Posts tagged: adrian peterson

Tough ‘Game Ball’ Decision For You To Make

December 23, 2012, by 61 comments

The Vikings were expected to struggle greatly this week, as the Texans represent the AFC’s best, but they made it look easy as they cruised to victory.

A number of individual performances contributed to the win, but none really stand far out above the rest, so now you have the tough task of casting a single vote for this week’s VT game ball.

Here are your nominees:

CHRISTIAN PONDER:  16 of 30 for 174 yards and a touchdown.  Seven runs for 48 yards.

ADRIAN PETERSON:  25 runs for 86 yards.  One catch for 4 yards.

JARIUS WRIGHT:  Five catches for 53 yards.  One run for 8 yards.

BLAIR WALSH:  Three for three on field goals (56, 41, 39) and two extra points.

HARRISON SMITH:  Seven tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

ANTOINE WINFIELD:  Five tackles, one sack.

JASPER BRINKLEY:  Three tackles, one forced fumble.

Just To Clear Up One Thing…

December 21, 2012, by 7 comments

This is coming up at a random time for those of you that maybe don’t read the comments on VT regularly.  The rest of you, well, you know why I’m posting this now.

I ran across a 2007 interview with Adrian Peterson, which you can read here, and wanted to post this quote from Peterson after he was asked about his nickname:

“I’ve been hearing that since I was two. I ran around all the time. Never wanted to stop. Never wanted to sleep. I just kept going all day. My dad and mom gave me the nickname. When I started playing ball, my coaches said the same thing about how I played, that I could go all day.”

So, while fans of the other 31 NFL teams might be content to use the initials of any given player’s birth name in assigning nicknames (initials are initials, though, not nicknames) it is only fitting that a uniquely incredible player like Peterson be assigned something different… as a toddler… a long, long time ago.

It’s “All Day” or “A.D.” and that is that.

Links Of The Week: Chasing History

December 20, 2012, by 14 comments

Tomorrow cannot be the end of the world.  I haven’t found out if the Vikings make the playoffs yet.  I haven’t witnessed Adrian Peterson break the rushing record.  So many unanswered questions!

Anyways, I wanted to share with you all what I daydream about:  Peterson breaking both the single game record and single game record this week… against the vaunted Texans defense… on the same play.  Pure awesomeness is what that would be.

Here is the best of the best from around the web.  Enjoy!

Lessons Learned: Big Time Defense Makes All The Difference

December 17, 2012, by 37 comments

There is no doubt that Adrian Peterson led the Vikings to victory on Sunday, but it was the rarely seen big plays out of the Vikings defense that turned this one into a runaway win for the purple and gold.

The Vikings four sacks of Sam Bradford (Greenway, Ballard, Henderson, and Robison) are nothing out of the norm for the modern day Vikings, but they seemed to have the desire and ability to put an inferior team away on a couple of occasions.  This is most noticeable because this is something we have seen very rarely this year.

Prior to Sunday, the Vikings had only 9 interceptions and Harrison Smith’s two touchdowns were the only ones returned for scores.  That is why it was so nice to see Alan Williams mixing in some different looks, blitzing a little more often than normal, and dropping Everson Griffen back into the coverage scheme that resulted in the Vikings third pick six of the season.

The interception, coupled with Chad Greenway’s opportunistic fumble recovery, gave the Vikings the keys to their first two touchdown victory since week five against the Titans.

Incredible performances out of Adrian Peterson, the Vikings defense, and their special teams unit meant that the pressure was largely off of quarterback Christian Ponder which is exactly how they are going to continue to stay competitive in their remaining two weeks.

Big plays from the defense turned this game from a nail biter into a blowout and that is something I think we need to see more of as this young team grows into a legitimate force.

At the beginning of this month I stated that the Vikings playoff hopes died on Lambeau Field in their week 13 loss and while I still think that will be the case, I have great hopes for the future based off of what this young defense has shown me this season.

It would appear, however, that this team might be once again looking at the quarterback position as their top offseason need in order to continue taking things to the next level.

Open Thread: Second Half

December 16, 2012, by 116 comments

A nice Brian Robison sack followed shortly by an impressive Marcus Sherels return set Christian Ponder up for the best drive he has had in quite some time.  Two runs, including a fourth down scramble, resulted in the young quarterback using his mobility to score the game’s first touchdown.

Then, with one Rams drive aside, it was all Vikings from there on out.  A Chad Greenway fumble recovery, an Everson Griffen pick six, an 82 yard touchdown run from Adrian Peterson, and a pair of big field goals from Blair Walsh has all but given the Vikings a win in just one half of football.

The second half is sure to feature plenty of Adrian Peterson as he continues his quest for immortality.  Enjoy!

(Late) Links Of The Week: Rams Up Next

December 15, 2012, by 1 comment

I’m a little late getting this week’s Links segment kicked out to you all, but there are still plenty of great articles to point you towards as you wait for tomorrow’s kickoff.  Read them, tell the author what you think, and tell them who sent you:

  • The Vikings passing offense is going to be a main sticking point in almost every game preview from here on out.
  • Allen the Entertainer went on Jim Rome’s new show and had quite the fun time blasting recent changes to the game of football.
  • When building this Vikings team the front office has to be aware that they will most likely be playing their home games outdoors for two years.
  • Anyone that still clings to the idea that the NFL is not a quarterback driven league need not look much further than the 2012 Minnesota Vikings.
  • Here is a dream that just seems incredibly too pleasant to ever come true.
  • Chris Kluwe got fined for his uniform infraction on Sunday, and his special teams coach has just about had it with his punter.
  • I found a Bill Musgrave supporter!  Take that Sasquatch hunters!
  • Todd McShay put down the self-tanner long enough to release his first mock draft and he has the Vikings using their pick on a defensive tackle with the last name “Williams.”  That has worked well for us in the past.
  • A.J. Jefferson’s concussion last Sunday shouldn’t hold him out this week, but he was plenty scared following the injury.
  • Scroll down past the game recap (unless you want to read it, of course) to the table that compares Christian Ponder to Tarvaris Jackson.  Then, drink heavily.
  • Bill Musgrave says that Christian Ponder’s footwork “needs to be more refined.”  He also contends that books have pages and that cows say “moo.”
  • Leslie Frazier has told defensive end D’Aundre Reed, who hasn’t been active for two weeks, to be patient.
  • The question of whether or not Minnesota can afford their new Vikings stadium is not yet answered, and won’t be for a long time.
  • How this offseason goes for free agents Dwight Freeney and Osi Umeniyora could tell us a lot about Jared Allen’s potential future, or lack thereof, in Minnesota.
  • Some really fun conceptual pictures of the future stadium in Mineapolis.
  • Jerome Felton has been a very solid fullback paving the way for Adrian Peterson, but rookie Rhett Ellison might be even better in that area.
  • Everson Griffen avoided a fine for his hit high on Jay Cutler last week.
  • Bryant McKinnie used to look like an All Pro against lesser talents while looking like a clown against the better pass rushers in the NFL.  Rookie Matt Kalil, however, looks like an All Pro no matter who lines up across from him.
  • A lot weird things can happen on any given Sunday, but Vikes Geek points out three things that he considers to be ludicrous from last week.
  • Rookies Harrison Smith and Josh Robinson have proved to be just what the doctor ordered for an annually disappointing Vikings secondary.
  • Don’t click this link unless you are prepared to buy yourself the greatest Christmas present ever.

Make No Mistake, Peterson’s Goals Start And End With Team Success

December 14, 2012, by 6 comments

Adrian Peterson has already made history this season, coming off of a gruesome knee injury in a way that no other player ever has, but is now approaching a point in the year that could potentially see him make records fall left and right.

Peterson currently leads the NFL with 1,600 yards.  Over the next three games he only needs 160 more to break his own personal best achieved in 2008.  He needs 400 more to become only the seventh player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards.

He also needs 506 yards, an average of 169 yards per game, to best Eric Dickerson’s all-time rushing record for a single season.

Heck, he may even shock the world and beat out Tom Brady and Peyton Manning for the league MVP award.

With the Vikings playoff chances very much in doubt, Peterson’s record busting pace is providing quite the excitement, and Peterson has been willing to talk about it.  He has expressed interest in both winning MVP honors and toppling Dickerson’s high water mark.

While Peterson always has lofty goals, only some of which he shares publically, but he is the type of guy that always seems to put the team ahead of his own personal goals.  The type of guy that would rather rush for three yards and get the win than go for 300 and lose.  The type of guy that ridiculously shoulders blame for a Lambeau loss in which he gained 220 yards.

When reading some comments about Peterson’s recent media blitz I noticed that plenty of readers of other sites, including Vikings fans, felt that Peterson’s public statements regarding his desire to shatter records this season undermine the team goal of making the playoffs.

I think those people are preposterous.

First off, if Peterson gains 506 yards over the next three games then the odds are pretty darn good that the team is qualifying for the postseason.

Second, Peterson has already been credited by Vikings coaches for being an inspiration to every other player in the locker room this season, a leader of men.  If he wants to demand only the best of himself, then perhaps that attitude will be contagious and we will see only the best come out of numerous others on the roster down the stretch.

Third, the effort that Peterson puts forth when it isn’t game day is what obviously sets him apart from every other player on game day.  His work ethic and dedication, by most accounts, is second to none.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Peterson was not satisfied with “only” drawing nine Bears defenders to the line on Sunday and places part of the blame for only 91 passing yards on himself.

Maybe Peterson is simply hanging a giant “kick me” sign on his back for the next three weeks with hopes of drawing even more attention his direction in an attempt to provide Ponder and company with even more of a chance to succeed.

Peterson is a treat to watch and I hope he meets all of his personal goals, that the team meets their collective goals, and that we get to see the whole team pursue even more goals after the regular season concludes.