Last week I wrote about Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and the need to stay patient with him. I wrote how it would be better to stick it out with this young man and not go reaching for a veteran QB, such as Donovan McNabb.

This is what one of my friends asked of me shortly after reading that blog entry, "Is you crazy?"

I am no football expert. I played the game and played it well, once bringing my highschool team back from defeat while scoring four touchdowns and a two point conversion in the second half.....my Al Bundy moment in time. But I have enough knowledge to know that Jackson will never be anything but servicable middle of the road NFL QB at best. And that's just not good enough for a team with a powerful running attack and killer run-defense.

We need to simply admit this a grand epxeriment that has not turned out as planned, tear up the formula, go back to the lab, and start over again. In short, cut the cord on Jackson now and move forward in time for the 2008 season. Unless we get a passing attack started, Adrian Peterson will be lucky to have a few hundred-yard rushing games let alone any two hundred-yard ones.

Jackson did show a glimmer of hope in the second half when he started to run with the ball. But Jackson's rebound from a disastrous start came too little, too late for the Vikings, who could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory. And if you are like me, you are wondering if the Vikes could have won that game with any QB capable of playing mistake free football and the ability to move the offense through the air.

This then begs the question: Who is out there and available in the 2008 or even the 2009 season to bring into Winter Park and solidify the woefully inept QB position? There are a lot of lists out there.

Any name float your boat? I'm not even sure how up-to-date the list is. Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns looks the most promising in terms of age, leadership, and ability. But then he and the Browns might have choked away their playoffs chances Sunday as well. There have been rumors that the Browns may look to trade first-round quarterback selection Brady Quinn. Whether or not the potential rumors of the Browns looking for a suitor are true, Cleveland can’t afford to let Anderson leave town after the way his play has helped the franchise turn around. The franchise tag could be applied to Anderson, but the Browns will likely to sign him to an extension before it reaches that stage.

And the Vikes have probably played well enough to not even have a top 20 pick in the 2008 NFL draft. So I doubt any help would come there and if it did, we'd be another two to three years behind in developing another young QB anyway.

So where does that leave the Vikings? We have a cerebral coach who knows more about the NFL rules than the referees. But the same coach fails to understand that if you want to play "Lawyerball" instead of football, then one should be prepared to have decisions go against you.

Can we count on Brad Childress to see that he may be a little underwhelmed at the QB position? I'm not confident enough in said coach to believe that he will see the weakness at quarterback, or the lack of courage to make adjustments during the game. Two telling post game quotes from Chilly:

“We’re going to have to do some work in terms of, if they’re going to have an extra guy in there (in the box), we’re going to have to do a few different things.”

“We probably should have started throwing it a little bit earlier just to back them away from some of those forcing units.”

Open mike to Chilly: You've had no less than three weeks to adjust to having extra people in the box and begin the game by throwing earlier. And you are only now contemplating those moves?

And that is my main worry. If Chilly can't recognize that he's getting his butt whooped on the field during a game, what makes anyone think that he will recognize that one of the reasons for the whooping may be at the QB position?

So here are your options Mr. Armchair GM:

One: Cut the cord with Chilly and T-Jack. Realize you might have to delay any grand thoughts of playoffs for a few more years as a new program is installed.
Two: Cut the cord only with the QB and get the best QB the team can. Realize that said QB may go Torry Holt on Chilly at some point during thr '08 season.
Three: Cut the cord only on Chilly. Let's see what a real football genuis (Marty Ball? The Chin?) can do to develop T-Jack. Then again, maybe T-Jack is the best he can be right now!
Four: Hold the line. Everyone is panicking. The team will open a can of whoop-ass on the Bronco's and the 'Skins will lose to the 'Boys and MPLS will be playoff central.

Vote now or forever hold your peace. Happy holidays!

Posted by maasx003 at December 24, 2007 12:49 PM