Vikes Quarterbacks Likely Won't Pay Off, Hoping Brad Childress Kept His Receipt

First and foremost, regardless of any "No chance" quotes coming from Brad Childress, let's all agree that this whole "Favre thing" isn't quite dead yet.

There have been tiny birds chirping from tall trees about a possible Favre signing mid-way through August, rather than mid-season.

But biting on hearsay, a coach's words that you can never trust, or even the word of the great one (Favre) is nothing short of letting yourself get knee deep in a wild goose chase.

No, instead, let's drop the drama off at the pool, let it sit a while, and get back to what we know.

What is absolutely for certain in Minnesota, is that Childress and co. have one hell of a running back, a solid offensive line, an active special teams unit, and an aggressive defense.

But, again, we knew that.

That's why they were dipping their fingers in the Brett Favre dip all off-season. Not necessarily because it tasted so good that they had to keep on dipping, but because the alternative, was, well, not so tasty.

But here the Vikings are, ready to go in training camp today, with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels duking it out. Oh, and let's not forget that not-so-coveted former USC quarterback, John David Booty.

He might just get to keep that number four jersey, after all.

But since we're back to square one, are we honestly going to allow ourselves to believe that this is going to be a fair fight?

Let's face it, people, Rosenfels was brought in for a reason.

No, he's not overly athletic (or athletic at all), and probably isn't the long-term answer (make that a definitely), but he's a proven pocket passer with a good arm and has shown he can put up solid numbers.

Jackson, on the other hand, finally showed spurts of decent play late last season, but then made everyone forget about his blissful play against the Detroit Lions, as he stunk it up in a playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

There are two doors Brad Childress can choose to open, and quite sadly, neither will lead to that possible Super Bowl run that Brett Favre was tempting the entire state of Minnesota with.

With Rosenfels, you have a guy who will make some plays and can manage games, but can also go all "helicopter" on you, and blow games at the last second.

Jackson, on the other hand, offers to versatility, athleticism, and potential.

But 2009 isn't about potential. Or helicopters.

It's about getting someone behind center who is competent enough to manage games, and good enough to win a few when called upon.

Call me crazy, but Childress had his guy last year, and he went by the name of Gus Frerotte.

But like Jackson before him, Childress gave up on Frerotte, went back to Jackson, and well, the rest is history.

So what does the crystal ball have in store for the Jackson vs. Rosenfels match-up?

It could very well be a tight race, and either winner could easily emerge as a serviceable quarterback that simply does what he needs to to help the Vikings win games, i.e., a Trent Dilfer.

That, or Childress could suck up his pride and turn to door number three.

Yes, friends, there is always a door number three.

He could take back his "no chance" remarks, give ol' Brett another call in eight weeks (or less), and ride that 40-year old arm as far as it gets him.

After all, at this point, what does he really have to lose?