Jim Souhan: Kids could change everything

Last year, as the NFL reigned as the most popular sports league ever, the Vikings fielded the least interesting team in franchise history.

The Vikes shunned public attention, ran predictable plays in predictable ways, collapsed in the second half of games and in the second half of the season, appeared to quit on the rookie coach in the finale and fielded exactly zero stars worthy of a magazine cover.

We'll spend much of the team's time in Mankato parsing Brad Childress' words, waiting to see if he'll call the plays or hand the duties to Darrell Bevell, scrutinizing new defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and hoping at least one of the wide receivers can keep fans from flipping the channel during the middle of passing plays.

Considering many NFL coaches and players are interchangeable, intelligent observers will gauge the team's prospects this season and the franchise's ability to entertain before the end of the decade by watching two youngsters: second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and rookie running back Adrian Peterson.

If Jackson and Peterson can play, the Vikings will immediately become more interesting. If they become stars, they could change everything about this franchise — the ability of this coaching staff to run an offense, the popularity of the current regime, and the ability of owner Zygi Wilf to talk someone into financing a new stadium.

Unless you're a middle linebacker in Chicago, quarterback and running back are the two sexiest positions in football, the positions that sell tickets and capture imaginations.

The Vikings need Jackson and Peterson to seize starting jobs to become a more intriguing team. They need Jackson and Peterson to excel if they are going to become a good team.

Training camps can be dull, and for a good, veteran squad the only developments that matter are injuries. The latest Mission Mankato will be different. It could even be interesting, because there is nothing in football so fascinating or pivotal as the development of a young quarterback, and there is nothing so visceral and vicarious as watching an explosive running back try to elude 11 angry men.

Jackson is promising because of his work ethic and quick release, but he has much more to prove than Peterson, even though Peterson has yet to take a snap in the league. Quarterback is a harder position to learn.

Talented rookie backs regularly contribute to their teams. Young quarterbacks often take years to develop, and often need to experience failure before adapting to the nuances of what Childress rightly calls "the toughest position in sports."

Peterson faces a different challenge. There is no question that he has the talent to excel in the NFL. The question will be whether his upright running style and injury history doom him to regular mentions on the weekly injury report.

This is the time of year when hope need not fear the immediate rebuke of reality, so here's the best-case scenario for the Vikings:

The talented offensive line helps Peterson become an immediate game-breaking threat. With Peterson and the reliable Chester Taylor handling almost all of the carries, defenses stack the line, and Jackson and his unproven receivers are good enough to make defenses pay.

Is that likely? Who knows? One Manning is great, the other is lousy. Tom Brady had to share time with Drew Henson at Michigan. Daunte Culpepper (yes, the buffoon now comparing himself to Gandhi and talking about the ability to feed his family) set an NFL record for yards from scrimmage after, and before, frequently playing like a blind man. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl; Dan Marino didn't.

The future is unknowable, but Jackson and/or Peterson have a chance to make this team interesting. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP • jsouhan@startribune.com