Posts tagged: eric sugarman

Peterson Shows His Determination

May 9, 2012, by 2 comments

On December 24th, Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a major knee injury and had to celebrate the new year while recovering from reconstructive surgery.

On Wednesday, Peterson and head trainer Eric Sugarman met with Minneapolis media to show that both the player and team are cautiously optimistic that he will be able to return to playing meaningful football early in the 2012 season, perhaps even the opening game.

“That first game against Jacksonville, I plan on being back, so that will be disappointing if I’m not,” said Peterson.

“I’ve been ahead of the schedule since Day One,” Peterson continued. “The staff here, the staff down in Houston, they’ve been doing a great job with just pushing me, pushing me, but having that limit on it and knowing that, ‘Hey, Adrian, I know you want to do this, but you’ve just got to play it slow and it will come.’ ”

“You know, he’s to the point now where he’s really safe to do just about anything,” Sugarman said. “We gradually ramp him up to functional activity, and when we get to the point where he’s comfortable and has normal strength back to the other side — or better than the other side — and can function as he needs to, then we make that decision.

“He realizes now that there’s too much to lose by doing something foolish,” Sugarman added. “He has been pretty good. Now you have to pull back on the reins every once in a while and just remind him. But he has been pretty good about it, and I’m on the record as saying that he’ll continue.”

Peterson worked out in front of the media on Wednesday, performing a litany of drills and exercises to show just how far he has come.  He wore a brace on his knee for everything except for straight-line running.  Cutting and deceleration are the hardest things to do for Peterson at this point.

While Peterson showed a willingness to appease trainers by taking things as slow as his ultra-competitive personality will let him, he said that he has no intentions of playing second fiddle to Toby Gerhart once he does make it onto the field in the regular season.

“I’m not going to see myself in a limited role,” he said. “I want to be out there full throttle. … I feel like I’ll be able to go out there and help my team. That’s where my mind-set is going to be at.”

Peterson Tries To Put Minds At Ease

January 13, 2012, by No comments yet

Through the last five years of NFL football, there have been four words that became every Vikings fans worst nightmare.

“And down goes Peterson.”

Adrian Peterson is not only a first round pick, not only a hundred million dollar running back, he is the heart and soul of the team.  That is why it hurt all of us to see him writhing in pain during a week 16 matchup against the Redskins.

Peterson tore his ACL and his MCL in the third quarter of that game and two weeks ago he underwent reconstructive surgery.  Friday, he crossed a stage without crutches (but with a brace) and used the media to let all of us fans know he will not be a lost cause from this point forward.

“I feel like I’m going to come back better than before,” Peterson said. “I know people might laugh at that or think otherwise, but you know what? It doesn’t matter what they think or how they feel about it. The only thing that matters is how I feel about it and what I believe.”

I’m not going to laugh at Peterson, that much is for sure, but I do think that his goals of being even better and also returning by week one of 2012 might be a bit lofty.  Still, I’ve yet to hear of a person willing to bet against him.

The Vikings head trainer Eric Sugarman praised Peterson for already being ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation.  Sugarman said Peterson is already riding a stationary bike, extending the injured knee, and there are plans to have him jog in a pool next week.

Sugarman and Peterson both acknowledged they will have to fight the temptation to let Peterson’s elite physical abilities trick them into thinking he is ready for more than he really is.

“I know around the two-month mark, the three-month mark, it’s going to be feeling good and that’s when it’s at its weakest, the ACL,” Peterson said. “I’m just going to have to be smart and listen to these guys and just take it slow during that time.”