T-Jack Benched

[KYPack]

The more I think about it, I think MN is making a big mistake benching Jackson. The guy has a lot of talent, he just hasn't put it together yet.

IF Childress thought Jackson could be a starter this summer, what has changed? He didn't have terrible games. Where is Childress's confidence in his own judgement? If he chose to go with Jackson, he should give him a chance to come around.

Switching to a 37-year-old journeyman is just throwing in the towel.

That's what I think. Why announce that Gus has the gig for the year? Pull the kid to the bench, let him watch and coach him while he's watching. Sometimes the light goes on for the guy. Young QB's need time, like the wine, ya know? The youngesters need to know what to ignore and what to focus on. TJack is still in the "blur" stage. Work with him and clear his head.

[Lurker64]

My guess is that Zygi informed Childress in no uncertain terms that Tarvaris Jackson would not be starting against Carolina. Zygmunt spend a whole lot of cash in this offseason to put together a contender, and likely wanted a much better product on the field.

This also informs Childress's inexplicable "Gus Ferotte is the starter for the rest of the season" statement. It would be reasonable to say "Gus Ferotte will be starting against Carolina this week", but it's in no way necessary to comment on who you expect your starter to be in week 14. I'm thinking this is Chilly saying "You want Gus? Well you're getting fourteen weeks of Gus! What do you think of that?"

[Harlan Huckleby]

Maybe Childress is a really bad coach.

[mission]

The more I think about it, I think MN is making a big mistake benching Jackson. The guy has a lot of talent, he just hasn't put it together yet.

IF Childress thought Jackson could be a starter this summer, what has changed? He didn't have terrible games. Where is Childress's confidence in his own judgement? If he chose to go with Jackson, he should give him a chance to come around.

Switching to a 37-year-old journeyman is just throwing in the towel.

I think it's a bit of the opposite.

Having Jackson as your starter is saying "Ok, this guy's young but he's gonna be our top dog and we're gonna grow with him since he has all this star help around him". It's like people saying Brett gave us the best chance to win now and even though Rodgers is the future, we need to win now -- keep Brett. MGMT said "I dont know if we agree with that, we're going with Rodgers" just like MN stood up and said T-Jack is their guy. Only difference is that Packer mgmt isn't a bunch of idiots.

They are getting pressure to WIN NOW because of AP and Allen and all the media hype, so there's not as much time to write the year off to a T-Jackson "learning experience" ... they can't write this year off and it was getting evident that having him as the QB was doing exactly that for some (false) sense of hope in his future ability to lead that team.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Ferrote was never very impressive. What kind of skills can a 37-year-old, who wasn't so hot in his prime, bring to the table?

I'm just looking at this from a distance, scratching my head.

[mission]

Ferrote was never very impressive. What kind of skills can a 37-year-old, who wasn't so hot in his prime, bring to the table?

I'm just looking at this from a distance, scratching my head.

And I hear that but from what I gather, Jackson is just horrendous, throwing balls way over everyone's head and all that. Not even giving people a chance to make a play ... they look at it like Ferrotte can still go in there and have an average amount of respect from his teammates.

I watch the guy against the Pack and everything is side arm and just piss poor mechanics. Definitely nothing you'd see on an instructional video. No wonder he's so erratic ... nothing previous to him throwing the ball indicates it will go to its intended destination. I mean that.

[KYPack]

You spell Gus's last name "Frerotte" The 1st "R" is silent.

When I was looking up the right spelling, I discovered this all-time Frerotte Factoid:

At the University of Tulsa, Gus Frerotte finished his college career as the school's 2nd-ranked all-time passer behind T.J. Rubley, a teammate from 1991-92.

I didn't know that and now I'm sad that I do know it.

[pbmax]

I am not sure there will be much difference between the two. Frerotte's best recent season was with the Dolphins (and Chris Chambers) in 2005 with 18 TDS, 13 INTs and a 71 passer rating. He started 15 games.

There may be some gameplan items and routes/throws that Childress feels he can call with Gus that he can't with Tavaris, but overall they may be at the same level now. Better to stick with the younger guy and work through it.

[run pMc]

What the Vikings are guilty of is trusting in Chilly's judgement on a QB. This kid will never be a good QB. He can rocket the ball but just because you can throw doesnt mean that you can read a defence.

Let's be thankful...we could be replacing "Chilly" with "M3". Remember, we have two rookies behind a guy with 2 NFL starts. Let's hope Rodgers stays healthy and we don't accuse M3/TT of mismanaging the QB spot.

As to The J.Allen trade, I think getting a high-motor, productive DE at age 26 is a pretty good. He isn't pulling a Cletidus now that he has his contract. The potential for a suspension carries risk, and I think the trade cost MIN a lot. It looked like a "win-now" move...MIN is a team with a shorter window than GB, and trading away picks shortened that window a little bit more. Guys like Pat Williams, Sharper, and Winfield aren't getting younger, and who know how many carries they'll get out of AP.
Tough to have a still developing QB like TJack when the team is in "win-now" mode. I think Chilly expected TJack to be farther along...word is he has monster practices but it isn't translating onto the field.

Frerotte helps them short term, but I don't consider it a major upgrade, and does little for the long-term development at the QB spot. To me, this is like going from Grossman to Orton.

[mngolf19]

My guess is that Zygi informed Childress in no uncertain terms that Tarvaris Jackson would not be starting against Carolina. Zygmunt spend a whole lot of cash in this offseason to put together a contender, and likely wanted a much better product on the field.

This also informs Childress's inexplicable "Gus Ferotte is the starter for the rest of the season" statement. It would be reasonable to say "Gus Ferotte will be starting against Carolina this week", but it's in no way necessary to comment on who you expect your starter to be in week 14. I'm thinking this is Chilly saying "You want Gus? Well you're getting fourteen weeks of Gus! What do you think of that?"

I think this is pretty close. Zygi told him he must win this year or he's gone. Childress decided that since QB is what is holding him back, might as well try a change. Actually, I was surprised to hear that Gus was a pro bowler once. Who'da thunk it.

[Zool]

You spell Gus's last name "Frerotte" The 1st "R" is silent.

When I was looking up the right spelling, I discovered this all-time Frerotte Factoid:

At the University of Tulsa, Gus Frerotte finished his college career as the school's 2nd-ranked all-time passer behind T.J. Rubley, a teammate from 1991-92.

I didn't know that and now I'm sad that I do know it.

Well thats some special company ole Gus is keeping.

[Scott Campbell]

Zygi told him he must win this year or he's gone.

Will 9-7 save his hyde?

[mngolf19]

Zygi told him he must win this year or he's gone.

Will 9-7 save his hyde?

No. I think min of 10-6 and playoffs. Zygi always talks about making progress, getting better. Those would be better albeit not much. Which then has me wondering if he contacts Cowher after the season. Zygi doesn't mind spending if he believes it will move the team forward.

[Scott Campbell]

So he's got to go 10-4 the rest of the way. I'm pulling for him, but for the same reason I wanted Tice strung along for another year.

[sharpe1027]

Jackson is still young. If he uses this benching as a positive learning opportunity, I think he can come back.

Against the Packers, his passing was indeed erratic. I think that can improve with experience.

As other posters have noted, Jackson is very athletic and elusive in the backfield. If his passing improves, I remain confident he can become a competent starter some day.

I hope the Vikings agree with you, because I'm pretty confident that that team will not go anywhere with him at QB. He is relatively young, but I would say it is much more likely that he washes out. He showed a regression from last year after preparing while getting full attention of the coaching staff the entire off-season. He has a great running game and the defense is above average but his numbers were abysmal.

Why? Coaching and play-calling is probably a good portion of it, but from what I saw, he doesn't have the consistent accuracy to make it in the NFL. You don't just throw a few balls in practice and all of a sudden you have an accurate passer. He might improve some, but I doubt he'll improve enough to be a legitmate starter in the NFL.

Just my opinion.