I resolve not to talk myself into Tarvaris Jackson anymore. A pro quarterback has to be an accurate passer, and for a long time Jackson's major flaw has been inaccuracy; he often throws passes wildly off target. During various brief stretches of quality passing, I've talked myself into Jackson's development. Always, the inaccurate, inconsistent passer returns.
For the next four months, the main drama for Viking fans will be the quarterback position. We will ponder the availability of various quarterbacks via trade, free agency, and the draft.
I'll throw my irrational hopes behind Matt Hasselbeck. He's 33, but he's not far removed from an excellent 2007 season (3,966 yards, 28 touchdowns, a 10-6 record and a playoff win on a team that couldn't run the ball). He's a three-time Pro Bowler, he's started nine playoff games, and the Viking offense suits his skills. If there's a chance he's available for trade, the Vikes would be fools not to try get him.
When you start mentioning trading for Matt Hasselbeck, that is my sign to stop reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteYou have lost touch with reality. Lost touch.
I don't know why, but I'm unable to let go of Jackson just yet. I don't think he's been given enough of an opportunity to succeed, especially from the perspective of offensive play-calling.
ReplyDeleteI mean, with teams that blitz, or put a ton of pressure on your qb, it just seems obvious to throw in some mid-direction or shovel passes to loosen up the defensive pressure. Hate Favre all you want, and I do, but it seems like he was particularly adept at this skill (or his offensive coordinators were particularly astute in calling for the play), when he wasn't throwing the no-look, behind the back pass after crossing the line of scrimmage.
Also, for Christsakes, if you're going to run on a third and one or a fourth and one, and your quarterback is shaky, spread the fucking defense out with a three-receiver set before calling for the run play, or the qb sneak, or the qb draw. Goddamn. I mean, you don't have to do it all the time, and power football from a stacked o-line is nice every once in a while, but at least it spreads the d out a bit.
Plus, as others have mentioned, it would be nice to see a two-halfback set now and again, too.
All of these variations on offense would have made play-action that much better, plus given Jackson a better chance at the roll-outs he seems comfortable with.
Jesus.
Jackson looked great against Detroit, great against Arizona, shaky against the Giants, and horrible against the Eagles. But they never put Jackson in a position to win the game. If your qb is still shaky, then you have to micromanage his possessions, as Cowher did with Roethlisberger (sp?) in his rookie year. Big Ben still isn't all that elite, at least based on this season, or his sophomore season, but when managed correctly, he did ok.
The same should be true with Jackson. I mean, Jackson has potential... the GB game came down to one or two bad throws by him, and the Colts game ... Shiancoe murdered his confidence by dropping that ball in the end zone.
I know, I know... the excuses mount. Nonetheless, I think he can develop into a decent qb, all things said and done.
...
As for your suggestion of Hasselback, I disagree. I think we should go out and get N.A. (name omitted 'cause I can't spell it and I'm too lazy to look it up) from Oakland, if he's available, to shore up the other corner position opposite Winfield. That, plus the return of Henderson, should put our D over the top. And, with Peterson getting better, we could finally be a dominating team.
Look at the Ravens. If we shore up our defensive backs, there's no reason our defense can't be as awesome as the blackbirds. It's not like Flacco is a dominating qb (9/23 against the Dolphins? Please... the Ravens got blown out against superior offensive teams with enough D to crush Flacco's spirit, and, say what you will, the Vikes never really got blown out of any games).
Alright, I'm spent. This season was surreal. I want Childress out, and The Chin in, but that's not going to happen, so I just hope Childress, et al., can learn from their mistakes.
Kerry Collins. He's as vanilla as your offense. He's perfect.
ReplyDeletePJ: It's my irony--I won't talk myself into believing in Tarvaris Jackson, but I will talk myself into believing the Vikes could trade for one of the top QBs of this decade (I'd rank him only behind Manning, Brady, Mcnabb, Favre, and maybe McNair).
ReplyDeleteTroy: I could accept blaming offensive scheme and playcalling but for two things:
1. A quarterback regularly throwing balls far off target is tough to blame on the offensive playcalling.
2. Despite questionable playcalling, Jackson has faced a lot of defenses tacked up to stuff the run--he is in a situation that he should be able to benefit from.
The Vikings should have gone after Chad Pennington. They had a chance, like everyone else did. Chad sucked against the Ravens D, but then, They are the Ravens D. Their secondary has made a lot of people look bad the last 6 games or so. He would have given them game management, accurate passing, plus experience.
ReplyDeleteI cannot see why the Viking's brass did not at least consider Ferotte for the Eagles game. The man was part of 8 wins this year.
Tavaris can only throw a couple of routes well and cannot throw left unless it is a screen pass or quick slant. The Eagles were sitting on all of his normal throws and should have picked off 3 or 4 passes. They had their hands on them, but we got lucky. Still the interception return was "the" game changer.
T. Jack's foot work is terrible and he often throws out of rythm or falling backwards, even without pressure in his face. Sure these are coachable things, but we have a Superbowl contending team with any decent starter in the N.F.L. as our QB.
We should not be force feeding a kid that is not really ready to play at a Superbowl quality level. I will gaurantee you that even with Gus at QB, we probably would have beaten the Pack in the season opener and definately would have beaten the Colts. Enough said.
Childress' lack of imagination just kills me. I do not know how he O. coordinated the Eagles to 4 straight NFC title games and a Superbowl, unless Andy Reid was calling all the plays.
Let's hope the powers that be get it together. GO VIKES!