RENTON, Wash. (AP) - Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson says he's up to the challenge of trying to hold on to his job as the Seattle Seahawks starter.
Jackson took the first team snaps Friday during the team's OTA with the Seahawks facing a full-blown competition between Jackson and newcomer Matt Flynn.
Head coach Pete Carroll said Jackson has earned the right to take the first-team snaps at this point in the offseason with his experience in the system from a season ago.
"But from that point, the competition is on and I'm sure those guys are well-informed about that and they understand that," Carroll said. "It's going to be really exciting to see that turn out and it's going to take us awhile. There's no timeline."
Jackson faces a completely different landscape from a season ago, when he signed with the team as an unrestricted free agent.
Jackson was handed the starting job last year. With his familiarity with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who also came over from Minnesota, the team gave Jackson the reins to the offense in hopes it would allow it to move in the right direction quickly following the lockout.
Jackson started 15 games for the Seahawks, throwing for 3,091 yards and 14 touchdowns. But Seattle's offense was stagnant early and didn't get jumpstarted until the offensive line began to gel and tailback Marshawn Lynch exploded at mid-season.
Seattle was never able to mount a game-winning drive, despite several opportunities, with Jackson at the helm. It's the biggest thing that bothers Jackson when he reflects on last year.
"I could have done a lot better job of not turning the football over, finishing with points and just being more consistent," Jackson said. "We didn't have any drives to win the game at the end of the game and that's what quarterbacks are supposed to do."
Jackson expected Seattle to try to add talent at the quarterback position over the offseason and the Seahawks did just that.
After a short, unsuccessful run at Peyton Manning, the Seahawks managed to sign Flynn from Green Bay to compete for the starting job. Last weekend, Seattle drafted Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson in the third round, and the team is still intrigued by second-year player Josh Portis as a developmental prospect as well.
"I'm not a GM, I'm not a head coach, so I can't go and pick exactly who they want, or say, `Don't get a quarterback.' If I could I would, believe me," Jackson joked. "But that's not how things work, so I'm just here to compete and may the best man win."
