Christian Ponder 5 of 30 Beyond 20 yards!!

BY PASS PLAY	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	AVG	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
Pass Thrown Behind Line of Scrimmage	91	108	590	84.3	5.46	32	2	1	0	91.7	0	0	0.0	0	0
Pass Thrown 1-10 yds	134	204	1,104	65.7	5.41	22	9	3	0	87.9	0	0	0.0	0	0
Pass Thrown 11-20 yds	38	83	677	45.8	8.16	45	2	6	0	52.1	0	0	0.0	0	0
Pass Thrown 21-30 yds	4	20	102	20.0	5.10	33	1	1	0	44.2	0	0	0.0	0	0
Pass Thrown 31-40 yds	0	7	0	0.0	0.00	0	0	0	0	39.6	0	0	0.0	0	0
Pass Thrown 41+ yds	1	3	54	33.3	18.00	54	0	1	0	42.4	0	0	0.0	0	0

These stats are remarkably horrible.  312 of Ponder's passes have been thrown 10 yards or less downfield.  Of those efforts, he has completed 72%.  On passes over 10 yards, he is 43 of 113 (38%).

But once you get above 20 yards, my lord.  5 of 30, 16.7%.  Beyond 30 yards?  1 of 10 - 10%.  Let's compare these stats to someone believed to be a dink and dunker with a weaker arm - Drew Brees.

Drew Brees under 10.001 yards - 252 of 381 - 66%.  Passes over 10 yards - 104 of 193 (53.9%).   Beyond 20 yards?  29 of 70.  41.5%.  Beyond 30 yards?  12 of 32 - 37.5%. 

So, despite the fact that Brees is regarded as boosting his stats by short passes, in reality, Ponder's 90% mark on passes behind the line of scrimmage is really all that keeps him from being a complete laughingstock.  Brees, who has thrown the ball 200+ times more than Ponder, has only thrown 111 balls behind the line of scrimmage - Ponder 108. 

The Vikings have played 15 games - they throw the ball beyond 20 yards around twice a game, with the likelihood being that no such passes will be completed (one every three games).