Minnesota quarterback Tarvaris Jackson's groin is still sore, meaning Kelly Holcomb will get his second straight start when the Vikings play the Packers on Sunday. Jackson was limited in practice all week with an injury that kept him out of last week's loss to Kansas City. The second-year player was the only Viking listed as questionable Friday. Minnesota will get a boost with the return of running back Chester Taylor, who injured his hip in the first quarter of the season opener against Atlanta and hasn't played since. Taylor rushed for over 1,200 yards last season and will start against the Packers to help reduce some of the work load on rookie star Adrian Peterson. "This is the longest I've ever been out since I've been playing," Taylor said. "It killed me to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone play without me being up in there. So I'm going to try and do whatever I can to help my team this week."

Unless coach Brad Childress is surreptitiously sneaking in Joe Kapp to play quarterback in Kansas City, Kelly Holcomb is expected to make his first start as a Viking today. Holcomb isn't sure whether to consider this a beginning or an ending. Even before taking his first snap, Holcomb said he wants Minnesota to be the last stop in his 13-year NFL career, wants this to be the place he realizes the dreams he has been forced to defer. "I'm tired of moving," he said. "You never want to say never, because you don't know what's going to happen, but I want Minnesota to be my last place. Moving is tough on the family, tough on my wife, my children, my parents, her parents. You're always moving and looking for a new house and moving your stuff, and your wife and kids are leaving their best friends. "I would like this to be the place I end my career."

The Minnesota Vikings list quarterback Tarvaris Jackson as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but head coach Brad Childress isn't saying who will be the starting quarterback. Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger shared snaps in practice all week. Most people believe Holcomb will get the start. Childress let the quarterbacks know of his decision but neither quarterback was talking after practice. The coach said Friday that he doesn't want to take away the competitive advantage he feels he has by keeping the decision a secret. "I don't see the upside of putting it out there," Childress said after practice.

Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson missed his second straight day of practice Thursday, and it's appearing more likely that veteran Kelly Holcomb will start for Minnesota against the Chiefs. Jackson injured his groin in the fourth quarter against Detroit last Sunday, and has been unable to participate in the first two practices of the week. But Vikings coach Brad Childress was still playing it coy Thursday, saying the window is still open for Jackson to recover and play at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

When Adrian Peterson visited Lions headquarters before the NFL draft, one thing stuck out. "The head coach, I felt like he was an awesome dude," Peterson said. "He was real cool. I really felt like I could have related to him a little bit as far as being a player's coach." Rod Marinelli thought Peterson was awesome, too. He loved the tape he had seen of the Fiesta Bowl -- Peterson sprinting downfield to make a tackle after an interception against Boise State. "The effort," Marinelli said. "To get up off the ground. That spoke volumes to me about the type of person he is and the type of player he is."

Somewhere, Michael Vick must have been shaking his head. The Minnesota defense overwhelmed Atlanta's Joey Harrington with six sacks and two interception returns for touchdowns, and rookie running back Adrian Peterson finished off the Falcons in a 24-3 victory by the Vikings in Sunday's season opener.

The Minnesota Vikings have signed 2006 Pro Bowl DT Pat Williams to a 3-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Williams enters his 3rd season with the Vikings and his 11th in the NFL.

Vikings coach Brad Childress is the typical tight-lipped NFL coach, but he opened up on a radio interview last weekend. And Childress revealed an apparently tense conversation he had with Patriots coach Bill Belichick about a couple of players each team wanted to pass through waivers and put on the practice squad. Childress said Belichick called to ask him not to claim tight end Garrett Mills, offering to avoid picking up a player the Vikings cut as a reward. Childress declined. "He didn't really care for that," Childress said Sunday morning on WCCO-AM. "He was trying to leverage, but you always find out who is honest and straightforward." So the Vikings claimed Mills, the Patriots claimed linebacker David Herron, and Childress later realized he said too much.