vikings/nfl

"Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck."

— Hall of Fame coach Don Shula

And so the debate begins. Do the Vikings have a good quarterback hiding in their midst, ready to compete on an NFL level this season? Or, to siphon from Shula's argument, are they pressing their luck by heading to training camp today with nearly unprecedented inexperience at the game's most important position?

If all goes according to plan, Tarvaris Jackson (two career starts) will win the starting job. Brooks Bollinger (nine) will serve as the nominal veteran backup, with either Drew Henson (one), Tyler Thigpen (rookie) or perhaps no one in the No. 3 role.

Never in their 46-year history have the Vikings entered a season with as few as 12 professional starts among their top quarterbacks. The only NFL team this year with less experience is Houston; the Texans plan to start Matt Schaub (two) with Sage Rosenfels (two) as his backup.

Emboldened by his experience with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2000 — when second-year starter Donovan McNabb, backed up by little-used Koy Detmer, led the Eagles to an 11-5 record — coach Brad Childress took a plunge that has left the Vikings near the bottom of many preseason rankings. However, Childress is counting on a skilled defense and enhanced running game to minimize Jackson's growing pains, and his faith in Bollinger caused him to pass on signing a more proven backup.

"Somewhere," Childress said, "you have to take that step. Unless you're George Blanda, you're not going to be playing into your 50s. And so somewhere, you end up making an investment in young guys and playing them. Whether that's Tarvaris or Brooks this year, that's what you do."

A pair of first-year starters led their teams to the playoffs last season, but San Diego's Philip Rivers and Dallas' Tony Romo first logged a combined five years as backups. A year removed from Division I-AA Alabama State, Jackson has no such luxury — putting him in a position that former MVP Rich Gannon compared to driver's education.

"It's like putting a 16-year-old behind the wheel of a car," said Gannon, who worked with Vikings quarterbacks as a consultant this spring. "You've been to the driver's education class and did a good job in the parking lot. But then they throw you out there in the middle of rush hour and see what you do. You might survive, but it's because you don't know what you don't know.

"I think back to my career, the first seven or eight years, and I was out of my brain. That's how long it takes to learn the position."

Betting on Jackson

Jackson made two starts as a rookie. The first, a 9-7 loss at Green Bay, was one of the worst offensive showings (104 yards, three first downs) in Vikings history. On the third play of his second start, Jackson had an interception returned for a touchdown in a 41-21 loss.

While outside observers watched a struggling young quarterback, Childress saw enough raw potential to name Jackson a likely starter in 2007.

"The skills and ability are there," Childress said of Jackson's strong arm, mobility and intelligence. "But the biggest thing with any quarterback is the decision-making thing. That's what we'll be looking for."

As players report to Minnesota State Mankato, the Vikings are confident Jackson at least has the capacity to make good decisions. In fact, Jackson has picked up the West Coast offense at an "unbelievable" rate, quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers said.

"Sometimes we have calls that are 15 or 16 words long in the huddle," Rogers said. "When he got here last year, during his rookie minicamp, he was able to spit them out almost immediately. He put it all together pretty quickly. Now, you just give him a play and he can give you a formation for every occasion. That was probably the most pleasant surprise I had with him: how bright he is."

Knowing the play, of course, is only part of understanding the position. Jackson experienced predictably mixed results during full 11-on-11 spring drills, when varying defensive schemes, coverage swaps and protection subtleties entered the equation.