Vikings camp report: Success of Super-loaded roster hinges on Jackson
Shortly before Brett Favre was traded I was speaking to an NFC head coach, and the subject turned to the former Green Bay quarterback. When I asked where he thought Favre would land, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I dunno,"
he said. "All I care about is that he doesn't go to Minnesota. He'd be a perfect fit, and that team's a quarterback away from the Super Bowl."
His comment was as much an indictment of the Vikings' current quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, as it was a tribute to Favre. We all know what Favre can do. What we don't know is what Jackson's all about.
But we're about to find out. As teammate Aundrae Allison said, the Vikings are "Tarvaris' team,"
and shortly we discover what that means.
A year ago Jackson was 8-4 as a starter and offered glimpses of becoming the franchise quarterback that coach Brad Childress envisions. Jackson also offered glimpses of mediocrity -- roll the videotapes of the Washington game, please -- which has people like our NFC head coach skeptical about how far the Vikings go with him.
"That,"
said Minnesota's vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman, "is the biggest question."
No, it's the only question with this year's Vikings.
Everywhere else they're loaded. Their offensive line is solid. Adrian Peterson is one of the premier backs in the league. Their run defense has been the best in the NFL the last two years. And, OK, so they were 32nd against the pass, but you don't think adding Jared Allen makes a difference? Trust me. It does.
Granted, the Vikings don't have a Randy Moss at wide receiver, but the addition of free-agent deep threat Bernard Berrian makes them better -- perhaps much better -- than they were a year ago.
So the question becomes: What about the quarterback? If this season is about anything in Minnesota it's discovering how far Tarvaris Jackson can take this team. The Vikings are the consensus pick in the NFC North and a trendy choice for the Super Bowl -- provided, of course, Jackson doesn't short-sheet the club.
The Vikings are convinced he won't, and they have a season resting on it.
"What we're asking him to do is manage the offense and manage the game, and I think he can do a good job,"
said Allen. "We're not going to know what he's capable of until he goes out there and gets a full year under his belt, but, no, I don't think we're a quarterback away. He has all the skills and ability to get us where we need to go."
Where the Vikings need to go is the playoffs, and, barring a raft of injuries, that should happen. Minnesota hasn't been to the postseason in the three years of Zygi Wilf's ownership, and, frankly, the Vikings are due.
First, they're up to their eyeballs in talent. Second, they play in the NFC North, where defending champion Green Bay just subtracted its star quarterback. Third, they're the league leader in rushing and in run defense -- two areas that often mark playoff teams.
All they're missing is a reliable quarterback, which is what drove the Favre speculation. But Favre isn't here, Jackson is, and the Vikings insist he's the right man for the job -- saying he's a far different -- and better -- quarterback than a year ago when he won twice as many games as he lost.
"He's a very confident quarterback,"
said wide receiver Sidney Rice. "I noticed that back in OTAs when he showed he's going to try to lead the team. He's speaking up more to wide receivers in the huddle -- way more -- and letting us know that, 'Hey, be ready for this. If such and such happens you know where you're supposed to be, and don't worry; I got you.' We have the chemistry now, and it's a big thing."
It is if it works. But Allen is right. We won't know until Jackson starts playing regular season games. In his first preseason start he looked comfortable and poised, completing 8 of 11 for 118 yards and a touchdown in three series against Seattle.
So far, so good.
"I'm much more confident,"
said Jackson. "I'm more in tune with what's going on overall. My job is to make sure (my wide receivers) are on the same page, and I feel like I'm doing a better job of that this year than last year."
That happens with time and game experience. Jackson knows this offense better, and that is reflected by improved decision-making and accuracy at this summer's camp. With 14 career starts behind him he is, for all practical purposes, entering his second year as a starter -- which is always a good time to make a move.
But Jackson doesn't have a choice. He must improve if the Vikings are to climb the division ladder, and he's carrying a lot with him -- including the trust of his head coach, who stood by Jackson while all the Favre rumors were percolating.
"Do you know enough about him,"
I asked Childress, "to know that he can take you to the next level? Or is that something you just believe?"
"I think he can,"
said Childress, "but that's really the leap of faith you take when you develop a quarterback. It's like Bill Parcells once told me: 'If I had to play Tony Romo three years ago he would've been an ugly SOB.'"
"So here's what I did: I went back and looked at 'Don' (McNabb, Childress' quarterback in Philadelphia where Childress was the offensive coordinator) on tape and thought, 'He was this kind of quarterback, and I was this kind of coach and I got that out of him.'
"
"But when I turned on the tape of him in Year 3 and watched him the first game I thought I was giving myself too much credit. There were still some burps and hiccups where you were saying, 'Wow, he did that?' There's still a learning curve. This thing takes a while."
The Vikings can't afford to wait. It's now or never for Jackson. Remember, they haven't had a winning season under Childress, and there's a limit to everyone's patience -- something Jackson understands all too clearly.
"People would ask me in the offseason, 'So how y'all going to be this season?'"
said Jackson. "And I flat-out tell them, 'It depends on how good I play.'"
"But there is no pressure, and that's not hard for me to say. It's nothing that I'm scared of. I feel like I'm getting better, and I'm confident that we're going to do this."
"Besides, it's not like I'm doing this by myself. I have a whole bunch of guys out there who are very capable. It's not like I'm out there trying to carry the team. I'm just going to be one of those trying to get this team over the hump."
Teammates like the sound of that. They liked the sound of it more when Jackson stood tall, seemingly unfazed, as the Favre rumors swirled around him and his team. He insists he was immune to speculation, staying out of something he could not control, and focused instead on improving himself for his next challenge.
Well, that challenge is here. And the Vikings are waiting.
"I believe in him,"
said safety Darren Sharper. "When a lot of speculation was going on he answered the questions, and I didn't see him coming back the next day looking shaky. He was always steady as a rock, and that's what you want in your quarterback because there are going to be times in the game when it's going to be pressure-filled, and you have to make plays. You're going to be criticized and scrutinized, but you have to bounce back and have confidence that you are The Guy."
There is no question Tarvaris Jackson is The Guy. What we don't know is what that means for the Minnesota Vikings.
