When the Vikes didn’t go after David Carr, who is a functional starter when he has more than two seconds to throw the ball, or draft a QB, I assumed that Tarvaris Jackson must be the real deal. After all, everyone was pretty skeptical about Culpepper before he became the starter too. Apparently that wasn’t the case, Childress is just a procrastinator or something:
Although Tarvaris Jackson remains the clear favorite to win the starting quarterback job in Minnesota, there’s talk in league circles that the Vikings are hoping to find a veteran backup before the start of training camp.
Our guess is that coach Brad Childress (and perhaps some folks in the front office who might be in jeopardy if owner Zygi Wilf decides to dump the coach) wants to have a solid Plan B in place in the event that Jackson can’t cut it. Currently, the alternative is Brooks Bollinger, who might be a decent in-game injury replacement but not the guy on whose shoulders a coach should pin his career.
Seriously, who does this? Start looking for a quarterback in July? I guess the potential upside is that if Childress is as hopeless as he is beginning to appear to the outside observer, Cowher should be available for the 2008 season. Am I missing something here or is there something seriously wrong in Winter Park?
A gunslinger like Holcomb isn’t the worst bet, I’ve always liked him, but he’s not exactly the hold down the fort and steady the ship for the young guy either.