Tarvaris Jackson: Is He the Answer for the Minnesota Vikings Moving Forward?

In the words of the rock group The Who, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Interim head coach Leslie Frazier is sticking by Brett Favre as his starting quarterback, much in the same way former head coach Brad Childress kept repeating the mantra "he gives us the best chance to win."

Frazier, who was not the one to send a private jet to convince Favre to return for another season, does not have to bow to the pressure of starting Favre.

This is an opportunity for Frazier to prove this is his team and he is in charge. He can reinforce this point by ending "The Streak."

The question should not be whether or not Favre, who suffered a sprained sternoclavicular joint against the Bills, should play against the Giants this Sunday, but why shouldn't Tarvaris Jackson start?

For Frazier there are no guarantees that he will be the coach of the Minnesota Vikings next season. But if he thinks there is even a chance, he needs to take control of this team and start building for next year.

At 5-7 there are just too many teams between the Vikings and a wild-card spot to even think about the playoffs. Yet, the next three games are all against playoff-caliber teams—these are Frazier's playoffs.

Favre has stated he will not be back next season, and even if we have heard this before, I don't think he has taken a beating like this ever in his career like he has this season.

It's one thing to return to a team that was essentially one play away from the Super Bowl, but it's another to return to a team in this much turmoil and uncertainty.

So, that means Jackson is the future for the Minnesota Vikings, right?

The answer is—maybe.

For the Vikings there is no guarantee they will find a better quarterback than Jackson to lead the team next season.

Sure, they are probably going to make a run at signing Michael Vick. The $20 million they paid Favre this season may be a good starting point. 

However, I don't see the Eagles letting Vick go. I believe they will do everything they can to extend his contract before the season ends. 

In that event the Vikings might try to strike a deal with Philadelphia for Kevin Kolb.

For his career Jackson has 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions with a 78.2 rating. If you go back to 2008 the last season he played significantly, he had nine touchdowns and only two interceptions for a 95.4 rating.

Compare those to Kolb who has a career rating of 77.8 with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His numbers are slightly better this season where he has six touchdowns and four interceptions and an 85.3 quarterback rating. 

Looking at these numbers Jackson appears to be the better choice as the Vikings quarterback in 2011. 

In Sunday's game Jackson did not play quite as badly as the 2010 version of Favre.

He completed 15-of-22 passes for two touchdowns and three interceptions for an 85.03 quarterback rating, compared to Favre's 69.6 rating in 2010. 

Jackson also reminded us of what Sidney Rice can do for this team. In the previous two games Rice caught four passes for 76 yards and no touchdowns. With Jackson throwing to him, he caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns—and this, without Percy Harvin in the lineup to draw some attention away from Rice.

Sure the point can be made that Rice was just getting his football legs back after missing the first nine games this season.

The counter argument can be made that Jackson did a great job considering he didn't have any repetitions with the first team last week in practice.

It all boils down to who has the greater chance of quarterbacking the Vikings next season—and it is not Brett Favre.

For that reason alone Frazier should name Jackson the starter.

Even if he never coaches the Vikings past this season he will always be remembered as the man who stopped the streak, and just maybe as the coach who returned this team to Jackson.

At this point the Vikings have nothing to lose, and Jackson has his next contract to play for.

The absolute worst thing that could happen is that Jackson gets comfortable with this team, builds chemistry with Rice, Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and leads the Vikings to a 9-7 record. 

A great finish, but no playoffs, and then he refuses to re-sign with the Vikings and is named the starting quarterback of the Dolphins or Titans.