Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte probably is overexposed. And I don't mean like Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley, who accidentally posted a nude picture of himself on his blog this season.

The more Frerotte plays, the less effective he becomes. This is not an uncommon trait among professional athletes, especially 37-year-old professional athletes.

There is no question he provided a spark when he took over for Tarvaris Jackson. But like a utility man in baseball or a sharpshooter off the bench in basketball, that effectiveness diminishes with increased playing time. Opposing teams figure out how to exploit a guy's weaknesses.

Poor Gus is getting the stuffing knocked out of him by blitzing defenses. He has been sacked 26 times already this season. Plus, no other NFC quarterback has been picked off as many times. His overall quarterback rating is a meager 75.0, which puts him in the bottom six of the entire NFL.

I'm not a big numbers guy, but the interceptions and sacks are alarming. They are counterproductive, although his teammates deserve a share of the blame.

Because the Vikings don't have an alternative at the position -- please, God, help them understand that they do not have an alternative -- they are going to have to figure a way to deal with this.

Frerotte isn't mobile, but that isn't the only reason he has been sacked so often. Ultra-competitive, he is holding onto the ball and looking to create something. Yet the Vikings' receivers don't appear to be particularly improvisational. You seldom see them racing back toward Frerotte, looking for the ball.

Instead, they often slow down or come to a complete stop when they've finished running their routes. That leaves Frerotte standing there with a bull's-eye on his chest. Fortunately, he is a big, strong guy. At 6 feet 3 and 230 pounds he is built more like a linebacker. And that's good, because if he weren't, he'd be dead by now.

Asked about the sacks, Frerotte said: "I'm trying to let things happen, and I'm trying to make too many plays and get balls downfield. I'm letting guys try to get open, but I just have to get out and throw it away."

Especially if they aren't getting open.

Other teams have discovered that the blitz is an effective weapon against him. Adrian Peterson isn't much of a blocker in those situations. Of course, asking Peterson to block is like asking Picasso to paint a toilet. And the offensive line, so effective at run blocking, is just so-so in pass protection.

I don't know the answer. Maybe put Jim Kleinsasser in the backfield as a blocking back on sure passing downs. He would clean up any linebacker coming through the middle. But the tackles still have to handle the outside rushes.

In 2003 during his first stint with the Vikings, Frerotte came off the bench to replace injured Daunte Culpepper and heaved two 72-yard completions to Randy Moss as Minnesota beat Detroit. The next week, he started and threw four TD passes in a victory over San Francisco. He starred against Atlanta the following week as the Vikings won for a third time. It was a short-term bonanza.

Frerotte hasn't replicated that success in a starting role. He left here to be the No. 1 man for the Miami Dolphins . He had some good games but overall wasn't particularly effective. He has been a backup ever since. Until this year.

Great coming off the bench, Frerotte wasn't expected to play much with the Vikings. Ah, but here we are. The demise of Jackson has put the team in a pickle. There was no plan in place for that.

Now there isn't much that can be done other than to find a way to beef up the protection against the blitz, instruct the receivers to abandon their routes or improvise when they see Frerotte on the run and keep the ball in the running backs' hands as much as possible until the quarterback (with luck) gets a second wind.

Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com