Pro Football Articles Opinion & Fantasy – Football Diner

QB Woes in Minnesota?
by Sam Monson
7/10/2007
 
Now in the second season of ‘QB Guru’ Brad Childress’ Minnesota Vikings regime, how has the first-time Head Coach dealt with the marquee position? So far under Brad Childress, the Vikings have had ten QBs on the roster, including 2 draft picks, 2 trade acquisitions, and a former franchise QB. Childress came in and immediately sought to change the direction of the Minnesota Vikings, beginning at the top, with the QB position. Within months he had soured relationships with the Vikings’ franchise QB to the extent that a trade to Miami was forced. Childress now had his blank canvass, he had the chance to hand-pick his QB and mould him, just as he had with Donovan McNabb.
 
The 2006 NFL Draft seemed like an ideal place to start. There was a ‘Big 3’ of QBs available, and with the Vikings occupying the 17th spot overall, there was a chance one of them might slip, at least far enough to work a trade to move up. Failing that there was also a crop of second tier signal callers that could be had in the second round and beyond. When Vince Young and Matt Leinart went in the top 10 picks, the Denver Broncos jumped up to #11 overall to snag Jay Cutler, which left the Vikings looking at the next tier of players. Obvious choices of Kellen Clemens, Charlie Whitehurst and Brodie Croyle were passed over in favour of a little known QB from Division I-AA Alabama State Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson had flown under the radar before the draft, and only began to get attention in the run up to draft day when Ron Jaworski saw some of his game-film. Jaworski and fellow NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock watched some more film, and began to sing Jackson’s praises. The thing that leapt out about the pick after it was made was how closely Jackson and McNabb could be compared. Jackson, like McNabb is 6’2, thickly built, with a cannon for an arm, and ability to scramble as well as anybody. Childress had picked his man.

Childress had his project QB, but obviously understood that Jackson would need to be brought along slowly. The Vikings still had incumbent veteran Brad Johnson on the roster, who’d substituted for Daunte Culpepper in 2005 after he went down, leading the team to a 7-2 record under his watch, and so this didn’t seem like a problem. With an Offense tailored to Brad Johnson’s abilities with timing routes and short passes, all he was going to be expected to do was take care of the football and complete passes, something he had always had a reputation for doing well. Unfortunately for whatever reason THAT Brad Johnson decided not to show up to play in 2006. Instead, the version that did suit up took to throwing a horrific array of passes that any NFL QB knows they have no business throwing. With no backup that had the trust of Childress, Johnson was left in almost all year, removing the Vikings from any playoff contention, and systematically losing games almost single handed, despite excellent performances from the Defense. Eventually Johnson was pulled, and the young, raw rookie from D I-AA was thrown to the wolves. The results weren’t pretty. Despite brief flashes during his 2 starts and some additional time vs. the Jets, Jackson looked like he had a lot to learn, throwing twice as many picks as TDs.
 
The handover was complete though, from this moment on, Jackson would be the future AND present for the Minnesota Vikings at QB. He headed into the off-season knowing he was the leader of the team, and the guy who needed to step up. With a full off-season under his belt, during which he barely left the Vikings’ facilities, Jackson showed well during pre-season, and began to win the confidence of a large part of Purple Nation. As the 2007 season started it soon became clear that all was not as well as it seemed however. The Vikings couldn’t manage much of a passing game through their first 4 games, whoever was at QB. The Playcalling seemed ill-advised at best, the scheme positively invites the opposition to stack the box with as many men as possible, and very rarely is a deep pass even tried that might exploit that. Jackson threw 4 Interceptions against the Detroit Lions in a performance that caused many Vikings fans, and outside observers to proclaim him too raw, not ready to play in the NFL. The stats don’t tell the whole story though. Firstly this was by far the worst performance of the year from the Vikings’ O-line, and though he made a couple of very bad throws, a couple of those picks weren’t his fault. What was most notable though was the way he came back after each one and looked focused, and intent on moving the ball down the field. He has the short memory that is so important for NFL players. Unfortunately he suffered a groin strain at the end of that game that kept him sidelined for the next 2 games against the Chiefs and Packers, where Kelly Holcomb came in as his replacement and quickly dispelled any concept of a QB controversy with his play.
 
Ironically the Vikings had an able backup both in 2006, and now in 2007 in the form of Brooks Bollinger a man with a real reason to feel bitter about his career to date. Bollinger was a little known QB from Wisconsin, a 6th round draft pick, propping up the depth chart of the NY Jets, until a series of injuries forced him into action in 2005, in relief for the underperforming Vinny Testaverde. Bollinger started 9 games that year, improving as he went, and earned the Jets’ MVP for December, a month that included a spectacular 300 yard performance against the Miami Dolphins. Bollinger earned himself in the eyes of many a shot at the starting job for 2006. The Jets it seemed, disagreed, bringing in both a Free Agent QB Patrick Ramsey and drafting a QB Kellen Clemens. Bollinger was then traded to the Vikings to replace the failed experiments at backup that Mike McMahon and JT O Sullivan had become. He saw limited relief work in 2006 and came in at the end of the Detroit game this season, before a fumble from the snap cost the Vikings possession of the football, and ultimately the game. Bollinger has however looked capable of moving the ball every time he’s seen the field as a Viking, and was the only QB on the roster who seemed willing and able to take shots down field, and connect with an open WR. Seemingly though this wasn’t enough, and perhaps swayed by a baying media demanding the Vikings show signs of having a Plan B i.e. bring in an old, ‘seasoned’ veteran, journeyman at QB the Vikings sent a draft pick to Philadelphia for Kelly Holcomb. Holcomb replaced Bollinger at #2 on the depth chart as soon as he learnt the playbook, and proceeded to demonstrate what a mistake the move was with a pair of horrible performances starting. Bollinger earnt himself a shot to show what he can do, but never received it.
 
What all of this boils down to in the end is that Tarvaris Jackson remains the starter at QB for the Minnesota Vikings. He remains Childress’ project QB. He remains the single biggest factor in determining both the success of the 2007 season for Minnesota, and in determining the length of Brad Childress’ tenure with the team. Childress has shown that he has no eye for a backup QB, the final 12 games of the 2007 season are going to tell whether he had the eye to pick a franchise QB. Will Tarvaris Jackson learn how to use the outstanding tools he brings to the position, or will he become the mark of a failed coaching tenure?