After starting for the Redskins for a few years he has bounced around the league as a backup except for a stint as a starter for the woeful Dolphins in 2005.
A lot of people questioned the move to name Gus Frerotte the starter but it was clearly the right decision for this year. With Jackson playing there is no way the Vikings win a shootout with the Saints, or any other team where the game is tight. And in any game where there is a lot of scoring Frerotte gives the Vikings a much better chance to win with his calm demeanor and strong arm.
His interceptions this year have been a problem, but one the Vikings can live with given what he has been able to do with the offense.
Gus Frerotte is clearly not the future of the Minnesota Vikings at the quarterback position. He is an average NFL starter, at best, who is inconsistent week to week. He can play great on some days, while on others he stinks the joint up. The advantage the Vikings have with Frerotte is twofold.
First, he can throw the deep ball very well and as mentioned above, in an offensive shootout he gives the Vikings the best chance to win.
Second, and probably more importantly, when the chips are down he has a very even keel and still fights to win. He almost single handedly lost a game against the Green Bay Packers with some really dumb interceptions.
But he kept going back into the game and doing his best and not getting down on himself, even when it looked like his teammates were starting to get down on him. Jackson is just the opposite. A few bad plays and he clearly would sulk and start playing even worse. You have to love Gus’s guts. Young and Jackson don’t have any.
Will Tarvaris Jackson get another shot at starting for the Vikings? I suspect he will. But as I said before, I think he will never be a decent starting quarterback in the NFL. He doesn’t seem to have the confidence, the leadership qualities, or the ability to make quick decision on the field, all of which are necessary to be a decent starting quarterback in the NFL.
The Vikings really need to find a solution at the quarterback position in the future if they want to move one step closer to contending for a championship.
Arizona Cardinals: Kurt Warner Named Starter Over Matt Leinart
Before the season even started Cardinals’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt named Kurt Warner the starting quarterback over Matt Leinart. So we have another older, veteran quarterback taking over a team loaded on the offensive side of the ball for an immature, underperforming, young quarterback.
At this point in the season it is definitely clear that this was the right move. Warner is playing extremely well this year. He has the fourth highest quarterback rating in the league and is a front runner for the NFL MVP award. While Warner has days when he turns the ball over too many times, for most of the season he was played exceptionally well.
With Warner at the helm the Cardinals have put themselves in position to make the playoffs and possibly, dare we say, get to the Super Bowl? Probably not given they can’t win on the road, but this year has brought a lot of positive attention to the Cardinals and turned a moribund franchise into one that is interesting, entertaining, and competitive.
Like Collins and Frerotte, Warner is not the long term solution at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. Of the three discussed in this article, if he doesn’t retire, Warner has the better chance to remain a starter for a few more seasons before hanging up the cleats, but that’s about it. Matt Leinart is the future and he will undoubtedly be given a chance to prove that eventually.
Leinart seems to be on the immature side and from what I have read, he has not had the work ethic necessary to improve and become a solid starter in the NFL. It would probably do him good to sit and learn a few years behind a possible Hall of Famer like Kurt Warner.
Will Leinart ever develop into an elite quarterback in the league? I think the jury is out on Leinart but if he puts the work in I think he could be a top tier starter in the NFL. I don’t think he’ll ever be an exceptional quarterback, but I do think he can be good enough to lead a playoff caliber team.
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