Vikings would be wise to rest injured Jackson

By Eric Krupka  |   Sunday, August 17, 2008  |  Comments( 8 )

Minnesota Vikings
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After bolstering their porous pass defense during the offseason by signing safety Madieu Williams and trading for reigning sack king Jared Allen, a former Kansas City Chief, the Minnesota Vikings became the trendy pick to win the NFC North and challenge for a conference championship. The consensus was that the Vikings had one big question mark, and that was at the quarterback position. Specifically, many doubt whether third-year man Tarvaris Jackson can lead the Vikings to the playoffs.

In 2007, his second season, the Alabama State product started 12 games and led the Vikings to an 8-4 record. However, the eight wins were thanks in large part to the efforts of phenom tailback Adrian Peterson and an opportunistic run-stuffing defense.

Jackson completed just over 58 percent of his passes last season, throwing for 1,911 yards, nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Hardly a great year. Still, it was only his sophomore campaign in the NFL. Jackson did show glimpses last year of being a more-than-capable leader. From the middle of November to mid-December, for instance, he completed 73.5 percent of his attempts for 667 yards, four touchdowns and just two picks in leading the Vikings to four straight wins. It should be noted that one of those victories, in which Jackson compiled a 139.2 rating, was a 41-17 thrashing of the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

In training camp and the preseason, all eyes have been on Jackson -- who hasn’t disappointed. So far in two exhibition contests, he's hit on 15-of-22 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and zero turnovers; what's more, he hasn't been sacked and has guided the Vikings' offense to points on every drive but one, when tight end Visanthe Schiancoe fumbled the ball away. In all, three scoring drives have culminated in TDs.

Last Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, Jackson fared terrificly before leaving with an injury. Late in the first quarter, he took a hit to the knee when he scrambled and tried to gain extra yardage rather than slide. Head coach Brad Childress called it a contusion, but an MRI on Sunday revealed that Jackson sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee. The injury isn’t believed to be serious, but it is expected to keep him out of this Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Prior to getting hurt, Jackson completed 7-of-11 tosses for 82 yards and a touchdown; further, he converted all five third downs he faced. Having played so well in his first two games, the Vikings would be wise to shut Jackson down for the rest of the preseason. The only thing that matters at this point is having a healthy Jackson for the regular season, which begins Sept. 8 against the archrival Green Bay Packers.

Better to err on the side of caution than take an unnecessary risk.

-Eric Krupka can be reached at

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About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November ...
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