Keep Your Pads On Gus

By TS
Sunday's Vikings' game against the Eagles will have an interesting twist; if Tarvaris Jackson starts out the game with a bad start, will Brad Childress put in Gus Frerotte? In his last three starts, Jackson has been playing fair football. His completions are up, his passing yardage is greater than or equal to 100 yards, and he is also scrambling for some great yardage. However, the Jackson offense has been shut down in the past, it is very possible the Eagles will hold the Vikings to minimal yardage in the first quarter. If this happens, Childress needs to put in Gus Frerotte, here is why:

Petterson is a better runner with Gus in the game:
Yes, A.P. had a 70+ yard touchdown run in the game against the Giants. His other runs were not the greatest. During the game, Fox showed all the yards Peterson got on each carry and it looked like this: 2,1,2,4,-1,78. The 78 is great, but the Giants were doing a good job shutting him down. With Gus in the game, the long ball was a bigger threat and teams could not tee off on A.P. Peterson was able to chip away 6 to 20 yard runs with consistency against teams. Nothing beats away a defenses' momentum like a long sustained drive down a field.

Shaiancoe is great, but Berrian is better:
Jackson playing has let Shainanoe shine in the offense. Jackson's short passing abilities have led to some big games for Shainancoe. The emergence of Jackson has also hurt Berrian's performance. Did anyone else see Jackson totally miss Berrian wide open for a touchdown in the Falcons game? That was the same type of play that Gus connected with Berrian in the Bears game to turn around the season (only Gus was passing out of the end zone). Ten yards to Shaincoe is good, but 99 to Berrian is better.

Go with who got you there:
Think back to 2001. The Patriots are in the playoffs, Brady hurts his ankle and Bledsoe comes in, and helps the Pats go to the Super Bowl. Does Bledsoe start in the Super Bowl? No, because the Pats were smart and went with the player who got them there over the player with the hot hand. When Gus took over the team they were 0-2, Gus has not played good, but the team has won while he was in charge.

Having Gus in the game would give a steady run game, bring back the long pass, and let him finish what he started. You can also bet that the Eagles have pulled last years film against the Redskins--why reinvent the wheel? The Jackson offense has been exposed in the past. If Jackson starts out poor, Childress needs to go to Gus.