For anyone doubting AD

[Mothman]

That stat line is a little deceptive, though. Through 7 games in 2012, Peterson rushed for 652 yards on 136 carries (4.8 ypa). He currently has 19 less yards (633) on 4 more carries (140), so his ypa=4.5. So even in the 'slow' part of his season (Peterson would eventually average 6 ypa for the season) he was still gaining more yardage than this year. Not saying he couldn't do it, but he would have to "go off" even more than he did in 2012.

I do agree that he can contribute to the team. Only Adrian Peterson can have a 4.5 ypa average and have that be considered a 'slow start.'

Exactly. That's not a slow start at all. I don't see how Peterson's ability to contribute is even in question. He's already made a substantial contribution this season.

[84BreaksAnkles]

Something incredible, is...
If you take Adrian's top 16 games of his career (1Full season), he has 3,044yds... LOL

No other running back I've done this for comes up with 3,000 yards in any 16 game span..


If you take Adrian's worst 16 games of his career, he has 439yds... LOL

[Boon]

Something incredible, is...
If you take Adrian's top 16 games of his career (1Full season), he has 3,044yds... LOL

No other running back I've done this for comes up with 3,000 yards in any 16 game span..


If you take Adrian's worst 16 games of his career, he has 439yds... LOL

I was at one of those here in glendale. I don't want to talk about it lol

[Mothman]

Something incredible, is...
If you take Adrian's top 16 games of his career (1Full season), he has 3,044yds... LOL

No other running back I've done this for comes up with 3,000 yards in any 16 game span

That's pretty cool! Which other RBs did you check?

[84BreaksAnkles]

So after checking thoroughly, there are 3 other backs in history who can put together a 3,000 yard season from their 16 best games....


#8) Walter Payton- 2,566yds
#7) Eric Dickerson- 2,804yds
#6) Jim Brown- 2,840yds
#5) Earl Campbell- 2,862yds
#4) Ladanian Tomlinson- 3,029yds
#3) Barry Sanders- 3,040yds
#2) Adrian Peterson- 3,044yds
#1) O. J. Simpson- 3,051yds

If Adrian can get a single 161+ yd game throughout the rest of his career, he will take the lead.

Best possibility is when we host Chicago, or New York Giants this year..

[J. Kapp 11]

Exactly. That's not a slow start at all. I don't see how Peterson's ability to contribute is even in question. He's already made a substantial contribution this season.

I'll say this ... I've been wondering what's up with AP all year. Going past the stats, he just hasn't LOOKED the same this year to me.

But the way he ran against Chicago certainly changed my view on that. He was seeing the lanes and hitting them hard. He made great cuts in the hole and made people miss. He really looked good. I don't think he's punishing tacklers like he used to, but honestly, I don't expect him to do that at 30 years old. I just loved the decisiveness and aggression he showed to get to the second level. That's more like the AP I'm used to seeing. If he keeps it up with that kind of running, a truly monster, signature AP game (or three) is not far off.

[dead_poet]

But the way he ran against Chicago certainly changed my view on that. He was seeing the lanes and hitting them hard. He made great cuts in the hole and made people miss. He really looked good. I don't think he's punishing tacklers like he used to, but honestly, I don't expect him to do that at 30 years old. I just loved the decisiveness and aggression he showed to get to the second level. That's more like the AP I'm used to seeing. If he keeps it up with that kind of running, a truly monster, signature AP game (or three) is not far off.

I don't think the poor run blocking (the worst he's run behind in his career as a Viking?) and carries out of the shotgun where he can't build up a full head of steam is doing him any favors. I'll agree that he looked pretty darn good vs. Chicago (more I-formation snaps with a good job by Zach Line at lead blocking). But I'll agree I think his long speed isn't quiiiite as "cloud of dust" as it once was. He still runs violently, though, with good vision and quick feet and excellent cutting.

[chicagopurple]

I have been very surprised to see no involvement for AP in the passing game. I thought the OC had all these plans to get him more touches as a receiver. He has done it in the past but this year....nada......

[nfcnorthchamps25]

He finally had some holes to run through against Chicago and looked really good. I hope this is a result of our Oline coming together and not just that the Bears Dline is terrible. Im still kind of skeptical, but we should get a much better read of what to expect going forward this weekend.

[84BreaksAnkles]

I have been very surprised to see no involvement for AP in the passing game. I thought the OC had all these plans to get him more touches as a receiver. He has done it in the past but this year....nada......

Ya, seeing what Norv did with LT all those years really got me excited, but somehow the offense still suffers from Vikingitis

[mansquatch]

The plays I hate are when he gets to the LOS or a little beyond and then stops, trying to make someone miss and gets stuffed where if he had just cut and run he would have gotten 4-5 yards and set up 2nd and 5 or 3rd and short. That being said, he doesn't always do that, and it is hard to measure how much opposing defenses would change without him on the field. That last part is probably the biggest indication that he still “has it”. Opposing DCs, ie football professionals, are scheming to stop him first when they play the Vikings.

I do not think we can in good faith criticize AP too harshly given the state of our OL. We might not be seeing 2012 form, but when he is getting hit behind the LOS as much as he is, it hard to not give him some kind of pass.

[DK Sweets]

He looked markedly better to me this week compared to the last three games, but the Bears also played a lot of high safety looks. It seemed to me like he was more decisive, but it might have also been he just had more room to run.

[losperros]

He looked markedly better to me this week compared to the last three games, but the Bears also played a lot of high safety looks. It seemed to me like he was more decisive, but it might have also been he just had more room to run.

Or both. Maybe when AD is more decisive he creates more room to run.

I thought Peterson looked terrific against the Bears. If that's the case, it sure isn't the first time that it took AD the first part of the season to find his groove. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does during the rest of the year.

That said, the entire Vikings offense has been victimized by some poor blocking up front. If AD gets some daylight, he'll gain yardage. I'm hoping the OL is now improving.

As for Peterson's speed, there seems to be a bit of a drop-off with his sustained speed. OTOH, his burst is still there and he can out-accelerate almost anyone around him for the first 10-20 yards.

[Mothman]

I have been very surprised to see no involvement for AP in the passing game. I thought the OC had all these plans to get him more touches as a receiver. He has done it in the past but this year....nada......

He's 4th on the team in receptions.

[Mothman]

I think Peterson's facing 3 big obstacles this season:

1.) A learning curve in an offense that's pretty new to him and a learning curve for his coaches in how best to use him
2.) Some mighty poor blocking in front of him in games where teams commit to stopping him and do a lot of run blitzing
3.) The somewhat larger-than-life impression people have of his game vs. the reality of his game.

I think the third might be the biggest.

He might be a little slower now than he was but he can clearly still outrun defenders when he gets into the open. He's mighty fast.

This season, I've read that he isn't breaking tackles (he is), that he isn't finishing runs the way he used to (he still does quite a bit of that), that he isn't seeing holes (it's tough to be third in the NFL in rushing yardage when you can't see the hole), etc. I think to some extent, he's been mythologized in people's heads and he can't live up to that Adrian Peterson.

The bottom line: he's accounted for almost a third of the team's offensive yardage in 2015. He remains a key player for them and he's quite obviously still benefitting the team in several ways.