Ponder least of Vikings worries as they fall to 2-8

After the Minnesota Vikings 27-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the squad's rookie quarterback Christian Ponder said, "Bad decisions by me, and I take full responsibility for this loss."

True, Ponder was picked off three times in this game. All of them were terrible decisions. Two of them came with the Vikings deep in Raiders territory and on the verge of scoring. The other came deep in Vikings territory and gift-wrapped the Raiders three points. But while I like the fact he's manning up to his mistakes, the rookie had plenty of help in this one, such as:

* Chris Kluwe couldn't get a hold down and Jim Kleinsasser botched a blocking assignment, scuttling a 49-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Longwell.

* Lorenzo Booker's fumble on a kickoff return with 1:20 left in the first half set up Oakland for another easy seven points and a 24-7 lead, which is an insurmountable hole for this Vikings team.

* The Vikes committed nine penalties totaling 50 yards.

* The special teams gave up returns of 46, 34 and 36 yards.

* And let's not forget a Vikings defence that kept getting run over by Michael Bush in the first half, and despite being dealt some bad hands, couldn't stop the bleeding and frequently let the Raiders pile up big gains on second and third-and-long. In my view, they are just as culpable in this loss as Ponder.

Ponder was starting his fourth NFL game today, so Vikings fans can forgive him for making some mistakes – as bad as they were. But what is the veterans excuses? I'm getting pretty sick of seeing Letroy Guion jump offsides, or Tyrell Johnson get run over by an opposing running back for a touchdown.

The losing might be tolerable if you could see overall improvement in the Vikings. But they are going backward. That is disheartening for any Vikings fan. Hope is getting increasingly harder to find.

Other things

• I should know better, but I found myself continually surprised by how quickly Ponder's passing pocket disintegrated against Oakland.

• I suspect Adrian Peterson could be out for a couple of weeks with that ankle injury. The Vikings would be wise to be cautious with Peterson, but if he's out that makes the Vikings even more unwatchable. We're down to Ponder, Percy Harvin and Jared Allen as the reasons to bother watching the Vikings right now.

• It's early, but do you think Ponder's got what it takes to be a very good quarterback in the NFL? I would say yes when you consider who he's got to throw to and who is blocking for him.

• I like the coverage ESPN 1500's Tom Pelissero and Judd Zulgad provide, but check out their post-game commentary here. They seem to be taking these losses personally. I'm starting to find that grating.