A while back, we took a look at an article where John Clayton actually broke from the pack of "experts" that have taken turns crapping all over Vikings' QB Tarvaris Jackson all off-season long. Amazingly, Clayton's wacky, positive opinion of Jackson (or anything related to Minnesota in general) hasn't gotten him fired from the Eastern Sports Programming Network yet, so he might be safe after all.
Another guy to put on the potential hit list, however, is CNN-SI's Bucky Brooks, who mentions the following in his column today:
There has been a lot of speculation regarding the Vikings' quarterback position, but I think Jackson will be fine as the starter. He's a talented athlete with a strong arm and great physical tools, and he'll benefit from Brad Childress' emphasis on a running game featuring the talents of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Defenses will use eight-man fronts to stop the run, daring Jackson to beat them with his arm. Don't be surprised if he does, because he has made tremendous strides as a passer during the offseason. He no longer looks tentative and unsure of his reads in the pocket, and has done a good job of patiently letting the system determine where the ball should go on every play.
Gee. . .a guy with a full off-season of playing with the #1 offense and getting mentally prepared to be "the guy" looks a lot better than he did as a rookie that got two starts at the end of last season when his team was out of contention.
Imagine that.
I thank Mr. Brooks for his astute observations. However, he has to realize that he takes his career into his hands by saying something positive about a player that wears the purple and gold. . .particularly a guy who's had his entire career already laid out for him based on the previously mentioned two starts.