Vikings: Holcomb gets another start as Jackson sits out

Dissipating whatever suspense remained, the Vikings acknowledged Friday that a strained groin will force quarterback Tarvaris Jackson to miss a second consecutive game.

Kelly Holcomb will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, but the Vikings hope Jackson will be ready to return for their Oct. 14 game at Chicago. Running back Chester Taylor (oblique) will join Holcomb in the starting lineup, while receiver Troy Williamson (hamstring) also should play in some capacity.

Jackson is listed as questionable on the Vikings' injury report but participated in only a small portion of practice this week.

"[Holcomb] has been taking most of the reps, and Tarvaris is questionable," coach Brad Childress said. "You can draw your own logical conclusions from that."

Holcomb said he grew more comfortable with the Vikings' personnel this week, but he is still making his way through the learning curve after missing spring practices and training camp.

"I feel better," Holcomb said, "but that's a lot of snaps and a lot of reps. There were a couple plays last week [against Kansas City] that were in the game plan that I've never run. I had never run them in a real live situation. That was a little different for me."

Asked if the Vikings used any of those plays, Holcomb said: "There were a couple of them, yeah, but I was cool with it because I've known the concepts and have thrown them other places. But it's a little different when you're with another team with different guys."

Childress, meanwhile, reiterated that Taylor will start ahead of rookie Adrian Peterson.

"I have seen [Taylor] progress day by day," Childress said. "Kind of round himself back into it, get some timing back, get a good sweat and get his legs underneath him."

Williamson should play, Childress said, but his role in the starting lineup will be determined by the personnel package the Vikings open the game in.

Return for Richardson?

Veteran fullback Tony Richardson made it through all of practice this week and hopes to play Sunday after missing two games because of a bruised forearm.

Dating back to last season, Richardson has missed nine of the Vikings' past 10 games because of forearm injuries. It is by far the longest stretch of games Richardson has missed in his 13-year NFL career.

"It's tough," he said. "Obviously, you want to be out there and you want to try to help your team and all of that. Unfortunately, injuries are a big part of our game. But you've got to be smart about it."

Morency back

Packers running back Vernand Morency appears set to make his season debut Sunday. Morency, who had been expected to be the Packers' top back this season but was sidelined on the first day of training camp because of a knee injury, took part in all of Friday's practice.

Meanwhile, running back Brandon Jackson (shin strain) is listed as questionable after missing a second day of practice. Jackson, the Packers' leading rusher with 97 yards on 38 carries, was injured in last Sunday's victory over San Diego. Center Scott Wells injured his hamstring in practice Thursday and did not practice Friday. Receiver Greg Jennings also sat out of practice again because of a hamstring injury. Both Wells and Jennings are expected to play.

Etc.

• The Vikings, along with Cuisine Concepts owner Wayne Kostroski, will host the annual Taste of the NFL celebrity dinner Monday evening at Winter Park. The event, which benefits Hunger Solutions of Minnesota, will start at 6 p.m. For more information, call 612-338-4537 or log on to www.tasteofthenflmn.org.

• Linebackers coach Fred Pagac will be an honorary captain Saturday night for Ohio State when the Buckeyes take on the Gophers. Pagac played at Ohio State from 1970-73 and coached there from 1978-2000.

Staff writer Judd Zulgad contributed to this notebook.

Kevin Seifert • kseifert@startribune.com