Access Vikings points to some interesting comments made by Phil Simms, who thinks the Vikings' regular season record would be identical this season regardless of whether T-Jack or Favre is the starter. I'm wondering what people think of this idea -- as well as Simms' assessment of what Jackson brings to the table:
"But I just think Minnesota is a very talented team. And with the running back, Adrian Peterson, I believe Tarvaris Jackson was the quarterback that fits perfectly with that. Dynamic arm. Can run around and showed - he’s a young guy - that he was progressing at the of last year. We’ll see."
It's a question lacking a clear answer: How many additional wins, if any, is Brett Favre worth to the Vikings? First, I think drawing a line between the regular season and postseason is important: Just based on experience alone, I'd argue that Favre gives the Vikings a considerably better chance to win in the playoffs than Jackson does.
I'm not taking anything away from Tarvaris, but we're comparing a guy who has won a Super Bowl to a guy who has played in one career playoff game. Even if each quarterback would lead the team to the same regular season record, the experience and intangibles brought to the table by Favre make him the better playoff quarterback.
The regular season? Favre might be worth another win or two. This offense is still all about the running game, but Jackson has struggled to move the ball when the running game hasn't been effective. The Vikings are 0-6 when T-Jack has thrown 30 or more passes. With the Jets last season, Favre was 6-6 when he threw 30 or more passes. That's a big difference between these two quarterbacks.
With T-Jack, the offense lives and dies by the running game. The same is largely true with Favre under center, but not quite to the extent that it is for Jackson. Bringing in Favre won't make a radical difference in the regular season record, but if his health holds up, he does give the Vikings an ability to win games through the air.