These numbers are nice and charming, but that's where the nice numbers come to Madden 23 coins an end. Ponder did not complete 45.5 percent of his passes between 11-20 yards downfield, and he was intercepted six times in 88 attempts during the range. Ponder's quarterback rating for passes in that range was just 53.7.
Worse, Ponder was able to complete just four passes out of 21 in the 21-30 yard rangeat a pathetic 19 percent.
Of course, being a Madden NFL 23 player isn't an easy job, and naturally, the farther downfield an individual quarterback throws the worse his completion percentage will be -- but Ponder's issues with downfield throws are something to consider.
Carson Palmer, the Madden NFL 23's 16th-rated pass-catcher during the season, attempted the 141 throws between 11-20 yards, and completed 48.2 percent- only three percent better than Ponder. Palmer however, he attempted nearly double the amount of passes in this range and only had five interceptions (and He threw five touchdowns).
St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford finished the season as the 18th-rated passer in the Madden NFL 23 and attempted more than 86 passes ranging from 11 to 20 yards -- which is just two less than Ponder. Bradford did however complete 51.2 percentage of his throws in this zone, while throwing at least three touchdowns along with three interceptions and had a quarterback's score of 79.9.
Andy Dalton, who the Bengals picked in the second round of the 2011 Madden NFL 23 Draft, completed 49-of-94 passes between 11 and 20 yards (52.1 percent) He also threw 9 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions -which is a quarterback rating of 100.6. Sure, it's helpful that you have A.J. Green however, it is also helpful having Adrian Peterson as a running back, a luxury that Dalton does not possess.
Ponder's downfield numbers for passing are clearly not up to par which is a problem for any team that has Super Bowl aspirations, that isn't enough. Ponder has to improve, if for no other reason than to ease load on the reigning Madden NFL 23 MVP, Adrian Peterson.
Anointing Ponder the starter by default could be mistaken. The free agent quarterback group is weak, but it doesn't mean competition won't bring success. Matt Cassel proved in the past that he can be competent as a quarterback and lead teams to playoffs. Matt Moore has enjoyed success through a short amount of time playing his career.In the year 2012 Smith suffered an injury and did not get his job back. Prior to being a buy madden nfl 23 coins substitute to Colin Kaepernick, Smith led the 49ers to a record of 6-2-1. Smith passed 70.2 percentage of his pass attempts for 1.737 yards and 13 touchdowns.