Tarvaris Jackson Report Card: Will He Last All Season as Seahawks' Starter?

Seattle Seahawks fans were upset following their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers...though it was hard to tell if it was the loss or that Tarvaris Jackson is the starting quarterback that riled them the most.

Facebook and Twitter were alive with comments and complaints that Pete Carroll isn't giving Charlie Whitehurst a "fair chance." Many fans are convinced that practice sessions aren't really an opportunity for a player to see what he can do, and that Whitehurst's performances against second and third team players in the preseason would carry over to regular season action.

An earlier article discussed the differences between preseason and regular season games. That same article stated my position on whom the starting quarterback should be, and that is Tarvaris Jackson.

Success against reserves in preseason play doesn't sway me. Mike Teel was a preseason phenom...he's now out of the league. Same thing with David Greene...remember him? And even Matt Leinart was called NFL-ready because of preseason game action. There is simply a huge difference in the players and type of defense being played in preseason games.

My belief that Jackson should be the starter is based in part on what I see from the two players, but mostly from faith in the coaching staff to evaluate both quarterbacks on their entire body of work. I don't see either as being a great option, but Jackson is certainly the lesser of two evils.

Many fans had hoped Jackson would separate himself from Whitehurst in the season opener. On the contrary, Jackson did just enough in the game to not change anyone's mind.

Fans that have been calling for Whitehurst to be the starter will overlook how well Jackson played in the second half.  Instead, they blame him for the issues the entire offense was having in the first half.

Fans that thought Jackson was the better quarterback prior to the game recognize that when he had a little protection from the offensive line he put Seattle in a position to win the game.

When the pocket collapsed on Alex Smith, a running back was there to provide a timely block. The 49ers protected him from being hit and allowed him to move out of the pocket when pressure arrived. Jackson wasn’t afforded the same opportunity. Justin Smith in particular closed on Jackson in a hurry on a few plays.

A quarterback can’t simply throw the ball away every time there is a little pressure. He has to be willing to take a hit and give the receivers time to get into their routes.

Tarvaris Jackson's overall performance on Sunday was solid.  It wasn't great, but it was far from bad. If one ignores the interception that was thrown on the hail-Mary pass before halftime, his QB rating would have been 89.6. He was 21-37 for 197 yards and two TDs.

Again, just enough to not make supporters give up on him, but not enough to sway the doubters. Each camp of fans had one half of football to point to and say "see, I told you!" 

Jackson was without Sidney Rice in the game, and part of the offensive line struggles might be eased when Robert Gallery returns to the lineup.

If Jackson continues to play how he did on Sunday he will be the starter for the balance of the season. But if the offensive line continues to block as they did in the first half, Jackson will almost certainly miss some time due to injury.