Minnsota Vikings Turn to Sage Rosenfels

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Apparently, that's a motto Brad Childress loves when referencing his quarterbacks.  First he drafted Tarvaris Jackson, and stated he was the future starter. Then Jackson failed...and Childress stuck with him. 

Last year, before the season, Childress showed his interest in Sage Rosenfels but wasn't able to get a deal worked out.  This year, Childress showed interest in Rosenfels and actually traded for him.

Since Jay Cutler may or may not be on the trading block (I guess it depends on who you ask) there has been some speculation on the Vikings trading for him. 

I don't think they have enough pieces that they can ship off without drastically weakening their current team—which is only missing three pieces to the puzzle (quarterback being one glaring weakness). 

The window in the NFL is a short one, and it's never wide open.  The team is aging and very few will argue that quarterback isn't the most important missing piece for this team.  It showed against the Eagles in the playoffs: The passing game isn't very dangerous, and it's very consistent at not being consistent.

At this point, Childress is still saying there's a clear quarterback competition for starter. I hope he's talking about Rosenfels and John David Booty. 

The Jackson era is over.  Nice try, but longshots aren't supposed to pan out.  Why should Jackson be any different?

Right now, Sage is clearly the answer for 2009.  My hope all along was that the Vikings would sign Jeff Garcia to a one- or a two-year contract and then either draft Freeman in the second or, more ideally, draft Rhett Bomar in the third.  They could have those guys play behind Garcia for a year or two, and then you have your young quarterback.

Sage showed glimpses of being a fairly impressive quarterback.  He also showed glimpses of being an absolute train wreck, incapable of holding onto the ball in pressure situations. He's a step up from Jackson, and he's probably a half-step ahead of Gus Frerotte. 

As a Texan last year, he had a shifty back in Steve Slaton behind a surprisingly effective line, and one of the best wide receivers in the game. Now Rosenfels will have the best home run hitter in the game with Adrian Peterson, and a line for all intents and purposes that underachieved a little last year. 

The thing that scares me though, is the fact that Andre Johnson, one of the top five wide receivers in the game, is being replaced by Bernard Berrian, who probably sits outside the top 10 or 15 in the game.

In all reality, Cutler would be an ideal option for the Vikings, but with aging members in the secondary, offensive line, defensive line, and contracts that are set to expire in the next year or two, I don't see the Vikings being able to pony up enough draft picks to get Cutler without seriously jeopardizing their chances of being successful in the upcoming years.

So it looks like Sage is going to have to be our temporary savior.  While I don't think he's the ideal choice, I'm glad to see Minnesota bring in someone other than Jackson or an immobile, almost 40-year-old career backup.