Congratulations to the Minnesota Vikings and coach Leslie Frazier. You have selected rookie Christian Ponder to start at quarterback on Sunday in the game against Green Bay.

You join the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins in realizing the Donovan McNabb is a former great quarterback. Key word: former.

McNabb has a great career to be proud of, even guiding the Eagles to a Super Bowl and to several winning seasons with deep playoff runs.

But he doesn’t have the touch he once had. That’s what Eagles coach Andy Reid realized when he benched McNabb. That’s what Redskins coach Mike Shanahan realized when he benched McNabb. And Frazier now has faced the music, too.

It is a decision that probably should have been made when the team was 0-2.

Ponder is the future of the Vikings franchise. He needs this season to show his skills. We hold high hopes for the kid because we are weary of being the retirement home for aging quarterbacks.

Hopefully, new offensive coordinater Bill Musgrave uses this season to improve his play-calling skills, too.