vikings/nfl

This is the worst-case scenario. It's Armageddon. It's choosing between Door A and Door B, knowing one leads to arsenic and the other to a 500-foot cliff. You want to stand still, dig in and hope a better choice emerges -- even as hurricane-force winds force you toward a decision.

Six games into their Tarvaris Jackson experiment, the Vikings are facing the crossroad of their nightmares. Jackson's fractured finger notwithstanding, do they pull the plug and try saving their season with backup Kelly Holcomb? Or do they continue to give Jackson the experience he needs to develop?

Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. Turn to Holcomb and Jackson's evaluation period flows undesirably into 2008. Stay with Jackson and risk a disastrous season if he does not improve.

One point is clear: Jackson, less than two years removed from Division I-AA Alabama State, was not ready to take over an offense that had few proven receivers to ease his transition. At his best, he has been a below-average NFL quarterback. At worst, Jackson has appeared to be in completely over his head.

He is completing 45.9 percent of his passes and has a 48.7 passer rating. The Vikings are 2-2 in his starts, but his most recent performance in a 24-14 loss to Dallas suggests that routine competency is a long way away.

Even if it was just offseason dreaming, the Vikings believed they would avoid this circumstance.

They bet Jackson could perform well enough to not detract from a potentially dominant running game, along with a defense that makes big plays and generally keeps opponents within striking distance.

Instead, his performance has followed an uglier -- but not altogether unpredictable -- path that has jeopardized the Vikings' season before Halloween.

Monday, coach Brad Childress acknowledged the line he is straddling: Getting Jackson the playing time he needs while still trying to win games. So far, those twin goals appear mutually exclusive.

So perhaps as early as today, Childress must decide whether to reinforce his commitment to Jackson while tacitly subordinating his team's competitiveness.

The finger injury provides a short-term excuse. Doctors have told Jackson he can play with the condition, but it would be easy to sit him for a week or two under the guise of letting the finger heal. Eventually, however, Childress will have to make the choice.

All of which leads to a central question: Will the Vikings know whether Jackson is their long-term answer by the end of this season? If not, will they risk 2008 to find out, or will they pursue another option during the offseason? (Their opponent this week, Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb, could be available.)

Childress previewed his thought process Monday, making clear he wants Jackson to play as often as possible in 2007.

"If you are going to develop somebody," he said, "the word kind of speaks for itself. We are currently in that process. I believe we'll know a lot more about Tarvaris at the end of this year than we do right now."

Four starts is not enough time to evaluate a young quarterback, but the Vikings never gave themselves an avenue for impatience. In truth, they locked themselves into this position over the winter, when their faith in Jackson precluded pursuit of a veteran starter.

Unless they already have given up on Jackson internally -- an assertion made this week by the website profootballtalk.com -- the Vikings have no choice but to stay with him this season in hope they can make a clear decision for the position in 2008.

That tack could scuttle their season, but that is the risk they took last offseason.

Monday, Childress was asked to gauge the status of Jackson's development, and whether it is infringing on the Vikings' competitiveness.