EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Matt Cassel will start at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings against Carolina on Sunday, a seemingly inevitable decision finally confirmed by coach Leslie Frazier. Cassel helped the Vikings get their first victory of the season with a solid performance in London against Pittsburgh Sept. 29, a game Christian Ponder sat out of because of a broken rib. Ponder was cleared to play this week, though. Despite Fraziers earlier statement that Ponder was still the starter when healthy, the Vikings decided to make the former first-round draft pick their backup. Frazier said his mind was made up a couple of days ago. "I think its always tough when you make a change at quarterback," he said. "You have to take a lot of factors into it when youre doing that. You dont make those decisions lightly, and we didnt. Well see how it plays out." The Vikings signed ex-Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman this week, further muddling the position. Frazier wasnt ready to declare Freeman an option for the next game, Oct. 21 on the road against the New York Giants, but he said hed re-evaluate the situation Monday. Cassel is 30-33 in 63 career starts, most of them with Kansas City. He said he didnt find out until Friday. "Ive been focusing on it without really knowing but at the same time anticipating maybe this would happen," Cassel said. "You know what? You never know in this league. I wouldnt have guessed on Monday wed have another quarterback in the room as well." After practice Thursday, Ponder acknowledged the mental challenge of the last few weeks. "I would be lying if I didnt say its a little disappointing and frustrating," he said. "But Im not going to get too discouraged about it. Im a man of faith and I know God is in control." Ponder said a trade "would be difficult to deal with" but that he was trying not to worry about the future of his career. Picked 12th overall in the 2011 draft, Ponder is 12-17 as a starter with 39 turnovers. "Its a waste of energy and thought to think about what could happen and what might not happen," he said. "Im just trying to enjoy these moments because life in the NFL doesnt last long." The Vikings also listed kicker Blair Walsh as questionable for Sunday due to tightness in his hamstring that kept him out of practice the last two days. Punter Jeff Locke would be the emergency replacement, but Frazier said hes anticipating Walsh will play against the Panthers. Cornerback Chris Cook (groin) and safety Jamarca Sanford (hamstring) are expected back in the starting lineup after missing the Steelers game with injuries. wholesale jerseys . This week, Manchester United maintained its 12-point lead atop the table with a shutout of QPR, Manchester City turned the tide and avoided losing ground with a win over Chelsea and Wigan convincingly pulled themselves out of relegation. wholesale nfl jerseys .J. -- Tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. http://www.jerseyscheapnfl.us.com/ . Jones made 24 saves for his third shutout in five games, and the remarkable rookie led the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Cheap Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys . Nor have any two teams met in as many Game 7s as the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins eight - with the Bruins taking the most recent one last spring en route to a Stanley Cup win. Cheap Washington Nationals Jerseys . RUDY GAY (Kings): Bottom line, it didnt work out the way Raptors fans had hoped it would.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets put together what looked like their best game of the season in a victory over the Detroit Red Wings this week. But now they hope to do it again Wednesday against Chicago -- one of the best teams in the NHL -- to show theyre on the right path. "Weve played one good game," coach Claude Noel said Tuesday. "We need to prove (to) ourselves that we can become more consistent and try to get ourselves to play another good 60 minutes." The Jets beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Monday night. Noel saw some good signs from his young team in the victory. "We wanted to control the neutral zone a little better against Detroit," he said. "We wanted to clog up the middle of the ice. I thought we managed to do that well. "I thought that our breakouts were good from our goal-line and I thought that we were able to get way better dumps and allow us to get on the forecheck." The result was a badly needed two points for the Jets (6-8-2), who have been stuck near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. It was also satisfying for their coach and fans to see a consistent effort. "We ended up with more shots, more offensive zone play ... its not really reinventing stuff," Noel said. "Its just executing the things we talked about before. We finally put all that stuff together. Thats something weve been looking for for some time now." Winnipeg was coming off a 5-1 loss to Chicago last Saturday. "We know that we played a good 20 minutes agaiinst them," Jets forward Mark Scheifele said of the loss.dddddddddddd"We had a good period, then we kind of got away from our game." Scheifele had two assists Monday night but also felt his defensive game was better against Detroit. That was music to Noels ears. "If he was happy with his defensive play, that would be good," said the coach. "To contribute you dont need to only contribute on the scoresheet. Its really how you play the game ... It has to be from a checking standpoint, because that is how eventually you win the game." Defensive play is something that the Jets have had trouble with in the past and injuries havent helped. They called up Zach Redmond this week from their St. Johns AHL farm team and grabbed Keaton Ellerby off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings to shore up their defence ranks. Ellerby barely had time to unpack before finding himself on the ice Monday night. "Ive only been here two days so Im still getting used to the names and faces but for the most part everybodys been very welcoming," he said after practice Tuesday. "From what I saw last night, its a fast physical team, move pucks quickly, get pucks to the net. I think that fits in well with my game." At six foot five and 221 pounds, he brings size as well as speed, although Monday night was his first game this season. The Jets also are uncertain whether Evander Kane will play in Chicago. He missed Monday nights game with an unspecified injury. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '