In Gus Minnesota trusts

By Eric Krupka  |   Thursday, September 18, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Last Sunday, fans of the Minnesota Vikings voiced their displeasure with Tarvaris Jackson, booing the quarterback loudly during a home opener in which the offense settled for five field goals and the team blew a 15-0 advantage en route to an 18-15 loss to Indianapolis. The embarrassing defeat led to an 0-2 mark for Minnesota, which many regarded as a preseason Super Bowl contender.

After the game, it seemed head coach Brad Childress was still behind the third-year passer.

“[Tarvaris] is definitely our quarterback this week," Childress said.

All summer, the Minnesota brass hyped Jackson, who was supposedly ready to lead the team. He was more familiar with the playbook, more experienced and more commanding in the huddle, said the Viking higher-ups. His teammates had his back when there were rumors of the Vikings possibly acquiring the hated Brett Favre, whom the Packers eventually sent to the Jets. After a solid preseason that ended prematurely when Jackson sprained his MCL, it seemed the second-round pick out of Alabama State was ready to take the proverbial next step.

Well, so much for that. Wednesday, Childress pulled the plug on Jackson and named veteran Gus Frerrotte the starter for the remainder of the season.

For what it's worth, ESPN's Marcellus Wiley agrees with the decision.

“I’m in support of it just because now [the Vikings] have the opportunity to have some new energy and new life,” said Wiley. “Everything is there for this team to succeed."

Wiley then stated that Jackson didn't answer the bell in two starts. Considering he completed just 30 of 59 passes for 308 yards, a touchdown and an interception, it's hard to argue with Wiley.

The truth is, Jackson didn't have the respect of opposing defenses, which stacked the box to stop Adrian Peterson from running at will and make the QB beat them. By inserting Frerotte, a 15-year veteran, into the starting role, Childress is hoping to kick-start an offense that has sputtered in recent seasons (the Vikings haven't had a QB throw for 300-plus yards in a game since December 2004).

That likely won’t happen, though, until the playbook opens up more. So far this year, the Vikings' play-calling has been far too predictable. More often than not, Minnesota has handed off on first and second down while resorting to the air in obvious passing situations.

“[Frerotte’s] not going to go out there and win the games, but he won’t lose the games,” said Wiley. “[The Vikings want] someone in there who can have a fear factor when the defense lines up and may complete a ball over 20 yards. And that’s what they weren’t getting out of Tarvaris Jackson.”

Jackson has always struggled completing the deep ball. Frerotte should be an improvement in that regard.

“You can see the season was slipping away too quickly,” said ESPN's John Clayton.

Childress is 14-20 as a head coach, and he likely knows he's running out of time in Minnesota.

Encouraging for the Vikings is that Frerotte, in his first go around with the team, fared well. In 2003, before he was a member of the Dolphins and Rams, Frerotte started two games in place of an injured Daunte Culpepper and completed an impressive 30 of 45 passes for 506 yards, six TDs and one pick for Minnesota. Of course, it helped that he had Randy Moss as his primary weapon.

Right now Frerotte is the under-center upgrade the Vikings' offense needs to keep defenses honest. He'll need to do what Jackson couldn't, which is to make a few plays in the air while protecting the ball.

Peterson is on pace to surpass the 2,000-yard rushing mark this year. Imagine what he'd do if defenses respected the Vikings’ passing game and weren’t putting nine guys in the box to stop him.

-Eric Krupka is a senior writer for Realfootball365.com. He can be contacted at
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About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November 2005.
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