The Vikings and the QB position: a retrospective
Posted on January 6th, 2009 – 12:37 PMBy Michael Rand
Our usual angry end-of-the-Vikings-season phone call with Rocket the other day left us fuming, as usual, about the Vikings’ quarterback situation. But sometimes good things (even if they are painful) come from anger. We channeled it towards some research, and we found out that, well, for the generation or so things have been pretty dysfunctional at QB for the Vikings. So it’s not just a Brad Childress problem, though he certainly has perpetuated things. Consider:
*In three years under Brad Childress, five different QBs have thrown at least 50 passes in a season: Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Kelly Holcomb, Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger.
*In the past 20 seasons of Vikings football (1989-2008), those five aforementioned men, plus these chaps, have thrown at least 50 passes in any given season: Daunte Culpepper, Spergon Wynn, Todd Bauman, (Johnson and Frerotte again, during different tours of duty), Jeff George, Randall Cunningham, Warren Moon, Jim McMahon, Sean Salisbury, Rich Gannon, Wade Wilson and Tommy Kramer. That’s 16 different QBs, not including Johnson and Frerotte twice.
*From 1984-1989, Tommy Kramer threw 1,506 passes while Wade Wilson threw 1,356 passes for the Vikings. Wilson, from 1983-1991, started at least one game every season but no more than 12 games in any season for the Vikings. That’s nine years in a row! Kramer, from 1982-1989, started at least three games every season but no more than 15 games in any season. Unbelievable!
*Daunte Culpepper started 73 of a possible 80 games from 2000-2004, providing a measure of stability. But considering his career arc — and his relationship to fans — was more of a yo-yo than a straight line, we have to say the most stable era of Vikings quarterbacking in the past 25 years came from the two steady years of Warren Moon in 1994 and 1995.
*And somehow, in the past 22 seasons, the Vikings have made the playoffs 13 times. Their record in those trips? 8-13. We don’t even have the heart to see how many different quarterbacks have started those playoff games.
8 Responses to "The Vikings and the QB position: a retrospective"
At least those were some good names at QB, cue jama’s rebuttal list in 3…2…1…
Think we can talk Trent Dilfer out of retirement? I mean come on…he won a superbowl…and was cut from the team the next day.
Trent Dilfer has a ring but there’s no questioning that he’s better at his current job (engaging talking head) than his previous job (immobile, fumble-prone).
I hate my laptop keyboard. Dilfer’s previous job was as an immobile, fumble-prone QB. And he also worked in janitorial.
My question is not whether or not the Vikings should seek out a better QB1 option next season (I think we’re all in agreement that they *should*), but rather has T-Jack shown enough potential as a project to be a viable QB2 in a league that requires any team with playoff aspirations to have two viable QB options on its roster?
Newbie
You’re going to have to get Joker to copy and paste that list. I drank those names out of my memory over the last several years.
What would the Vikings success have been had they just signed Jeff Garcia as a Free Agent 2 years ago? He’s my guess as the starting QB1 for week 1 next year with Jackson as QB2 with QB3 being filled by a 1st or 2nd round draft pick. (The Booty will get kicked to the curb)
In addition to latte’s question, is John David Booty the QB of the future? I think T-Jack can be a good #2. But that would mean we get a veteran free agent this off season and need to develop a young QB after he leaves. Will that be Jackson? I doubt it, but is it Booty? Or do we have to draft a QB early. (When we have so many other needs.)
What’s going to kill me is that there’s a decent chance that Tyler [redacted] Thigpen is going to be better than any of the quarterbacks on the Vikings roster next season.
I’m not emotionally ready for that, I don’t think.
“We don’t even have the heart to see how many different quarterbacks have startedthose playoff games.”
8 or 9 unsure of who started the 90 playoff game but Gannon, Wilson and Kramer each attempted at least 17 passes during the game.
