When we last saw Mr. Tarvaris Jackson, he had lost his job as the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings after an 0-2 start, replaced by Gus Frerotte. Worse still, this very Blog-ojevich was comparing him to a disappointing toy.
Since that point, T-Jack, as we've taken to calling him, sat on the bench, while Gus Frerotte did a decent job righting the Vikings' ship (pun semi-intended). The Vikings won 7 of their next 10 games.
Then, last week, playing in Detroit against the winless Lions, the Vikings were putting in an embarrassingly sluggish performance, and were trailing 6-3 at halftime. With Gus Frerotte banged up, Tarvaris Jackson entered the game early in the third quarter, and immediately drove the Vikings for the go-ahead touchdown. After the Lions regained the lead, T-Jack rallied the Vikings again, and they escaped with a 20-16 win.
Yesterday, with Frerotte still nursing an injured back, T-Jack got the start in Arizona against the Cardinals, and he responded with perhaps the best game of his career, throwing four touchdown passes in a 35-14 Vikings romp. The Vikings' running game was dominant, so Jackson didn't have to throw that often (17 times), but he looked very sharp. He made several perfect throws, and I can only think of one pass that was poorly thrown.
Although one game and a half of action is hardly enough evidence, it would appear that T-Jack has taken some positive strides. Perhaps it was just a function of playing against relatively weak defenses. Or, he might just have learned something by watching the action from the bench.
At this point, T-Jack has not yet officially regained his starting job. However, I'd expect him to start at quarterback next week, against the Atlanta Falcons, as Gus Frerotte is not yet fully healed. I, for one, would like to see T-Jack as the starter at this point, as the Vikings need to determine, for once and for all, whether or not he is their quarterback of the future. If he is not, they will have to address that position in the offseason. In my opinion, T-Jack gives the Vikings as much chance to win as does Gus Frerotte.
In general, the Vikings have done a nice job turning around a season that started poorly. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Vikings have a record of 9-5 (already surpassing my typically-pessimistic preseason prediction of an 8-win season), and lead the NFC North division by one game over the Chicago Bears. The Vikings can clinch the division title with either one more win or one more Chicago loss. While I still don't think that the Vikings are serious Super Bowl contenders, it would be nice to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Welcome back, T-Jack. It's nice to see you again.
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