The Vikings Will Soon Learn if Frerotte Is Fr'real

Coming into this season, many of the NFL “experts” seemed to be picking the Vikings to win the NFC North. Some even had them advancing in the playoffs and making it to the NFC Championship and even, gasp, the Super Bowl. I took issue with these predictions (just ask my cubicle-neighbor!), mostly because it was clear before the season that they weren’t even the best team in their division (Packers), and, Tarvaris Jackson was their quarterback. Yours truly, from before their first game of the season:

I refuse to pick the Vikings to win any big games with Jackson at QB ... It’s just a little rule of mine, because, well, he’s awful.

And guess what? Tarvaris Jackson went out there, played two games and was awful. Absolutely awful to the tune of 308 yards passing, one touchdown and a 64.8 rating. More importantly, they haven’t won any games. Most importantly, I was right about something, for once, although it wasn't hard to see this coming.

Realizing that they can’t afford to start the season 0-3, the Vikings have benched Jackson in favor of my old homeboy from D.C., Gus Frerotte, which doesn’t necessarily make them a better team, but it certainly doesn’t make them worse. If he can manage the game (oh god, did I just fall into the cliche trap?), let AP run for 150 yards, convert a few key passes (specifically, in the redzone) then sure, the Vikings could beat the Panthers at home this weekend, improve to 1-2 and be on their way to contending for a playoff spot.

Will all that happen? I’m not going to put any money on it, unless Aaron Rodgers loses a limb. They’re still the second best team in the North and the two Wild Cards are coming from the East.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.