Quarterback motivated by critics questioning his abilityBy Don Seeholzer
dseeholzer@pioneerpress.comArticle Last Updated: 05/21/2008 12:27:04 AM CDT
The offseason reviews have been nearly unanimous.
With the addition of impact players such as defensive end Jared Allen and wide receiver Bernard Berrian, the pieces are in place for the Vikings to be a playoff team and win the NFC North this season ... if they can get better play at the quarterback position.
From an outsider's perspective, at least, Tarvaris Jackson is the Vikings' one big question mark, but veteran safety Darren Sharper said quarterback isn't a concern in the locker room.
"I'm not worried too much about that situation," he said Tuesday. "I have the utmost confidence that he's going to have a great year for us this year, because he has all the ability in the world."
Jackson might be regarded by national observers as the team's one weak link, but he said such slights motivate him.
"People are going to say what they want to say," he said. "It's their job to analyze things and give their opinion of our team. It's my job to go out there and prove them wrong. That's how I look at it. That's your motivation; that's all it is. I'm pretty much self-motivated, but things like that kind of help me out, get me over the top."
Jackson said he believes the Vikings have what it takes to be a playoff team, especially after coming so close last season.
With the influx of fresh talent and another year in coach Brad Childress' offense, they don't just hope to improve on that 8-8 mark. They expect to.
"Exactly," Jackson said. "Even the team
we had last year, I felt like that we had a legitimate chance of being a playoff team. We were very close. ... I think we'll be a whole lot better this year."
For that to happen, the Vikings will have to improve a passing game that ranked 28th in the NFL and take some pressure off Adrian Peterson and their top-ranked rushing offense.
The key to that is Jackson, who was 8-4 in his full season as a starter but finished 28th among league quarterbacks with a 70.8 passer rating and nine touchdown passes to 12 interceptions.
Two days into this week's first round of organized team activities, Jackson said his goal is to build on a strong regular-season finale at Denver, when he rallied the Vikings from a 19-3 fourth-quarter deficit in a 22-19 overtime loss.
"From that game on to now, I feel even better," he said. "Even though we haven't played any games, I feel like I can go out there and play a whole lot better than what I played in the last game."
Jackson has spent much of this offseason working on his accuracy and mechanics and trying to familiarize himself with every aspect of the offense, not just the quarterback position.
This season, he wants to know what every player on the field is doing on every play, from the wide receivers to offensive linemen and running backs.
Heading into his third season, Jackson said his comfort level has never been greater.
"Coming out here yesterday and today, I feel like we never left," he said. "I feel a lot more comfortable, period. A lot more comfortable in myself and inside this offense. I know what to expect. I know what the coaches want now. I've been in this offense two years. It's now just about getting more comfortable with our new guys and just getting on the same page."
That will take some time with players such as Berrian, who has minicamp, training camp and the exhibition season to develop a sense of timing with his quarterback.
If there are more growing pains along the way, at least Jackson knows new teammate Allen has his back.
"I know he's an athletic guy," Allen said. "He throws a good ball. ... He's a teammate of mine, and they brought him in here to win. He's our guy right now, and we're sticking behind him."
