If Tarvaris Jackson’s role is not to mess up (and it is), then the Vikings second year quarterback did okay in the third regular season start of his NFL career yesterday at the Metrodome as the Vikings offense produced one touchdown and the defense two in a 24-3 opening day win over Atlanta. The test may become more challenging next Sunday when the 24-year-old Jackson starts his second career regular season road game when the Vikings play in Detroit’s Ford Field.
The game will be the Lions’ home opener. Detroit probably will be performing with confidence after defeating Oakland 36-21. Playing in a loud dome like Ford Field will test Jackson’s composure. In the Vikings-Atlanta game the crowd seemed to bother the Falcons who had consecutive false starts in the second half. In the first half Falcon quarterback Joey Harrington apparently called a timeout because of crowd noise.
“It was loud out there and you really can’t hear anything,” said Roddy White, Falcons wide receiver. “You gotta learn to deal with it. … Probably the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in so far.”
Jackson completed 13 of 23 passes, including a 60 yard swing pass that went for a touchdown to rookie running back Adrian Peterson. Jackson threw one interception, made a second half scramble for a first down and looked composed. He over threw some receivers, used mostly short and intermediate passes, and was careful not to run when he shouldn’t. Former Viking Mike Morris, now a KFAN Radio personality, said Jackson’s performance didn’t surprise him.
“He’s still over throwing that long ball,” Morris told Sports Headliners. “He missed Sidney Rice, led him out of bounds over near the Falcon bench. Troy Williamson, over threw him. He was open over on the Viking bench. Some of the intermediate stuff was good to see, but he’s got to sharpen up. …”
Morris said Jackson is “struggling with his defensive reads.” He described Jackson’s passes as “too flat, too hard and needs to put some arc on the ball,” and give receivers more opportunity to get under the ball.
Falcon cornerback DeAngelo Hall said Jackson is a “hell of an athlete” and liked the Viking quarterback’s performance. “Well, I think it was good,” Hall said. “They didn’t ask him to do too much. They were able to run the ball pretty much at will. I think Chester Taylor going out (with an injury) kind of hurt us a little bit. Adrian Peterson is a bigger style of back and just was able to run the ball and deliver the blow all day.”
What does Morris think about Jackson playing in Detroit? “Well, no. 1 it’s the first away game for him to get under his belt,” Morris answered. “He’s going to have to pick it up. He’s going to have to work on a lot of different things. He had two or three passes (today) that he threw where they shouldn’t have gone, almost picked off. …”
Will Jackson be nervous next Sunday? “Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Morris said “That’s what makes it work, though. Fear and desire are two sides of the same coin. They really are.”
If it’s comforting, at least Jackson can know Ford Field isn’t as noisy as the Metrodome, according to White. “I’ve played in Ford Field but it wasn’t as loud as this right here,” White said.