Christian Ponder @#34

[tennesseeboy]

Sounds like Kaepernick, Ponder and/or Dalton are three pretty good choices that might be available at 34 and we would be tempted to go for one of them. I would understand that pick but the better strategy would be to for the Defensive End, Tackle or Linebacker that we didn't take at 3. There is very serious defensive line talent in this draft and we'd be foolish not to take advantage of it.

[UConn James]

Why do some people quote back to you something you didn't say to begin with?? C. Ponder probably isn't as intelligent as Trent Edwards is all I implied as he scored lower than the majority of QB's on the wonderlick test they take to measure one's capacity to learn new material.

 

That's not at all what the Wonderlic is designed to test.

 

Define deep for me. If it's the 1 or 2 times a game that a QB tosses a 50 yarder then no problem. As long as he's good from 25 yards in you can live with that.

 

Any QB taken in this draft regardless of where is going to have questions. I'd rather take one(Ponder, Kaepernick, Dalton) in the second or later rather than the huge risk of Gabbert in the first (conceding Newton to Carolina).

 

I've read in a few places that Ponder's arm will allow for about a 50-55-60 yard in-the-air throw, whereas there are a number of QBs in the league who can throw from 70-80 yards. I don't know if this will get better as there's more time away from the injury. To me, looking at Gailey's offenses and the dink-and-dunk the NFL has become, I'm a lot less worried about the long ball than his being able to connect on short-and mid-range passes. We had a guy who could deliver am amazing long ball which the team either lived or died by (mostly died). If we could get a young Chad Pennington, even with arm limitations, that would be manna from heaven.

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Just go and see the resume of each player - win loss record , comp. percentage , TD to INT ratio , Attempts & comp. , GPA & injuries . Also check there progression over the time they were in college .

 

If you do all of that you can get a real good grasp on what you will be getting , by those things i"ve given weather the coach knows one better than the other or not i would think that Ponder may be a good get in a later round 3rd or lower but not the 2nd .

 

As you said you've heard a lot of Dalton talk go check out his 4 year college career stats & all that comes with it , the kid has done nothing but gotten better since day one in every category , that's why he has my vote he's a winner period !!!

Agree with you about Dalton. Ponder did play well in the nationally televised opener against USC two years ago, for whatever that's worth.

[Nervous Guy]

C. Ponder probably isn't as intelligent as Trent Edwards is all I implied as he scored lower than the majority of QB's on the wonderlick test they take to measure one's capacity to learn new material.

 

The Wonderlic test assesses the aptitude of prospective employees for learning and problem-solving in a range of occupations.

 

Ya know that Marino scored a 16 and Fitz scored a 48?

 

I also found this little tidbit...A study by Brian D. Lyons, Brian J. Hoffman, and John W. Michel found that Wonderlic test scores failed to positively and significantly predict future NFL performance for any position. The Lyons et al. (2009) study also found that the relationship between Wonderlic test scores and future NFL performance was negative for a few positions, indicating the higher a player scores on the Wonderlic test, the worse the player will perform in the NFL. Results from this study were recently highlighted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article by D. Orlando Ledbetter.

[bizell]

Ponder's arm was hurt pretty much all of last year. That being said, his deep ball was terrible and hung in the air forever with no accuracy.

He's a heck of a competitor, mobile, very accurate on anything short/mid (junior year he was pretty good at deep throws, before hurting his arm). I'd love to have him on the Bills, I just don't know if I want him in the second.

[tonyjustbcuz]

Sounds like Kaepernick, Ponder and/or Dalton are three pretty good choices that might be available at 34 and we would be tempted to go for one of them. I would understand that pick but the better strategy would be to for the Defensive End, Tackle or Linebacker that we didn't take at 3. There is very serious defensive line talent in this draft and we'd be foolish not to take advantage of it.

 

 

Of the three QB's you mentioned I would personally go for Kaepernick! Kaepernick has a very strong arm as does Mallett, but Kaepernick is a lot more mobile than Mallett who is similar in build and style as Drew Blesdoe. Kaepernick set some records with his passing/running game and I think he is a diamond in the rough! He'll need a year or two of grooming, but most QB's in this draft will. I don't think many are ready....I expressed my disdain for C. Ponder, but I do have to admit he is one of the most NFL ready QB's at this time. I just don't think he will ever be that franchise QB you'd want.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

My problem with Ponder, besides the fact that the guy does throw an ugly, wobbly ball, is his inconsistency. He looks pretty good in some games (Wake Forest, UNC, Florida, Senior bowl) and then he looks terrible in others (Oklahoma, Boston College, NC State). I'm not sure how much the injuries played into his inconsistency, but he seemed to be all over the map this season. Another thing I noticed about Ponder, JMO, is that he panics when he is under pressure (see NC State game). He took a couple hits early on, and was worthless for the rest of the game. Looked like he was playing scared.

[C.Biscuit97]

Of the three QB's you mentioned I would personally go for Kaepernick! Kaepernick has a very strong arm as does Mallett, but Kaepernick is a lot more mobile than Mallett who is similar in build and style as Drew Blesdoe. Kaepernick set some records with his passing/running game and I think he is a diamond in the rough! He'll need a year or two of grooming, but most QB's in this draft will. I don't think many are ready....I expressed my disdain for C. Ponder, but I do have to admit he is one of the most NFL ready QB's at this time. I just don't think he will ever be that franchise QB you'd want.

 

If we don't get a QB first round (and Cam is the only one I want), my order of preference is Locker, Kaepernick, and Dalton. I think all 3 of these guys are leaders and have the work ethic to be players in this league. Plus, the upside of Locker and Kaepernick is huge IMO. If you are drafting a QB after the 1st round, I think this is a big factor. I don't see the big upside in Ponder. IMO, he is what he is.

 

I didn't watch a ton of Ponder. But I hate the idea of taking a guy who struggled with injuries in college. The odds are you aren't going to improve on your healthier against stronger competition and a longer season.

[Alphadawg7]

I see a lot of Kaepernick and Dalton talk but people have seemed to forget about Ponder.

 

Ponder has said Georgia Tech was his second choice and that Chan Gailey recruited him very hard.

Chan put Ponder in for two shifts in the Senior Bowl.

Chan knows everything he needs to know about the guy.

Ponder showed good accuracy and decision in making in college. I never got a chance to see a full game (I find ACC football to be a farce)

He does seem to have a bit of a noodle arm but that may be because he is coming off of injury.

 

If I hear Ponders name at #34 I wouldnt be suprised at all.

If we trade down and get a second second round pick I think that will be Ponder.

 

Anyone watch the kid play?

 

You assume he will be there in the 2nd, an assumption that is most likely wrong. There are a lot of teams with strong interest in him and it's becoming a strong probability that he will be gone before we pick again.

[jumbalaya]

Why do some people quote back to you something you didn't say to begin with?? C. Ponder probably isn't as intelligent as Trent Edwards is all I implied as he scored lower than the majority of QB's on the wonderlick test they take to measure one's capacity to learn new material. Neverless, You read the same post I wrote and I didn't call anyone stupid or dumb as you put it! I would think most of the College players are either of average smarts or better and some are less intelligent than others, so I'm not really sure how that warranted a response? Clarification? Did you misread my post? Regardless, I hope we don't select C. Ponder in the Bills draft no matter what his level of intelligence or lack therof may be.

Most of my complaint on him was his similarities to Trent Edwards and his tendancy to not be able to sense pocket pressure resulting in him being injured quite often and requiring multiple surgeries. The Ponder experiment quite possibly could mean 2 or 3 years on top of Fitz's upcoming year wasted without the playoffs and in my eyes would likely spell the end of yet another coaching regime in 3 or 4 years!

Jim Kelly wasn't / isn't very smart but he had balls.

[NC Buffalo Fanatic]

I truly hope that we go defense for the first two picks!!!! We absolutely need a DE that can hold the point of attack allowing a new LB draftee to either pass rush or stop the run. I would definitely love if they traded up into the mid-late second to pull the trigger on Kap, Dalton or Mallet but I think too many teams are enamored with Ponder. I also think someone will pull the trigger on Mallet early as well as he has drawn comparrisons of Marino.