Sid Hartman: Jackson does his part in first preseason test

Tarvaris Jackson seemed to play with a lot of confidence Friday night in the 34-17 loss to Seattle at the Metrodome. He completed eight of 11 passes for 118 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a sensational 137.7 quarterback ranking.

While many in the media still question Jackson's ability to lead the Vikings offense, coach Brad Childress, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers saw what they expected against the Seahawks. Jackson spent much of the offseason at Winter Park, working hard on and off the field to prove he is the Vikings' quarterback of the future.

"I'm just a lot more comfortable, period," Jackson said. "This is my third year now and I'm getting better each day. I'm making progress and feeling more and more comfortable each day. So that's a part of the process, feeling more comfortable. I've just got a lot more improving to do, and a lot more things to work on."

He said the offseason work has made a difference.

"It's helped me a lot, but we can't really tell yet because we haven't played a real game," he said. "So the offseason work will show late in the season, when I feel like I'm still healthy. That's when the offseason work really plays a part."

Jackson is determined to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

"I want to go out there and be my best," he said. "I want to go out there and complete every pass, make the right decisions. It's like home training, throwing to one of my home teammates. I want to be perfect. I try to get my mind-set.

"I just wanted to come here healthy and work on getting my burst [of quickness] back and making sure I'm healthy enough to play 15 games."

Did he keep tabs on what was happening with Brett Favre, and the rumors about him possibly becoming a Viking?

"It really didn't matter to me, honestly, whether it was over or not," Jackson said. "It didn't have anything to do with me, really. I was just preparing, just trying to see what was going on.

"Yeah, I followed it, because I'm a sports guy. I love sports, I watch sports all the time, so it was just me watching, just like everyone else.

"If he would have came in, they would have brought him in for a reason and I understand that. But it wasn't going to stop me from doing what I was set to do: go out, work hard, and try to get better each day. That was my focus, and that's still my focus. So it really didn't matter to me either way.

Brewster encouraged Gophers football coach Tim Brewster sat in his office Saturday afternoon watching film of the same day's morning scrimmage, and he was all smiles as he pointed out one outstanding defensive play after another.

He spoke about the improved speed, quickness and athleticism among the team's new arrivals.

Freshman defensive back Tim Dandridge was singled out, as was senior linebacker Deon Hightower for making a great goal-line stop, junior free safety Tramaine Brock for his speed, and that junior defensive back Traye Simmons looks as good as advertised. He talked about how a healthy senior defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg will make a big difference, if he can return to the form he showed as a sophomore, when he was one of the best pass rushers in the country.

Rivals.com ranked the Gophers the 102nd-best team in the country last year after their one-victory season. This year, they have moved up nine notches to 93. ESPN.com has picked the Gophers to pick finish 10th in the Big Ten, like most other college football magazines have done.

"They don't know our player personnel," Brewster said. "This is a completely different team than last year. And I like the idea of them picking us where they have."

Jottings Had the Vikings been able to make a deal with the Packers for Favre, the Pro Bowl quarterback's salary of $12 million this year wouldn't have been a problem for the salary cap, according to a Vikings official. And rest assured, just like he went out to sign defensive end Jared Allen for six years and $74 million, Vikings chairman and owner Zygi Wilf was willing to go all out to get Favre. There were no serious negotiations between the Vikings and the Packers, but the Packers knew they could have received a good package of players if they wanted to do business with the Vikings.

The attendance for Friday's Vikings-Seattle game was announced as a sellout of 62,545. However, in order to buy a ticket for the Packers game on Nov. 9, you also had to buy a ticket for the Seahawks preseason game. It was obvious that a great number of those Packer fans weren't in the stands, with one of the biggest Vikings no-shows in history.

Logan Payne, the former Gophers wide receiver now with the Seahawks, was inactive for Friday night's game against the Vikings.

The Big Ten has five teams in the USA Today football coaches poll, and the Gophers play four of them -- Ohio State (third), Wisconsin (12), Illinois (19), Penn State (22) and Michigan (24). The Gophers do not play Penn State. ... The Nov. 7, 1981, football game in which the Gophers beat No. 18-ranked Ohio State will be one of two Big Ten Classic games the Big Ten Network will show this season.

The two top basketball recruits in the state, Hopkins' Royce White and Cooper's Rodney Williams, are playing in the Nike Global Games in Beaverton, Ore. In the first game of the tournament, White had nine points for USA One and teammate Williams did not score.

Former Gophers running back Gary Russell had 10 rushes for 25 yards and two receptions for two yards as his Steelers beat the visiting Eagles 16-10 Friday night.

Sam Dower, the 6-9 Osseo power forward who is ranked in the Rivals 150, has been offered a scholarship by the Gophers, according to GopherIllustrated.com.

ESPN.com recently carried a long piece about former Gophers basketball coach Clem Haskins. In it, he says he has had opportunities to coach again, but he is happy farming at his home in Campbellsville, Ky. "This is me," Haskins is quoted as saying. "This is more me than basketball. Basketball was a time in my life. This is my roots. Basketball was a little drop in my life. That is why it was so easy to turn the page."