Vikings Get Desperate: Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder and HC Leslie Frazier

ESPN reports that the Redksins have agreed to trade McNabb to the Vikings. Keep in mind, all talk lies in speculation, however most of the stories regarding the big names are true, but can’t be “official” until Friday due to the CBA’s waiting period.

Let’s talk about this, is it a good move?

The Vikings upgraded new head coach Leslie Frazier from ‘Defensive Coordinator’ to ‘Interim Head Coach’ last season. The full-time move to head coach happened after Frazier took a down-and-out team and made them competitive, making former Head Coach Brad Childress look largely incompetent. Well, that and the Randy Moss trade-then-cut deal.

Frazier is one of my favorite coaches in the NFL and he seemed to do a great job last season. So, then comes spring and it was time for the draft. Picking 12th overall, the Vikings were favorites to chase after a quarterback in the draft. Many had them getting one in the second round or trading down to get one in the late first round. The consensus wise move lied in trading back a few picks, adding talent to the team and then getting a quarterback later. Most had already decided that the Vikings would get McNabb in a trade once the CBA was finalized, which would be soon (1 for 2 on that, darn gypsies at ESPN were off). So, what do they do? They draft Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder.

If you’re not familiar with Ponder, I’ll tell you just enough to sound smart at the local bar. Ponder may as well have been Tim Tebow in high school. Star athlete, great guy–you want your daughter to marry this guy. Add in that once at Florida State, he graduated early. He is highly intelligent, he can run enough to be mobile in the pocket and escape some pressure AND he has an arm that reminds me of Chad Pennington–not a compiment. I pegged him as a 4th-rounder when I did draft coverage on Black And Teal [Link].

Apparently ‘Hurt Feelings’ are getting in the way of this deal. Mcnabb wants to be paid like Brett Favre and doesn’t like the idea of not being paid that much.

Boo-hoo, right? Did you know that the Vikings wanted former Chiefs/Dolphins backup Tyler Thigpen first? Thigpen signed with the Bills and now we have the McNabb fiasco.

Frazier and company are wreaking of desperation here. They take Ponder earlier than even the Ponder fans that understand the NFL Draft would have taken him and then take McNabb much earlier than most reports reveal so that they don’t miss out on a veteran quarterback. If they really believed in McNabb, they would’ve pursued him first, not as a backup. Desperateness begate more desperateness. Way to trust the rookie you just risked your head coaching career on.