Webb Gets The Start

The Vikings placed Tarvaris Jackson on IR yesterday with a toe injury, and that means his season, as well as his Vikings career, has come to an end. With Brett Favre still out, it will now fall to rookie Joe Webb to get the start for the Vikings at QB this Monday night against the Bears at TCF Bank Stadium.

I was impressed with Webb (pictured) watching him play briefly in the preseason. He was selected in the 6th round by the Vikings out of the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He was the 199th selection in the 2010 draft. (My friend Chris pointed out to me that Tom Brady was a 199th pick in the 2001 draft as well. An omen a good things to come?) Webb reminds me a bit of the Jets' Brad Smith, a versatile player who can throw, run and play special teams. He went 2-for-8 last Monday against the Giants in relief of Jackson.

With the Vikings' season cooked, it makes sense to go with Webb and see what he can do. The Vikings signed veteran Patrick Ramsey, who has not played since 2008, as his backup.

It looks like the game is a go for Monday night at the University of Minnesota's park. The field has just about been cleared of the snow (but more is in the forecast), but there has been some controversy about the seating arrangements, as the Vikings have made it festival seating, over first come, first served. That means that over 14,000 fans will get shut out, many of whom will be season ticket holders (they have about 55,000 season ticket holders).

There is also concern about what kind of shape the field will be in after being thawed out and players on both the Vikings and Bears have expressed that. Vikings officials have assured them that it will be fine, but we really won't know until game time. And also, there will be no alcohol served at the game, as that is the policy of University of Minnesota. And the temperatures at game time should be in the single digits.

It should be quite a memorable night.