Brad Childress Explains Why Purple Jesus Is Better Than Touchdown Jesus

The Vikings have had a pretty successful off-season, signing wide receiver Bernard Berrian and safety Madieu Williams. But the recent news that Gus Frerotte will join the team as Tarvaris Jackson's backup has been met with "WTF?" incredulity from a relatively tolerant fanbase.

Generally speaking, the quarterback position is a sore spot for this team, and at the NFL owner's meeting, head coach Brad Childress talked about why Minnesota passed on Brady Quinn last year.

"I think people valued another position obviously more,'' Childress said. "There was some common thinking if he got past Miami there [at No. 9], as you looked at the teams that were after, they weren't really lined up to take a quarterback. That's probably the biggest reason.''

Not all that insightful, but it's not like a coach makes it a habit of spilling his guts to the media about the organization's draft philosophy. Fair enough. One reason the Vikings may have shied away from Quinn last year is because Jackson had just one season in the league. There's plenty of upside for a guy long on athleticism and short on experience. Plus, with other needs (like, say, running back), Minnesota could address the quarterback position at some point in the future.

Now, though, I wonder what the Vikings would do if they had the seventh-overall pick this April. There's a change Matt Ryan could be on the board, and while Jackson showed glimpses of ability in 2007, I think it would be much tougher for the organization to pass on a potential franchise quarterback twice in as many drafts.