Rams' loss is Vikings' gain with Frerotte

Vikings coach Brad Childress owes a big favor to Al Saunders, who -- when named Rams offensive coordinator -- insisted that Trent Green be the backup quarterback to Marc Bulger instead of Gus Frerotte.

Saunders coached Green with Kansas City and wanted Green with St. Louis because the QB was familiar with Saunders' offense, so Frerotte got his walking papers.

The 37-year-old Frerotte signed with the Vikings and started Sunday's game, completing 16 of 28 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown in a 20-10 victory over Carolina at the Metrodome.

Meanwhile, Green has not played a down for the Rams, who have scored a total of 29 points in going 0-3.

Asked Sunday about his decision to bench Tarvaris Jackson for Frerotte, Childress said: "It's tough any time you change somebody, particularly at a key position like that. You take in what you see; you know what you see, you've been doing it long enough, you kind of look at it, taste it, touch it, feel it and you deal with it. I dealt with Tarvaris, and he kind of verified what I was saying. I don't feel like I'm a quick-hook guy, but you know what you need to do, then do it."

Childress said the decision to change quarterbacks was made after spending a long time analyzing the situation Monday night. He talked to Jackson on Tuesday morning and got a hold of Frerotte, who was with his family in St. Louis, later that day.

Childress said Frerotte didn't surprise him at all with his performance on Sunday. Frerotte's passing made it more difficult for the Panthers defense to slow running back Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries, averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

"He still can do it, and that's the bottom line. As long as you can do it, do it efficiently, do it well and you enjoy doing it and you're passionate about it, that's what he is."

Vital defensive TD It's obvious that the turning point in Sunday's game came when Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield sacked Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme, picked the ball up and ran in for a touchdown before halftime.

"Any time you get a defensive score I think that's huge," Childress said. "We were going to get the ball back and I was getting ready to call timeout when I thought it was a sack.

"... They talk about scoring on defense, and we don't just make that up. We talk about turnovers, but then we talk about scoring with those turnovers. I think we're as good as anybody from 2006. We scored the most defensive touchdowns in the National Football League."

Yes, this was a different Vikings team on the field Sunday, and as good as they were offensively, I can't recall a recent Vikings defense that punished an opponent the way it did against the Panthers.

Frerotte said all the work he had done with the Vikings since signing prepared him for Sunday. "Being able to go through training camp and ... having played a lot in preseason probably helped me in this situation," he said.

Only two other starting quarterbacks in the NFL this weekend are older than Frerotte, and both are Super Bowl winners, the Jets' Brett Favre (38) and the Cardinals' Kurt Warner (37). "I'm playing for all the middle-aged men in America," Frerotte joked.

Yes, Frerotte was a great asset to the Vikings when he was backing up Daunte Culpepper in 2003-04, and he has come back to do more good things.

Happy to win Jackson was the only active Vikings player not to play Sunday, but he said he was happy the team won.

"I definitely haven't given up," he said. " I'm just going to stay ready, just keep working hard. ... Right now, I'm just taking one game at a time. I'm trying to get better each day, so that's all I can do.

Center Matt Birk, one of the few Vikings players still here from Frerotte's first stint with the team, sang the quarterback's praises.

"He did a great job; that's what Gus does," Birk said. "I mean, he's a veteran, he's a pro, he came in there and took care of his business."

Big day for Henderson E.J. Henderson led the defense with 12 tackles, including 11 solo, as again it was apparent he is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and should not have been passed up for the Pro Bowl last year.

The defense got help from newcomer Jared Allen, who had five tackles, including one sack. The Vikings sacked Delhomme five times.

"You see the real me every day I play. Whatever I can do to help our team win, that's what I do," Allen said. "You know they tried with one, two, three guys. You've just got to take advantage of the opportunities when you get them, and I got them today and I tried to take advantage of them.

As for the victory, Allen said: "Today was a big one; 0-2 was a big hole to dig out of, and right now we've got a good taste in our mouths and we've got to build on that."

Played hurt Peterson was a game-time decision because of a hamstring injury, but he still started and got plenty of work.

Carolina tried stacking up seven and eight men up front on defense, but when the Vikings needed crucial yards, Peterson provided them.

Chester Taylor also got 11 carries for 44 yards, to go along with three receptions for 22 yards and a fourth reception for a touchdown that was called back because of a penalty.