Vikings Say QB Christian Ponder Simply Couldn't Throw

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier reported Sunday that although Christian Ponder was able to finish the regular-season finale against the Packers, when the quarterback came into Winter Park last Monday, his biceps muscle was swollen and discolored and he had hardly any range of motion. Frazier said the condition of Ponder's injury -- which kept the quarterback out of Saturday's 24-10 playoff loss at Green Bay after he started every game for the Vikings this season -- got better as the week went on, but not to the point where he could go out and throw a ball in an NFL game. "We had an idea, just watching him and seeing his progress, and we were all hoping that at least by Friday or Saturday it would loosen up a little bit more, but it really didn't happen," Frazier said. Frazier added that he was encouraged by the play of backup Joe Webb on the first drive, when the team moved the ball on the ground and scored on a field goal, but then things slowed down. "We had some things going there in that first drive and we just couldn't put enough together over the course of the game to offset some of the things that they were doing," he said. Frazier also said it was tough for Webb to get comfortable over the course of the game, but that is something a second-string quarterback has to be ready for. "That's life for a backup," Frazier said. "You don't get a lot of game repetitions so, you have to get it in practice, and he was put in a tough spot. He battled but just couldn't make enough plays for us to get over the hump." Source: Star-Tribune