhaps should be a new nickname. “The third-year quarterback has moments where he appears to be developing, and others where he still looks woefully behind the curve of a first-round pick with 26 career starts headed into this season.”
Finally, Mark Craig of the Star Tribune ponders (heh-heh) the absence of Pro Bowl fullback Jerome Felton, who is serving a three-game suspension.
