Childress says thanks for the advice, but ...

Brad Childress won't let public opinion sway him, but the Vikings coach does read much of what is written about his team. And what he's been reading is this: The quarterback situation is in near-disarray.

That would explain the steady stream of Jay Cutler rumors, which will only grow following Tuesday's announcement that the Broncos will trade him, or 41-year-old Jeff George recently telling Yahoo! Sports, "If I was in Minnesota, I guarantee I'd be wearing a ring right now." George hasn't thrown an NFL pass since the 2001 season.

But Childress holds the only opinion that matters, and while he isn't claiming that Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels are necessarily headed for Canton, he also doesn't agree with much of what he has read.

"I don't see it as in shambles," Childress said. "Now, do you want improvement there? Yeah. We always know that the laser is going to get pointed at the quarterback. But I don't feel that way. I feel like we've upgraded with a guy like Sage, and I think that those two guys will compete. ... Would we love to have a guy that could be a 10-year starter? Yeah, we would."

Childress mentioned an earlier "clamoring" from fans and media for the Vikings to sign free-agent quarterback Jeff Garcia, but dismissed such a move as a stop-gap measure. Trading a 2009 fourth-round pick to Houston for Rosenfels in late February instead of signing the 39-year-old Garcia was an attempt at a longer-term solution, he said.

"I think we've got a younger, Gus Frerotte-type guy [in Rosenfels] with knowledge in the system that Gus didn't have," Childress said. "I don't think there is anything wrong with a 31-year-old quarterback that's more athletic than Gus."

The Vikings' plan is to have Rosenfels, who played in a West Coast system with the Texans, and Jackson compete for the starting spot in training camp. Both are expected to arrive in the Twin Cities this week and be at Winter Park on Monday when the Vikings' offseason program begins.

The feeling of many is that Jackson will have the upper hand in this competition simply because Childress favors him. A second-round pick in 2006, Jackson has been inconsistent as a starter and lost his job to Frerotte after the Vikings got off to an 0-2 start last season. Frerotte, 37, posted an 8-3 record but Jackson managed to reclaim and then hang onto the job after Frerotte suffered a back injury.

Jackson did not leave a good final impression for 2008, completing only 15 of 35 passes and having an interception returned for a touchdown by cornerback Asante Samuel in a 26-14 first-round playoff loss to Philadelphia.

Asked about this perception of favoritism toward Jackson, Childress said: "I'm going to do what's best for this team, just like when we were 0-2. [We] put a guy in that was 8-3. Did Tarvaris like that? He absolutely didn't like that. Nor would I have expected him to like it. Just like I was going to do what was best for the team -- and some may argue [with the decision] -- when I stayed with Tarvaris. Gus wasn't happy. But you do what you do. That's how I put food on the table. I do what I feel like is right for the team."

Jackson recently told the Star Tribune that he doesn't feel he is treated any differently than any other player.

"I feel like [Childress] has believed in me, getting me better and seeing me progress," Jackson said. "But at the same time I'm like everyone else. They try to make it different because you're a quarterback but I feel like everyone else. I work just as hard or harder. ... I don't look at it as I'm Brad Childress' guy. I just look at it as I'm trying to get better and believe I can help the team win games."

Childress is right: Frerotte wasn't pleased with how things ended in 2008. Frerotte, who was released after Rosenfels was obtained, wasn't the first veteran quarterback to not work out in Minnesota since Childress took over in 2006. Brad Johnson lasted only one season and did not depart on the best of terms.

But Childress made it clear he has no problem with veteran quarterbacks in general, and said each situation must be judged on a case-by-case basis.

"I don't think you can paint yourself in that box," he said. "I don't think that's a good way to go about it. It takes all kinds. ... It's just, do you feel like a guy would fit? Now you've got to get to know them a little bit and you've got to do research around them a little bit and see what his personality is like, how is he wired?"