Ill-timed pickoff sets tone for Vikings defeat

IRVING, TEXAS - Vikings coach Brad Childress wanted to take one final look at John David Booty and Brooks Bollinger on Thursday night before deciding which one to keep as his third quarterback.

Childress' thoughts after the Vikings' 16-10 loss in their preseason finale at Texas Stadium? "They were both average," he said, the disgust dripping from his voice. "Average is about the worst thing you can say about somebody. Average."

Here is Childress' definition of average play from the position he used to coach. Booty started and completed eight of 15 passes for 93 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in the first half. The interception came on his first pass attempt and the Vikings' second play from scrimmage.

Dallas turned that first-quarter miscue -- Booty's third interception of the preseason vs. no touchdown passes -- into a 24-yard scoring drive that gave the Cowboys a 10-0 lead.

Bollinger, entering his third season with the Vikings, played the final two quarters and completed six of 18 passes for 62 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Bollinger and Booty both have no idea which one will be kept, only that by 5 p.m. Saturday one almost certainly will be unemployed.

"I have no idea and I've never been told anything," Bollinger said. "I have no idea where it was, where it is."

What Childress wanted to see was one quarterback grab the job behind starter Tarvaris Jackson and backup Gus Frerotte. That didn't happen and now Childress must make a decision.

Booty likely is the favorite simply because the Vikings invested a fifth-round pick in him last April. Last summer, the Vikings tried to sneak seventh-round quarterback Tyler Thigpen through waivers in order to put him on the practice squad. He was claimed by Kansas City.

"I'll have to back through and pull the thing back apart," Childress said of how he will make his choice. "But that was average play on both parts."

Booty's interception occurred as the rookie came under pressure. Instead of throwing the ball away, he held on to it too long and then tried to force a short pass to Bobby Wade. Cowboys linebacker Tyson Smith got in front of Wade and made the pickoff.

"You can't do it," Childress said. "You can't do it at [your own] 24-yard line. That's the No. 1 statistic in football. You turn the football over. You have to have some regard for it."

Said Booty when told of Childress' comment about the quarterbacks being average: "It's frustrating. I said the biggest thing that kills me is the pick. That's the one thing I go back to. I'm sure there were some other things he saw that he thought I should have done better."

Booty said he remains confident as the cuts approach but added who makes it "isn't my call."

Childress was in an obviously sour mood as he spoke to reporters and it went beyond the struggles of his quarterbacks. "I hate to lose," he said after his team finished the preseason 1-3. "I don't care if they were playing tiddlywinks or preseason football. I hate to lose and I like putting my best foot forward. So when we pick the 53 guys on the team we're going to find 53 winners, that's what we're going to do."

As promised the majority of the Vikings' regulars did not play, although receiver Bobby Wade saw plenty of action. The starters ran on the field in the Texas heat about 2 1/2 hours before the game. The Cowboys also rested many of their regulars, including starting quarterback Tony Romo.

Tarvaris Jackson, the Vikings' starter, probably would not have played regardless after suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the second preseason game. He sat out last Saturday against Pittsburgh as veteran backup Gus Frerotte got the start.

Frerotte also rested Thursday.

Jackson did quite a bit of throwing before Thursday's game and reiterated that he will be back for the regular-season opener Sept. 8 at Green Bay. He continues to wear a brace on the knee and said he probably will have it on for the opener "for precautionary reasons."

Jackson, though, hopes not to be limited against the Packers. "Running before pregame, it felt really good then," Jackson said, "so [I'm] just going to let it rest up and keep on treating [it]."