QB controversy on the way?

It appears Tarvaris Jackson will not start against the Chiefs this Sunday, and it's likely Kelly Holcomb will (Pioneer Press, Star Tribune, Viking Update).

It's on. There are now questions about the position, and an injury has forced the possibility of a different QB than Tarvaris Jackson leading the team. The position is in question, and it has the chance to bloom into a honest to goodness quarterback controversy. If the Vikings are good, that could be problematic; if the Vikings suck, that will at least be entertaining.

If Holcomb plays well in a Viking win, Childress can't really push Jackson back into the lineup when he's healthy. As JJ Cooper at Fanhouse writes, "So what happens if Holcomb comes in and looks like a competent NFL quarterback this week--the kind who can actually help a team win instead of trying to make sure he doesn't hurt it? If that happens it would be hard to argue that Jackson gives the team a better chance to win right now." The Vikings haven't invested as much in Jackson as a lot of people think (he was the fourth player they took in 2006): if he doesn't work out and there is another option, the team can go in another direction. That doesn't mean the team should abandon Jackson, but it also means the Vikings don't have to try make Jackson work through his struggles (as they might if he were an early first round pick).

If Holcomb steps in to start and does well, there are all sorts of long-term questions. Is Jackson simply not ready, and will he be a starter after another year of learning? Or should the team move in a different long-term direction? I'm not trying to raise these questions myself, but the situation is likely to raise them for us.

And check out pro-football-reference.com, which puts Tarvaris Jackson (and his awful game against Detroit) in context.