Dalton: QB Still Key to Super Bowl
Conversations about the Vikings, whether it involves fans or media, keep
coming back to Tarvaris Jackson. The acquisition of defensive
end Jared Allen, the NFL sack leader last season while playing
for Kansas City, has stirred talk about the Vikings having one of the
league’s best defenses in 2008. Adrian Peterson, last year’s NFL
rookie of the year and NFC leading rusher, can be a thrill a minute guy
whose presence gives fans a rush. But the question about 2008 team
success always seems to include Jackson’s name in the answer.
Former Vikings’ assistant coach Dean
Dalton, who now analyzes the NFL in the media, refers to the Super
Bowl as the “Promised Land.” In a recent interview with Sports
Headliners about the 25-year-old Jackson, Dalton first talked about
the impact of Allen whose pass rushing skills are seen as an ideal
complement to the already dominant Vikings rushing defense. A
better defense creating more three and outs, more turnovers and better
field position translates into increased opportunities for the
offense, Dalton said.
“It is a help to a young quarterback to
take a little bit of the pressure off him, but to get to
the 'Promised Land' (the Super Bowl) it still comes down to the trigger man,"
Dalton added. "It
comes down to the quarterback’s play, and so with the pressure taken off
of him he can be more of an offensive manager and not have to be the
playmaker. So they still need to continue to surround him with
playmakers so that he can just manage the offense and continue to mature
his game.”
Dalton expects Jackson to play next season with more consistency than in
the past. To perform more like he did during the last half of the season
when he minimized mistakes and at times was an impressive playmaker.
Jackson doesn’t have to be spectacular, just manage the game and not
make errors.
Dalton said last year he saw “signs of maturity” in Jackson who became
the team’s starter in his second season as a pro. He likes Jackson’s
work ethic, study habits and athleticism. Last season injuries
diminished his playing time but he was 8-4 in games he started. Although
he threw 12 interceptions and only nine touchdown passes, he completed
58 percent of his passes. What sometimes gets lost in the evaluation of
Jackson is that many quarterbacks who became NFL success stories were
mediocre or worse during their first couple of years in the league.
Dalton wants to see Jackson and the Vikings improve the deep passing
game.
“If they can have a vertical threat and he
can have some accuracy, that puts the defensive secondaries on their
heels," Dalton said. "And it gets that extra safety out of the box which opens things
up for Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. So if
they can stretch the field vertically their running game will continue
to be the best in the league and that’s one of the things I think they
will emphasize as an offense.”
There’s no certainty in predicting how
Jackson will play in 2008 but there’s agreement that his success has
everything to do with the Vikings’ fate. Super Bowl? That’s a lot of
improvement in one season.
.jpg)
