QB demotions don't always go this smoothly

The decision to replace a veteran with a rookie as the starting quarterback is a rare happening in Vikings history.

You have to go back 50 years to the Purple's first season to find a comparable situation to what occurred this week, when coach Les Frazier informed Donovan McNabb that he was being benched in favor of Christian Ponder, the No. 12 overall selection from Florida State.

The Vikings had traded a first-round choice to the New York Giants for veteran George Shaw. He started the 1961 opener vs. the Chicago Bears, was hooked before the end of the first quarter and Fran Tarkenton arrived to lead the Vikings to a 37-13 victory.

Tarkenton, a third-rounder from Georgia, started the next week and 10 of the final 13 games.

Unless you choose to include Joe Kapp, a veteran brought in from Canada in 1967, Tarkenton was followed by four other rookie QB starters over the next 49 seasons: Ron VanderKelen in the 1963 season finale for Tarkenton; Tommy Kramer, one game for Bobby Lee (who had replaced an injured Tarkenton) in 1977; Tarvaris Jackson, the last two games for Brad Johnson in 2006, and Joe Webb for the last two games in 2010 when Brett Favre and Jackson were injured.

Ponder will be the first Vikings rookie quarterback to get a shot at starting with a majority of the schedule remaining in 50 years.

Ponder/McNabb will not stand as the greatest controversy involving a quarterback prospect and a much-acclaimed veteran with the Vikings. McNabb had been around for only six starts, and he moved aside Wednesday with little more than a whimper.

Kramer was in his second season from Rice. He had triggered an amazing fourth-quarter comeback vs. San Francisco late in his rookie season.

Right then, a public that had been through three Super Bowls with Tarkenton was ready for the old QB to fade away and make room for Kramer.

Instead, Tark returned in 1978 to reclaim his role. He threw four interceptions in an opening loss at New Orleans, then three more in a Monday night victory over Denver at Met Stadium.

Kramer relieved Tarkenton for a time in that game. And then on Sept. 17, a Met Stadium crowd of 46,152 robustly booed Tarkenton in a 16-10 loss to Tampa Bay.

Bud Grant pulled Tarkenton with the Bucs holding that six-point lead with 3:39 remaining. Kramer's second pass was intercepted and a final possession went nowhere.

Booing Tarkenton was such a big issue that Hartman quoted John Mariucci, the legendary hockey man, in the next day's Tribune as saying:

"Here's a man who has been more responsible than any one person for the success the Vikings have had. He completes his first nine passes ... [and] when the Vikings get behind, they start yelling for Tommy Kramer and booing Tarkenton.

"It was a disgrace."

Tarkenton played better over the next five weeks and the Vikings went 3-2. The last of those victories was 21-7 over Green Bay at Met Stadium. And that's when the steam from those earlier boos came pouring out of Tarkenton:

"I resent the hell out of it," he said. "In other towns, to be a veteran player is to be revered. Look at Washington and the feeling they had for Sonny Jurgensen. Or Green Bay during Bart Starr's last years. He didn't have it any more, but the fans didn't get on his back.

In 1978, the fans had to wait another season for Tarkenton to move aside and get their fresh start with Kramer at quarterback.

In 2011, McNabb arrived late in the summer, came with no Purple pedigree, soon was hearing boos in the home stadium, and it wasn't even bloody for Frazier to make the switch to Ponder.