here is Tom pelissero talking about Vikings pre-season opener-
Perhaps this was Brad Childress’ way of proving a point.
All offseason, skeptics pointed to quarterback Tarvaris Jackson as the weak link of an otherwise talented Minnesota Vikings team.
Even as Brett Favre rumors swirled the past month, Childress stood behind Jackson, saying he was more than ready to balance an offense blessed with one of the NFL’s best backs, Adrian Peterson.
So, what did Childress do before Friday’s preseason game against Seattle?
He scripted 10 throws in a row to open the game.
Jackson ended up throwing 11 straight passes (12, if you count one wiped out by a penalty) and completed eight for 118 yards and a touchdown before the Vikings tried a run. Two of those completions were to his new favorite target, receiver Bernard Berrian, and Jackson led a second touchdown drive before giving way to backup Gus Frerotte early in the second quarter.
Peterson never touched the ball.
This was a preseason opener, in the friendly confines of the Metrodome, against a Seahawks defense that played without Pro Bowl end Patrick Kerney, in a game Minnesota lost 34-17.
But the connotations of the game plan weren’t subtle.
If the Vikings have any chance of living up to lofty expectations this year, the level of quarterback play must rise from recent years.
Childress doesn’t want anyone thinking he needed to bring in an outsider — especially Favre — to make that happen.
Not that one quarter of preseason action does anything more than buy Childress a little more time to show he’s right.
link to article here:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080809/PKR07/80809066/1057/
