By Jason Hannah
Sunday will mark the second preseaon game for the Minnesota Vikings this year, and the first game with Brett Favre back at the helm. The Vikings are traveling to San Francisco to play against the 49ers. So what can we expect as we watch the Vikings play?
Brett Favre Will Start
The Vikings announced today that Brett Favre will start the game, which is no surprise. Coach Childress says that Favre will play one series for sure, and maybe a second, depending on how many plays they get in the first. He wants Favre to run around 10 plays or so.
I don’t think we’ll see anything too amazing here. It’ll just be a chance for Favre to shake off the offseason rust a little bit. His real playing time will come next week.
Tarvaris Jackson Will Finish The First Half
After only getting 1 series and 4 passes last week, Jackson should get a little more playing time this week against the 49ers. Childress said that he’ll take over when Favre sits, and most likely finish the first half.
Tarvaris Jackson’s job got much easier when Brett showed up. Unless Favre gets injured (which almost never happens), Tarvaris will be limited to mop up duty this season once again. He’ll get a chance to get out and throw a little bit Sunday night. He might even get a series with the starters, depending on how well Favre does with his first possession.
There will really be nothing for T Jack to prove at this point. The second-string job is pretty much his. The purpose of him playing will just be to get him some game-speed reps.
Sage Rosenfels Will Play The Third Quarter
This is where I disagree with some Vikings fans, but I think at this point the purpose of Sage Rosenfels playing the third quarter will be to shop him for trades. I think the Vikings are confident in Jackson as their number two guy, and I think they’re going to keep Joe Webb as their future prospect/project.
If that’s the case, expect the playbook to be opened up for Rosenfels a bit. If they really are shopping him, they won’t want him spending the whole quarter handing off.
Joe Webb Might Play In the Fourth Quarter
Some Vikings fans seem to disagree with me, but I think watching Webb play last week was fun. He has a spark about him, and he has a lot of raw talent. He’s certainly not ready to start in the NFL, but I think there’s at least a little potential that he could be an NFL QB in the future.
Hopefully Webb does get in, and hopefully Childress will let him show off his athletic ability.
If nothing else, it should make an otherwise boring fourth quarter somewhat watchable.
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