Originally posted by oldman9er:
Originally posted by BrianGO:
Aldon was Ponder's nightmare last game, he was chasing him all over the place. Ponder made unbelievable plays and had the game of his life, that is the reason we couldn't stop their offense. There was nothing wrong with our defense. I'm not trying to compare Ponder with Alex Smith, but ignoring the game Ponder had ignores the reality of what really happened in Minnesota.
Ponder did have the game of his life... but it isn't as if Ponder had to struggle THAT much to evade perceived pressure.
I went through every play of the first half. Closely watching Aldon Smith and Ponder.
This was only from the first half, where we lost the game...
Ponder made a touchdown throw while running backwards from Goldson on 4th down. Great play. If he couldn't complete that one play, the whole game changes.
Ponder ran for a touchdown when Aldon had him dead to rights. We can blame Aldon for not getting to him fast enough, but that would be harsh. Ponder took off like a rocket the moment he saw Aldon beat his man, he ran through the whole defense for that touchdown. I think it was third down(?), that play changed the whole outlook of the game.
Ponder ran from Aldon after a stunt up the middle. He ran to the left sideline and for a first down. Again, he escaped really quick.
Ponder ran from Aldon to the right, and threw a perfect pass to a well covered player on third down. This again was another critical play. It was a dagger that kept Minnesota's momentum going.
Ponder ran from Aldon to the right, and threw a pretty long pass to a receiver down field. I don't remember if it was third down, but it was a critical play because the Vikings were backed up pretty far due to a sack or penalty. Again, it kept Minnesota's confidence high and they were beginning to believe.
I couple other times, Aldon was free rushing Ponder, but he got rid of the ball to his checkdown in an instant.
You say he didn't have to struggle? Well, I guess that's because he made it look easy. What he did was definitely not easy.