Donovan McNabb to play more this Saturday

McNabb: so new the Vikings still have him in cardinal on the team website

After the team's practice Thursday at Winter Park, Coach Leslie Frazier mapped out how he'll juggle the three quarterbacks: McNabb, Joe Webb, and rookie Christian Ponder.

"Yeah, Donovan McNabb will obviously start the game and we will see how it goes; number of plays we have an idea of what we want," Frazier said. "And then we'll come back with Christian Ponder and then we'll go to Joe Webb."

McNabb played in only two series in last week's preseason opener against Tennessee, just two weeks into his Viking status. But this Saturday he's expected to play at least a quarter, maybe more. McNabb says the chemistry of the team is coming together.

Ponder, the rookie, isn't the kind of guy who'll take the backseat and relax. He told reporters Thursday afternoon that while McNabb's teaching him a lot, Ponder still sees the veteran as competition--an attitude that Frazier seems to like.

"He's a gamer and he's not backing down," Frazier says, "but he also knows when we made the decision to acquire Donovan, we told him that 'You've got to make sure you're preparing to be the number one quarterback because in our league, it can happen on any play where we turn around and say 'Hey Christian, it's time to get warmed up.'"

Vikings play in Seattle at 9 p.m. Saturday.