Jackson still green under pressure

Tarvaris Jackson said Friday that he gets more comfortable with each snap he takes during the Vikings' offseason program. However, it was clear at times during the team's three-day minicamp over the weekend that the second-year quarterback still has a ways to go before he is completely at home running the offense.

This was especially true Saturday, when the Vikings ran drills that called for pressure to be applied on the quarterbacks; Jackson, who is expected to take over as the Vikings starter this season, appeared to be indecisive on several occasions.

"That's always a different element for a quarterback," coach Brad Childress said of making decisions under pressure.

"Seven-on-seven [drills with no pass rush] is not the real world. Regular down and distance, first-and-10 football is not the real world. When you start to get in your third-and-medium and higher distances, people have a tendency to blitz you and you have to handle that.

"They are trying to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands quickly and force a quick decision, so that's always the thing you have to ramp up," he added. "You have to ramp up the quickness of your decision, and those are tough things to face."

Childress, the former offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, said the Eagles had a blitz drill built into every practice during Donovan McNabb's first season as a starter so that the quarterback would learn to react with pressure being applied.

"They are going to come after [Jackson] and see if he has the answers, and once you drive that stake and use it as an opportunity to hit the defense, you run them out of the blitz," Childress said. "If you don't answer it, you see it over and over.

Changing things up?

At the NFL ownership meetings in late March, Childress discussed having offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell work on the mechanics of play-calling during minicamp. Childress called plays last season but clearly is giving thought to getting Bevell more involved in that area.

Asked Sunday how much work Bevell did in that role over the past three days, Childress admitted that, basically, everything in minicamp is scripted so "there is not really what we call special categories where the plays get called." Bevell apparently will get his chance in training camp.

"Typically that's the way it ends up going," Childress said. "The coordinator is calling the plays while you're moving around doing offense, defense, talking about the situations."

Expanding his focus

Entering his first season as the Vikings coach last summer, Childress spent much of that minicamp primarily focused on the offense and installing his system. This year, however, he seemed to move around the field more frequently, often taking time to watch the defense.

"That could be true," Childress said when asked if he was trying to observe more areas. "I think guys are a little more comfortable when it's yours and you're coaching the details and fine-tuning it. ... I'm probably more comfortable from the standpoint that I know exactly what's being taught. I've watched it through the offseason, so that could be."

Etc.

• Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and all of the team's limited partners will be at Winter Park on June 13 for one of the team's ownership retreats. In addition to getting updates from all the department heads, the Vikings also plan to bring in public affairs experts to discuss the challenges the team faces in its quest to get a new stadium.

• The Vikings wrapped up their three-day mandatory minicamp Sunday with a single workout. Most players will be back at Winter Park on Tuesday when non-mandatory Organized Training Activities (OTAs) resume.

• Receiver Maurice Mann (left hamstring) returned Sunday, after sitting out the second practice Friday and both sessions Saturday.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com