The Maturation of Tarvaris Jackson

With a blitzing and confusing Eagles defense, Tarvaris Jackson did his best Houdini impression to try and avoid Jim Johnson’s complex magical defensive tricks. In the end, Johnson’s magic proved to be too much for a young quarterback starting his first playoff game.

Jackson seemed to have an Eagle defender in his face all day, as the Vikings came up short, 26-14, to a determined Philadelphia Eagles team.

Tarvaris Jackson’s numbers were far from great yesterday. Fifteen completions on 35 attempts with a pick-six and only 164 yards passing will not win many playoff games. The Vikings' running game provided a little breathing room, but not much for a quarterback who seemed to be overwhelmed as soon as the ball was kicked off.

Jackson comes from small 1-AA school, the Alabama State Hornets. Jackson was a three-year starter for the Hornets and in his senior year, he threw 29 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions.

He is a mobile quarterback that seemed to have tons of upside, or at least he did to Vikings coach Brad Childress. Childress saw a lot of Donovan McNabb in Jackson and took a chance on him by drafting T-Jack 64th in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Coming from such a small program with no “big” game experience, the Vikings knew that T-Jack would be an experiment. He was really raw; but had a lot of athletic ability.

However, Jackson has not lived up to his draft status. Choosing a quarterback from a predominately black 1-AA school so high is nothing less than a gamble. Alabama State has never played in a bowl or playoff game. ASU and schools alike are regulated to playing “classic” games because of the amount of money they bring in to each school.

Jackson was raw and would need a little time develop his skills, but at a very accelerated pace.

When the 2008 season rolled around, the Vikings started off 0-2 and Jackson was benched. He made a small comeback toward the end of the season after starter Gus Frerotte went down with an injury. But his season came to end yesterday after he couldn’t get the Vikes past a nasty Eagles defense.

So where do the Vikings go from here? Do they bench a quarterback that was entrusted to lead this team into the future after only one full season under his belt? T-Jack has played sporadically over his three seasons in the league. It’s hard for any quarterback to develop a rhythm or rapport with teammates with that type of playing time.

Jackson has handled his time in the spotlight well and he is adjusting to role as sometime starter for an under achieving Vikings team like a pro. But one can’t help but to think that T-Jack is destined to become a backup in this league.

As much as you want him to succeed, the odds seem to be against him. He hasn’t shown enough to merit becoming the team’s full time starter, but he hasn’t messed up enough to warrant being banished to the bench for good.

The story of Tarvaris Jackson journey as a starting quarterback could come to end this offseason. But one thing is for sure, the little guy from Montgomery, AL is maturing right in front of our eyes. I just hope we get to see a happy ending to his story.

-JH