As I watched young redshirt freshman Adam Weber take over the Gophers offense on Saturday in the 41-35 threee-overtime victory over Miami (Ohio), he reminded me of another young quarterback named Fran Tarkenton, who — fresh out of college in 1961 — rallied the expansion Vikings in the team's first game to a great upset victory over the veteran Chicago Bears.

Yes, I'll be ridiculed for this comparison. I am not saying that Weber is close to Tarkenton yet, or ever will be. But on Saturday, in his second college start, Weber rushed 16 times for 97 yards and one touchdown and completed 26 of 40 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, including two to sophomore Eric Decker, who also has a great future in football. Like Tarkenton, Weber can run the ball, and he is running a tough offense.

And yes, I expect more ridicule when I compare Weber, after two college starts, to having the athletic ability of Vince Young, the great All-America whom Gophers coach Tim Brewster recruited and coached at Texas. But Weber has some of the athletic ability of Young, now a star with the Tennessee Titans.

"There's some poise there that Vince has got, some confidence that Vince has got, athletic ability like Vince," Brewster said. "Adam's got that kind of arm, Vince is a little different athlete, but I'll tell you what: Adam Weber's had two really good games the past two weeks and I think he's going to keep getting better."

And for those who were concerned that the Gophers wouldn't run the ball in their new offense, they rushed for 246 yards last week and 306 Saturday.

While the Gophers had some bad luck last week, they were very lucky Saturday after they blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Not only did Miami miss a 33-yard field goal that would have won the game, but a possible touchdown reception for the RedHawks was ruled inconclusive by the Big Ten officials in the replay booth. Rest assured, some other crew might have ruled otherwise.

Defense hurt

The Gophers defense lost its best player in defensive back Dominic Jones before the season started when he was kicked off the team after getting charged with sexual assault.

In practice last week, pass-rushing defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg broke his hand. He played Saturday, though he was somewhat limited as Miami threw for 418 yards and three touchdowns.

Then, early in the second quarter, Mike Sherels, one of the team's few experienced linebackers, injured his chest, and he was in street clothes before the game ended.

Another top linebacker, John Shevlin, is playing hurt. So the question is, after giving up 412 yards in passing in last week's overtime loss to Bowling Green and giving up 418 more Saturday, how are Brewster and his defensive staff going to improve that leaky pass defense when they start playing conference teams a lot stronger than the two Mid-American Conference opponents the Gophers have faced?

I don't agree with Sports Illustrated's prediction that the Gophers will go 0-8 in the Big Ten. But victories will be rare if that pass defense doesn't improve.

As for VanDeSteeg, the junior said: "My hand's broke, but there's nothing wrong with it. I can still play, I've got all my fingers, got my hand; it's just like having my wrist taped."

VanDeSteeg agrees that the pass rush has to improve. "We have to convert on pass rushing," he said. "The big emphasis this week was stopping the run; they had a really good run game. ... We stopped the run, and now we've got to learn how to convert to pass rush."

David Gibbs served as Gophers defensive coordinator under Glen Mason for four years before leaving after the 2000 season. Since then, Moe Ankney, Greg Hudson and David Lockwood all struggled to field a strong defense for the Gophers, and it appears as though Everett Withers might face a similar problem this year.

Nobody knows

A question I hear almost every place I go is: How good is this Vikings team?

The truth is that nobody — including coach Brad Childress and his staff — has any idea. Today is the first time all of the starters, on offense, defense and special teams, will be on the field for the entire game.

And the game is against the Atlanta Falcons, an opponent difficult to scout. They have a new coach in former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, a surprise hire to replace Jim Mora, who was fired because he talked too much. They also have a new quarterback in Joey Harrington, replacing Michael Vick, who is headed for prison.

Getting back to the Vikings, nobody knows if second-year man Tarvaris Jackson has the poise, confidence and even the ability to be a winning quarterback in the NFL. The right side of the offensive line at is still a question mark, though center Matt Birk, left guard Steve Hutchinson and left tackle Bryant McKinnie are as good as any left side of the line in the league.

I have confidence that rookie Adrian Peterson and veteran Chester Taylor will be more than adequate at running back and that the receivers, headed by free-agent acquisition Bobby Wade, will match any other receivers in the NFC North.

The Vikings had a strong rush defense last year, but they will have to develop a better pass rush to prevent quarterbacks like New England's Tom Brady from completing passes at will like he did here last year.

A good portion of the Vikings' 53-player roster has been overhauled from last year's opener. The squad has many inexperienced players. How they help improve the team, nobody knows.

I am positive Childress and his staff will do a better job in their second year than they did in their first.

So despite all of the predictions one reads and one hears on talk shows, nobody really can say for sure if this is a rebuilding year for the Vikings, or if they can contend with Chicago, Green Bay and Detroit for the division title.

You won't know all of the answers after today's game. But you certainly will know more than all of those speculators who have concluded that this team will finish third in the division and won't improve on its 6-10 record from 2006.

Me? I will join the speculators for the day. And I will pick the team to go no worse than 8-8 with a chance to go 9-7. I too will know more after today.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com