From KFAN.com
With preseason finally in the rear view mirror, the Vikings take their freshly trimmed 53-man roster to the practice field in preparation for Eric Mangini’s Cleveland Browns.
The only problem? Both Mangini and Vikings head coach Brad Childress are being extremely secretive regarding their respective quarterback situations. Of course, Childress’ tight lips withhold information about his backup scenario — Brett Favre is obviously the starter — but Mangini has yet to publicly name a starting quarterback.
That’s right. Less than six days before the first regular season game, and Browns fans have no idea whether they will root for Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson.
In fact, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Eric Mangini will attempt the impossible this week; he’s made his decision on who will start, but he’s keeping it internal until kickoff on Sunday.
Good luck keeping a muzzle on 53 players.
Here’s the most recent report:
10:26 a.m. — Browns coach Eric Mangini said Monday he’s made his decision on a starting quarterback, but will keep his identity internal and not reveal it to the Vikings, Sunday’s season opening opponent.
He said he will tell the two quarterbacks in the “near future” in separate conversations with each of them. He said he’ll explain to them why and how the decision was made. He said as a defensive coordinator, it’s difficult to prepare for an offense when the quarterback is unknown.
He said he expects both quarterbacks to prepare as though they’re the starter. He added that both have prepared and competed at a high level. “It was thorough and detailed and we looked at the whole body of work,” said Mangini. “It was extensive. I feel strongly about the improvement both guys made.”
Childress, on the other hand, has yet to decide between Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels as his backup quarterback. Jackson made his mark against the Chiefs with 200+ yards and two touchdown passes, while Rosenfels hasn’t been as sharp since a solid start in the first preseason game against Indianapolis.
“We’ll end up declaring that probably an hour and a half before the game,” Childress said. “But at least you know who the starter is here.”
This is obviously an important and difficult decision between two guys who have history as starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The Vikings traded for Rosenfels in the offseason and signed him to a three-year extension under the presumption that he would compete for a starting job in Purple.
Jackson has been Childress’ project for three-plus years, and he’s one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in the league.
How do you go about telling one of them he’ll be deactivated each week? Well, for starters, Childress said he’s unlikely to declare a backup for the entire season. Instead, the backup position may rotate from week-to-week, depending on various factors.
Still, the interception Rosenfels threw last Friday night that led to seven points the other way for Dallas is a built-in explanation for bumping him to third string.
“It’s been a long time since that’s happened,” Rosenfels said about possibly being the third-string quarterback. “I think I’ve been at least a two for the last four years; this would be my fifth. It’s a tough situation, but you can never have too many good quarterbacks.”
“I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there,” Jackson said. “I’m not used to (third string). We’ll see. We don’t know exactly what’s going on right now, so I guess I’ll just try to take it one day at a time.”
As far as game-planning for a mystery Browns quarterback on Sunday (much like Tecmo Super Bowl in the early 90s), Childress said not much would change regardless of who Mangini names as the starter. The Vikings will look at Jets film from last year (Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s old squad), and they will watch film on Browns’ personnel.
Notes
- Rosenfels and Jackson both practiced holding field goals for Ryan Longwell after practice. That’s what backup QBs do, right?
- Speaking of backup QBs, John David Booty found himself back in a Vikings uniform Monday as a member of the practice squad after being waived on Saturday afternoon.
“I felt that I’m a better player than to not get picked up,” Booty said. “I feel like I can play this game… I still could, eventually, but who knows. For now, I’m happy to be here.”
“I really don’t know that one play is going to make or break you,” said Booty, regarding the interception for a touchdown he threw on Friday night. “Maybe it can. If so, then maybe it did.”
Childress also chimed in, saying it was more about the “body of work” with Booty and others. Still, the interceptions thrown by Rosenfels and Booty certainly made the idea of trading Jackson less enticing.
- Asher Allen took number 21, which was formerly occupied by Marcus McCauley. McCauley was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions this weekend. He’ll have two chances at revenge against his former team.
- Madieu Williams did not practice on Monday. He left Friday’s game (even though he didn’t play) with the stomach flu.
Teams aren’t forced to divulge any injury information until Wednesday.