Tarvaris Jackson stood before a group of kids in the lunch room at Cityview Performing Arts Magnet School this week as a large media contingent watched and waited for him off to the side.

Another day, another round of difficult questions for the Vikings quarterback.

In recent days Jackson has faced questions about his long-term prospects with the team, the never-ending Brett Favre speculation and pointed criticism by teammate Pat Williams about his work ethic. Perhaps that's why Jackson acted neither surprised nor angry that he found himself under the microscope again at the community outreach event this week.

"This is my life right now and I love my life," Jackson said. "I love my job, and I've just got to go out here and try to get better. If I play better, I won't have to answer all these questions all the time."

That spotlight will continue to shine today when the Vikings open their mandatory three-day minicamp at Winter Park. While the football world waits for Favre to decide whether he'll park his lawn mower and play this season, the Vikings must proceed with their quarterback competition between Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.

Jackson, 26, finished last season as the starter and is entering his fourth season in coach Brad Childress' version of the West Coast system. But the competition is "50-50" at this point, Jackson said.

"I don't think they're going to show me any favoritism just because I ended the year as a starter," he said. "I just think it's 50-50 and we're going to fight for it as hard as we can."

Defensive end Ray Edwards voiced his opinion Wednesday, saying he believes Jackson -- his close friend -- should be the starter.

"I believe he's the better quarterback," Edwards said. "He's proven himself in the league. Sage has proven himself also, but to me Tarvaris is the more mobile quarterback that can make plays happen."

Of course, Jackson and Rosenfels will be competing for the backup job if Favre comes out of retirement. This is the second offseason that Jackson has been caught in the middle of a Favre-related drama, but he seems both comfortable and understanding when that topic arises -- and it always does.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen," he said. "I can't control that. If Brett's going to be here, he's going to be here. I'm just going to continue to work until I see him in the locker room and his locker is beside mine or something. I'm just going to continue to do what I do and even when he's there I'm going to continue to just try to get better."

That is the team's hope for a quarterback whose career so far has been marked by overlapping periods of progress and struggles. Any success by Jackson too often has been undermined by inconsistency and costly mistakes. The lasting image from his 2008 season was his interception that Asante Samuel returned for a touchdown in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.

Jackson, who threw nine touchdown passes with two interceptions last season, said his goal is to eliminate "that big mistake." He also said he still believes he is the Vikings quarterback of the future even if the team signs Favre this offseason.

"I really feel like that and I've just got to go out there and prove it week in and week out," he said. "I talk about it all the time or say it all the time, but I've just got to be more consistent."

Until he's able to do that, Jackson knows he will continue to face criticism and pointed questions.

"If you compete in the quarterback position, you're going to have pressure regardless," he said. "The microscope is on you all the time. Everybody is watching you all the time -- your teammates, the fans, the coaches -- everybody is watching you and looking up at you to get the job done. That's just part of the quarterback position and I understand that. It's fine with me."