quote:

Childress sees three keys essential to Jackson's growth:

•Protecting the football. Jackson had more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes in 2007, and in the Vikings' last three losses, they were minus nine in turnover ratio.

•Learning when to abort plays by throwing the ball away. "It's an art," Childress says. "It's learning to play another down. You don't have to save every play."

•Making sound decisions, the essence of playing quarterback. "It's being able to progress," Childress says. "Knowing when to let go of that deep ball and give a guy a one-on-one opportunity, or when it is better to bring it down and go to a 4-yard check-down."