The Vikings had reached fourth down in the final minute of the Thursday night fiasco at Lambeau Field. Rookie quarterback Tarvaris Jackson dropped back, looked right, looked right some more and then threw a pass toward that sideline.
The target was Bethel Johnson, a receiver and kick returner the Vikings had picked up off the street in September. Johnson was double-covered, but this did not deter Jackson from sailing a pass in his direction.
Yao Ming wouldn't have been able to get a hand on it. Jackson gave Johnson no chance -- just as there was no chance for the Vikings offense on this night with the discombobulated, unprepared rookie trying to run things.
Jackson played the worst game ever seen from a Vikings quarterback. This includes the worst of Gary Cuozzo and Steve Dils, and the worst of Daunte Culpepper in 2005, and of Brad Johnson in 2006.
The Jackson-led offense produced three first downs. This was the 693rd regular-season game in Vikings history. Never had they managed only three first downs.
There were strained attempts to take Jackson off the hook after the 9-7 loss. Even coach Brad Childress, who had no problem previously trying to direct the criticism of his offense toward Johnson, said he felt the rookie had done well "managing" the game.
Come on, Chilly. Moose Stubing did a better job managing the California Angels in 1988, and his tenure ended with a 0-8 record.
The fans who spent the past month booing Johnson and pleading for Jackson are desperate to blame Childress' stodgy offense for the rookie's ineptitude.
But here's the reality: The kid stunk.
He dropped into the pocket, looked around aimlessly and waited for Green Bay's Aaron Kampman to arrive five seconds later.
The main complaint against Childress seemed to be that he didn't design rollout plays for Jackson. Nonsense. If the young man was so rattled he couldn't take a step forward to find a receiver, how was he going to see them while on the run?
Childress' biggest mistake was in deciding to start Jackson, when the coach had to know from watching the kid every day in practice that he was as ready for prime time as was Spergon Wynn in the final game of the 2001 season in Baltimore.
At the end of his rookie season as coach, Chilly committed a cardinal sin: He listened to the public. He allowed the fans to choose his starting quarterback.
If Johnson had started in Green Bay on Thursday, the Vikings would've opened with their usual drive, Ryan Longwell would've kicked a field goal, and then a couple more, and the Purple would've ridden its defense to victory.
With Jackson, the Vikings had the ball for fewer than 2½ minutes on eight of their first 11 possessions. Buddy Ryan's defense with the '85 Bears would've had trouble holding up for four quarters if supported by an offense this pathetic.
The Purple zealots trying to sugarcoat Jackson's effort have attempted to turn one pass that bounced off Troy Williamson's left shoulder pad into the greatest Vikings scandal since the Sex Cruise.
Hogwash. If a drop by Williamson was an excuse for a quarterback to go in the tank, as did Jackson, the Vikings would've gone into Thursday's game 2-12, not 6-8.
Another item in Jackson's defense was a 42-yard completion to Travis Taylor that was nullified by an illegal-shift penalty. Friday, Childress confirmed, indirectly, that the penalty -- and another for the same sin -- were Jackson's fault for not allowing his teammates to get set.
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