Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Great Article on why Peterson Runs so Hard
Adrian Peterson says he runs angry because football is the former Oklahoma running back's calling and his means of coping.
Nicknamed "A.D.," short for "all day" when he was a hyperactive child, the 2004 Heisman Trophy runner-up refuses to run out of bounds. It's his all-day tough way of honoring those taken from him.
Feel his pain.
Peterson saw his older brother and best friend, Brian, 9, killed by a drunken driver, who ran him down as he rode his bicycle. Peterson, then 7, watched in horror.
Peterson's father, Nelson, who coached his pee-wee running back son to give as much punishment on the field as he got, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering drug money. Peterson was 13.
The night before Peterson's Indianapolis scouting combine workout for 32 NFL teams, his half brother, Chris Paris, 19, was shot and killed in Houston. Peterson felt as close to Paris as he did to his biological brother.
"Then, he came back on his pro day at Oklahoma and had a very impressive workout," Savage says. "He caught the ball extremely well, and not just out of the backfield. And it showed how well-rounded he potentially could be, even though at OU he was primarily used as a runner."
Peterson, who announced in January that he would forgo his senior season at Oklahoma, grew up in the small East Texas town of Palestine with big dreams of winning a Heisman Trophy and a national championship and becoming an NFL star.
He has matured into a rare combination of size (6-2, 217 pounds), game-breaking speed and power. But the 22-year-old's strongest intangible is what Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson calls A.D.'s "intrinsic drive."
What's a dislocated shoulder, which was popped back in by trainers, when you're fueled by your brother's memory and the knowledge that your teammates needed you to convert a critical third-and-short to secure a win against Texas A&M during your freshman season?
What's eight in the box stacked to stop you every Saturday when the man who instilled your love of the game watched all but the final two games of your college career from prison?
"Resilience is what I'm all about," Peterson says. "I run angry. Football allows me to take out some of my pain on the field.
"When I go out on the field, I just put it in my mind that I'm playing for my family."
Peterson used the same mentality at the scouting combine in the wake of Paris' death.
"Chris would have wanted me to go ahead and work out," Peterson says. "I had just talked to him a couple of days before. He told me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and just take care of business."
Houston police are still investigating Paris' homicide, according to Peterson.
The drunken driver who killed his brother Brian was charged and sent to prison.
It was no consolation to Peterson, who lost a piece of his heart.
"Brian and Adrian were like twins," Peterson's mother, Bonita Jackson, says. "They were born 11 months apart, ran everywhere together and played football together. It was like a part of Adrian was just gone when Brian was killed."
But maybe part of Brian lives on in Peterson.
"Adrian's always been fast. But Brian was faster," Jackson says. "Adrian said to me once, 'Momma, I think when Brian died, I inherited his speed.'
"Brian was fast as lightning."
When he first put a football in his son's hands, Nelson Peterson taught 7-year-old Peterson to keep going forward, no matter what. The irony is that Nelson would be the one to impose one of the harshest tests of that coaching maxim.
Father and son stayed close despite the years, the miles and prison partitions that separated them.
Peterson was able to occasionally visit his father at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. They exchanged letters and spoke by phone before and after Peterson's games until Nelson's release last October.
"We were talking the other day, and Adrian said, 'Dad, do you need or want anything? Because there's nothing you could ask me for I wouldn't give you,' " Nelson Peterson says. "I said, 'Thank you, son. Daddy's OK now. I'm free and able to enjoy time with family again.'
"That's the greatest gift of all: To be here now and be able to help him through this draft process."
Those fall Saturdays watching No. 28 run for the Sooners were the only times the father felt truly free in prison. His son gave him hope of better days together.
"Even though I couldn't be there physically to watch him play, in my heart and spirit, and in his heart and spirit, I was there," Nelson says. "To have the opportunity to watch him run on Saturdays, that was the extra motivation that helped me get through my time."
The son, who never turned his back, remains proud of the father who has turned his life around.
"My dad means a lot to me," Peterson says. "He's the one who put a football in my hands. We have a close relationship. And we maintained it during the time he was incarcerated.
"He was always writing, giving me advice, telling me to turn my shoulder this way or saying I needed to make good decisions in my young life growing up."
Nelson conceived A.D.'s nickname. "I've got the copyright on that one," the father says with a laugh. "I gave that nickname to him when he was 2, 3 years old. Adrian was always into something."
Even as a child, Peterson stood out from the crowd.
"Other kids his age would take a nap," Nelson says. "He'd keep running and running. Adrian always had this everlasting energy. But when he ran and fell down, I taught him no pain.
"Kids always look back for their parents to see how they react when they fall. Adrian always picked himself up.
"He's a tough kid."
Peterson will run over tacklers as often as he leaves them grabbing air.
"It's my fault Adrian runs the way he does," Nelson says. "I taught him how to take contact. Now I tell him he shouldn't take so much.
"I had a guy run at him, and taught Adrian to run to the middle — showed him how to meet force with force."
Now Peterson is the most dynamic running back force in this draft, the progeny of a college shooting guard and a high school track star who earned a scholarship to the University of Houston.
"I ran the 100, 200 meters and did the long and triple jump," Jackson says.
"Speed is in Adrian's genes. I see myself in him. He gives that same look I do when he runs, hooking his neck as if it's making him faster. I love watching him run."
Peterson ran for 4,045 yards and 41 touchdowns, finishing third on Oklahoma's career rushing list despite playing in only 31 games.
He set an NCAA Division I-A freshman record with 1,925 yards in his Heisman runner-up campaign in 2004. He rushed for 1,108 yards his sophomore year when he missed all or part of four games with a high ankle sprain. He missed seven games last season after breaking his collarbone when he was tripped up nearing the end of a 53-yard touchdown run and landed awkwardly in a 34-9 win against Iowa State on Oct. 14. He returned to play in the Fiesta Bowl where he gained 77 yards and scored two touchdowns against Boise State.
"This running back might be the best back I've ever seen coming out of college," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden says. "This is a punishing guy.
"This guy won't go out of bounds. Every time he carries the ball, he tries to hurt you. Bad. And he's fast and mean as hell."
Nelson Peterson said he started selling crack cocaine for an East Texas ring despite holding a respectable job after his NBA dream ended abruptly. A gun Nelson's brother was cleaning discharged, and Nelson, a rising star at Idaho State, was accidentally shot in the leg. He spent the next three years in and out of hospitals, saving his leg from infection.
"I made honorable mention All-American," Nelson says. "I went against John Stockton when he was at Gonzaga. I played in The Great Alaska Shootout against (former Maryland star and Boston Celtics first-round draft pick) Len Bias."
But with 10 children to support, Peterson chose easy money and paid a harsh price.
"I had a little feeling of entitlement, caught up with the fact that, after I injured my leg, my basketball career was over, and a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish for my family financially I couldn't anymore," he says. "I just got in with the wrong crowd, doing things I shouldn't have done."
He talks to schools now, spreading an anti-drug message.
"I'm here today to give you a lot of information on things you don't know; this is how it's going to be when you sell drugs like I did, and you get caught and go to prison," he says.
"So many people want to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, and if you do this, you can wind up in prison or in the graveyard. Three quarters of those people have never experienced any of it."
But Nelson knows.
"I've experienced the good, the bad and the ugly.
"The thing I learned from my time in prison is that it's about who is there when the road is hard. Nine times out of 10, it's your family."
Peterson is a father himself. His 2½-year-old daughter, Adeja, is the love of his life.
"She's just like me," Peterson laughs. "Adeja is a bundle of energy.
"She's starting to understand that I'm a football player. If there's a football laying around, she'll pick it up and run with it."
And Adeja has only fortified Peterson's love of the game.
"Football is 10 times more important to me now. I have to be able to provide for my little girl. I want her to live a good life and want to make her proud of her dad."
Durability. It is the biggest question some talent evaluators have concerning a big back reminiscent of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson. Peterson runs so upright and hard that "he might make himself more of a target even to linebackers who will wind up doing people's taxes for a living," NFLDraftScout.com senior analyst Rob Rang says.
Rang says some teams will red-flag Peterson.
"The big knock on him is the durability issue," Minnesota Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman says. "Because he's a taller back; because he has an upright running style; because he runs 1,000 miles an hour. Is he going to hold up from a durability standpoint?
"I'm sure we'll talk about it."
So is Peterson injury-prone, or is there a flaw in his game that can be corrected?
"They're all legitimate injuries," Spielman says. "But is he getting those injuries because of his style of running? Or can you teach him maybe to lower his shoulder and be more patient as a runner?"
It won't be a worry for the team that selects a home run threat.
"Some pro scouts were asking, 'Why doesn't he run out of bounds?' " Wilson says. "I told them, 'He's not making $20 million here. He's on scholarship, and we coached him to try and put some fear in people trying to tackle him.' In the pros, guys play smarter and look out more for their longevity."
Wilson says Peterson will have to polish his pass protection and blitz pickups but insists he was unlucky, not injury-prone.
"Adrian doesn't have a chronic injury problem," he says. "He'd tote it 25-30 times on Saturday and be out there on Tuesday, Wednesday practicing with a high school kid's enthusiasm. He was a great practice player and a very tough kid."
It figures Peterson will be better off and absorb less punishment if he's integrated into a two-back system that eight of last year's 12 playoff teams featured. Even though Gruden already has Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, he says he'll consider Peterson if he's there when Tampa Bay picks fourth.
"Looking at the teams who win, you're looking at Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney," Gruden says of the tandem the New England Patriots featured in 2006. "You look at Thomas Jones or Cedric Benson (2006 teammates with the Chicago Bears) and Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai (2006 running mates with the Indianapolis Colts).
"If you're going to run the ball 35 or 40 times a game, there's a lot of love to spread around if you've got two great backs."
The Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills have either worked Peterson out or expressed interest.
Many mock drafts link the Browns, picking third, to Peterson. The fact that Cleveland signed former Baltimore Ravens 2,066-yard rusher Jamal Lewis to a one-year free agent deal doesn't preclude them from taking another back.
Dublin, Ohio, native Brady Quinn, a four-year starting quarterback at Notre Dame, may be too tempting to pass on if he's available. But the Browns may also feel they're a top-notch running game away from making a legitimate turnaround by better supporting incumbent quarterback Charlie Frye.
"We have Jamal, but it's really a one-year situation, because we wanted to keep the option open if Adrian Peterson is there, or somebody else that we like," Savage says. "He's obviously got big-time speed. He's got burst, acceleration, and he runs hard every down."
Draft day will be more emotional for Adrian and Nelson Peterson and Bonita, who remarried Frankie Jackson, than for most prospects.
"Draft day for my family will be like winning the $300 million lotto jackpot," Peterson says. "God blessed my dad to be free. It'll definitely be a special, emotional day."
Their father-son bond has survived the toughest trial.
"It'll be a God-blessed moment," Nelson says. "To have the opportunity to see Adrian be drafted will be a blessing, especially after all the ups and downs we've been through."
The son wants to reward his parents for the speed, resilience and moral compass they instilled.
"I want to fly my dad somewhere he's never been before — the Bahamas or something — just so he can enjoy life again," Peterson says. "I want to buy my mom a house; the same for my dad. That will be the first thing I do when I get drafted."
Bonita is touched.
"If he's able to buy me a house, I'll thank God for that," she says.
"But if he's successful, that means more than any amount of money or house he could give me. Just to see Adrian accomplish all his dreams would mean the most.
"A lot of things that happened in his life, Adrian has used football as his motivation to overcome them."
It's a story darkened by tragedy but ultimately about family and possibility.
"He's a great talent, a good, grounded kid who loved to practice and work hard," Wilson says. "He was our franchise player. He could have been a prima donna, but he wasn't. … He kept his nose clean, which is unusual in this superstar era. I don't think he'll change. He's a credit to his parents and to (Oklahoma) Coach (Bob) Stoops, who preaches the importance of team."
And how will Peterson do at the highest level of pro football?
"The mountain is high for his upside," Wilson says. "It'll be interesting to see how far up the NFL hill he gets."
Where does Peterson hope to land?
"Wherever I go, it's about going in, working your butt off, doing whatever it takes to win and, ultimately, it's trying to be up there with the Walter Paytons," Peterson says. "I want to win four or five championship rings. That's how I dream. I dream big."
He's earned the right.
As Nelson says of himself, six months removed from serving nearly eight years in prison, "I don't look back. I bounce back."
The trait clearly runs strong through the Peterson family DNA.
By: Jim Corbett
http://www.wday.com/event/image/id/2130/headline/Adrian%20Peterson/
Nicknamed "A.D.," short for "all day" when he was a hyperactive child, the 2004 Heisman Trophy runner-up refuses to run out of bounds. It's his all-day tough way of honoring those taken from him.
Feel his pain.
Peterson saw his older brother and best friend, Brian, 9, killed by a drunken driver, who ran him down as he rode his bicycle. Peterson, then 7, watched in horror.
Peterson's father, Nelson, who coached his pee-wee running back son to give as much punishment on the field as he got, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering drug money. Peterson was 13.
The night before Peterson's Indianapolis scouting combine workout for 32 NFL teams, his half brother, Chris Paris, 19, was shot and killed in Houston. Peterson felt as close to Paris as he did to his biological brother.Once more, Peterson ran his wounded heart out for a fallen family member. He clocked between 4.38 and 4.40 seconds for 40 yards and performed well in positional drills. He solidified his status as a likely top-10 pick in the draft, arguably revealing more about his mental toughness than any psychological test or team interview could.
"Unfortunately, when tragedy strikes, the world doesn't stop," Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage says. "Adrian was able to go out and perform despite his loss."
And that wasn't all.
"Then, he came back on his pro day at Oklahoma and had a very impressive workout," Savage says. "He caught the ball extremely well, and not just out of the backfield. And it showed how well-rounded he potentially could be, even though at OU he was primarily used as a runner."
Peterson, who announced in January that he would forgo his senior season at Oklahoma, grew up in the small East Texas town of Palestine with big dreams of winning a Heisman Trophy and a national championship and becoming an NFL star.
He has matured into a rare combination of size (6-2, 217 pounds), game-breaking speed and power. But the 22-year-old's strongest intangible is what Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson calls A.D.'s "intrinsic drive."
What's a dislocated shoulder, which was popped back in by trainers, when you're fueled by your brother's memory and the knowledge that your teammates needed you to convert a critical third-and-short to secure a win against Texas A&M during your freshman season?
What's eight in the box stacked to stop you every Saturday when the man who instilled your love of the game watched all but the final two games of your college career from prison?
"Resilience is what I'm all about," Peterson says. "I run angry. Football allows me to take out some of my pain on the field.
"When I go out on the field, I just put it in my mind that I'm playing for my family."
Peterson used the same mentality at the scouting combine in the wake of Paris' death.
"Chris would have wanted me to go ahead and work out," Peterson says. "I had just talked to him a couple of days before. He told me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and just take care of business."
Houston police are still investigating Paris' homicide, according to Peterson.
The drunken driver who killed his brother Brian was charged and sent to prison.
It was no consolation to Peterson, who lost a piece of his heart.
"Brian and Adrian were like twins," Peterson's mother, Bonita Jackson, says. "They were born 11 months apart, ran everywhere together and played football together. It was like a part of Adrian was just gone when Brian was killed."
But maybe part of Brian lives on in Peterson.
"Adrian's always been fast. But Brian was faster," Jackson says. "Adrian said to me once, 'Momma, I think when Brian died, I inherited his speed.'
"Brian was fast as lightning."
When he first put a football in his son's hands, Nelson Peterson taught 7-year-old Peterson to keep going forward, no matter what. The irony is that Nelson would be the one to impose one of the harshest tests of that coaching maxim.
Father and son stayed close despite the years, the miles and prison partitions that separated them.
Peterson was able to occasionally visit his father at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. They exchanged letters and spoke by phone before and after Peterson's games until Nelson's release last October.
"We were talking the other day, and Adrian said, 'Dad, do you need or want anything? Because there's nothing you could ask me for I wouldn't give you,' " Nelson Peterson says. "I said, 'Thank you, son. Daddy's OK now. I'm free and able to enjoy time with family again.'
"That's the greatest gift of all: To be here now and be able to help him through this draft process."
Those fall Saturdays watching No. 28 run for the Sooners were the only times the father felt truly free in prison. His son gave him hope of better days together.
"Even though I couldn't be there physically to watch him play, in my heart and spirit, and in his heart and spirit, I was there," Nelson says. "To have the opportunity to watch him run on Saturdays, that was the extra motivation that helped me get through my time."
The son, who never turned his back, remains proud of the father who has turned his life around.
"My dad means a lot to me," Peterson says. "He's the one who put a football in my hands. We have a close relationship. And we maintained it during the time he was incarcerated.
"He was always writing, giving me advice, telling me to turn my shoulder this way or saying I needed to make good decisions in my young life growing up."
Nelson conceived A.D.'s nickname. "I've got the copyright on that one," the father says with a laugh. "I gave that nickname to him when he was 2, 3 years old. Adrian was always into something."
Even as a child, Peterson stood out from the crowd.
"Other kids his age would take a nap," Nelson says. "He'd keep running and running. Adrian always had this everlasting energy. But when he ran and fell down, I taught him no pain.
"Kids always look back for their parents to see how they react when they fall. Adrian always picked himself up.
"He's a tough kid."
Peterson will run over tacklers as often as he leaves them grabbing air.
"It's my fault Adrian runs the way he does," Nelson says. "I taught him how to take contact. Now I tell him he shouldn't take so much.
"I had a guy run at him, and taught Adrian to run to the middle — showed him how to meet force with force."
Now Peterson is the most dynamic running back force in this draft, the progeny of a college shooting guard and a high school track star who earned a scholarship to the University of Houston.
"I ran the 100, 200 meters and did the long and triple jump," Jackson says.
"Speed is in Adrian's genes. I see myself in him. He gives that same look I do when he runs, hooking his neck as if it's making him faster. I love watching him run."
Peterson ran for 4,045 yards and 41 touchdowns, finishing third on Oklahoma's career rushing list despite playing in only 31 games.
He set an NCAA Division I-A freshman record with 1,925 yards in his Heisman runner-up campaign in 2004. He rushed for 1,108 yards his sophomore year when he missed all or part of four games with a high ankle sprain. He missed seven games last season after breaking his collarbone when he was tripped up nearing the end of a 53-yard touchdown run and landed awkwardly in a 34-9 win against Iowa State on Oct. 14. He returned to play in the Fiesta Bowl where he gained 77 yards and scored two touchdowns against Boise State.
"This running back might be the best back I've ever seen coming out of college," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden says. "This is a punishing guy.
"This guy won't go out of bounds. Every time he carries the ball, he tries to hurt you. Bad. And he's fast and mean as hell."
Nelson Peterson said he started selling crack cocaine for an East Texas ring despite holding a respectable job after his NBA dream ended abruptly. A gun Nelson's brother was cleaning discharged, and Nelson, a rising star at Idaho State, was accidentally shot in the leg. He spent the next three years in and out of hospitals, saving his leg from infection.
"I made honorable mention All-American," Nelson says. "I went against John Stockton when he was at Gonzaga. I played in The Great Alaska Shootout against (former Maryland star and Boston Celtics first-round draft pick) Len Bias."
But with 10 children to support, Peterson chose easy money and paid a harsh price.
"I had a little feeling of entitlement, caught up with the fact that, after I injured my leg, my basketball career was over, and a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish for my family financially I couldn't anymore," he says. "I just got in with the wrong crowd, doing things I shouldn't have done."
He talks to schools now, spreading an anti-drug message.
"I'm here today to give you a lot of information on things you don't know; this is how it's going to be when you sell drugs like I did, and you get caught and go to prison," he says.
"So many people want to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, and if you do this, you can wind up in prison or in the graveyard. Three quarters of those people have never experienced any of it."
But Nelson knows.
"I've experienced the good, the bad and the ugly.
"The thing I learned from my time in prison is that it's about who is there when the road is hard. Nine times out of 10, it's your family."
Peterson is a father himself. His 2½-year-old daughter, Adeja, is the love of his life.
"She's just like me," Peterson laughs. "Adeja is a bundle of energy.
"She's starting to understand that I'm a football player. If there's a football laying around, she'll pick it up and run with it."
And Adeja has only fortified Peterson's love of the game.
"Football is 10 times more important to me now. I have to be able to provide for my little girl. I want her to live a good life and want to make her proud of her dad."
Durability. It is the biggest question some talent evaluators have concerning a big back reminiscent of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson. Peterson runs so upright and hard that "he might make himself more of a target even to linebackers who will wind up doing people's taxes for a living," NFLDraftScout.com senior analyst Rob Rang says.
Rang says some teams will red-flag Peterson.
"The big knock on him is the durability issue," Minnesota Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman says. "Because he's a taller back; because he has an upright running style; because he runs 1,000 miles an hour. Is he going to hold up from a durability standpoint?
"I'm sure we'll talk about it."
So is Peterson injury-prone, or is there a flaw in his game that can be corrected?
"They're all legitimate injuries," Spielman says. "But is he getting those injuries because of his style of running? Or can you teach him maybe to lower his shoulder and be more patient as a runner?"
It won't be a worry for the team that selects a home run threat.
"Some pro scouts were asking, 'Why doesn't he run out of bounds?' " Wilson says. "I told them, 'He's not making $20 million here. He's on scholarship, and we coached him to try and put some fear in people trying to tackle him.' In the pros, guys play smarter and look out more for their longevity."
Wilson says Peterson will have to polish his pass protection and blitz pickups but insists he was unlucky, not injury-prone.
"Adrian doesn't have a chronic injury problem," he says. "He'd tote it 25-30 times on Saturday and be out there on Tuesday, Wednesday practicing with a high school kid's enthusiasm. He was a great practice player and a very tough kid."
It figures Peterson will be better off and absorb less punishment if he's integrated into a two-back system that eight of last year's 12 playoff teams featured. Even though Gruden already has Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, he says he'll consider Peterson if he's there when Tampa Bay picks fourth.
"Looking at the teams who win, you're looking at Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney," Gruden says of the tandem the New England Patriots featured in 2006. "You look at Thomas Jones or Cedric Benson (2006 teammates with the Chicago Bears) and Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai (2006 running mates with the Indianapolis Colts).
"If you're going to run the ball 35 or 40 times a game, there's a lot of love to spread around if you've got two great backs."
The Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills have either worked Peterson out or expressed interest.
Many mock drafts link the Browns, picking third, to Peterson. The fact that Cleveland signed former Baltimore Ravens 2,066-yard rusher Jamal Lewis to a one-year free agent deal doesn't preclude them from taking another back.
Dublin, Ohio, native Brady Quinn, a four-year starting quarterback at Notre Dame, may be too tempting to pass on if he's available. But the Browns may also feel they're a top-notch running game away from making a legitimate turnaround by better supporting incumbent quarterback Charlie Frye.
"We have Jamal, but it's really a one-year situation, because we wanted to keep the option open if Adrian Peterson is there, or somebody else that we like," Savage says. "He's obviously got big-time speed. He's got burst, acceleration, and he runs hard every down."
Draft day will be more emotional for Adrian and Nelson Peterson and Bonita, who remarried Frankie Jackson, than for most prospects.
"Draft day for my family will be like winning the $300 million lotto jackpot," Peterson says. "God blessed my dad to be free. It'll definitely be a special, emotional day."
Their father-son bond has survived the toughest trial.
"It'll be a God-blessed moment," Nelson says. "To have the opportunity to see Adrian be drafted will be a blessing, especially after all the ups and downs we've been through."
The son wants to reward his parents for the speed, resilience and moral compass they instilled.
"I want to fly my dad somewhere he's never been before — the Bahamas or something — just so he can enjoy life again," Peterson says. "I want to buy my mom a house; the same for my dad. That will be the first thing I do when I get drafted."
Bonita is touched.
"If he's able to buy me a house, I'll thank God for that," she says.
"But if he's successful, that means more than any amount of money or house he could give me. Just to see Adrian accomplish all his dreams would mean the most.
"A lot of things that happened in his life, Adrian has used football as his motivation to overcome them."
It's a story darkened by tragedy but ultimately about family and possibility.
"He's a great talent, a good, grounded kid who loved to practice and work hard," Wilson says. "He was our franchise player. He could have been a prima donna, but he wasn't. … He kept his nose clean, which is unusual in this superstar era. I don't think he'll change. He's a credit to his parents and to (Oklahoma) Coach (Bob) Stoops, who preaches the importance of team."
And how will Peterson do at the highest level of pro football?
"The mountain is high for his upside," Wilson says. "It'll be interesting to see how far up the NFL hill he gets."
Where does Peterson hope to land?
"Wherever I go, it's about going in, working your butt off, doing whatever it takes to win and, ultimately, it's trying to be up there with the Walter Paytons," Peterson says. "I want to win four or five championship rings. That's how I dream. I dream big."
He's earned the right.
As Nelson says of himself, six months removed from serving nearly eight years in prison, "I don't look back. I bounce back."
The trait clearly runs strong through the Peterson family DNA.
By: Jim Corbett
http://www.wday.com/event/image/id/2130/headline/Adrian%20Peterson/
2007 Interview Peterson on his Training and Life in the NFL
Halfway through the 2007 NFL season, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is the obvious choice for NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's challenging Steelers running back Willie Parker and Chargers running back (and former MF cover boy) LaDainian Tomlinson for the league's rushing title, and in week 6, he set the single-game rushing record against the Bears much-celebrated defense, tallying 224 You-Tube worthy rushing yards. We recently sat down with Peterson to talk about his sick work ethic, how he's getting his teammates to train with him, and why he believes he'll one day be the best back in the league (if he's not already).
MF: When did you know you wanted to be a running back? When did you go from a kid running around to training for the NFL?
Peterson: When I first touched the ball as a little leaguer. It was my first game, my second carry, and I took it to the house for like 60, 70 yards. I was always fast, I was always racing guys that were older than me and beating them, so I always had speed. I was able to make good cuts at a young age, on the side of the house with my dad, going through different plays, working on cuts and stuff like that.
I definitely always felt that I could really become something. At that age, I'm not saying you overlook college, but growing up young, you got your uncles and your dad's friends that watch the NFL, so that was the ultimate dream. It wasn't like, "OK, go to college, then..." It was always, "I want to play in the NFL." It's been like that for a long time.
MF: What about your training has prepared you so well for the NFL?
Peterson: I've always been the type to work on a different level, doing more reps of conditioning in the weight room. I work on the little things that are going to make my game better, like changing directions. You're going full speed, and you have someone pointing to different places you have to cut to. In a game, you might break to the outside, and you've got that free safety coming at an angle to cut you off, and you plant and you cut back across the space. So you kind of get the same kind of movement.
MF: You're developing a reputation as a game-breaker. Do you do any drills to build your explosiveness?
Peterson: I run half-gashers across the field, sideline to sideline. I'll work on my take-off, being explosive in that way. I've got guys doing three-trippers here. We did those at the University of Oklahoma. That's over, back, and over. So basically, that's 150 yards, maybe four of those after practice. I got (wide receiver) Aundrae Allison, (wide receiver) Sidney Rice, (cornerback) Marcus McCauley, (running back) Mewelde Moore, I got those guys. They're tagging along now, running those with me.
MF: You're a physical back – is there any way to simulate being hit?
Peterson: When I go out for practice, I'm game speed, every day. I'm out there running like I'm in the game, finishing 40, 60 yards down the field. So it's not a surprise when I go out there and do it on Sundays.
MF: Do you do any mental training to prepare for games?
Peterson: Oh yeah, definitely. That's something I always do. I sit there and visualize myself breaking through the defense, making that cut to make that cornerback or free safety miss and taking it to house against the defense I watched on film on all week.
MF: Is there anything you want to change about your body?
Peterson: I'm around 218 lbs right now. I want to keep my body lean, but I'd like to add a couple more pounds of muscle. If I get my weight steady around 222 lbs, something like that, keeping my body fat low, then that's something I want to do. I want to improve my speed too, my acceleration, to be able to get into the open field whenever I hit the crease.
MF: Has your diet changed since getting into the league?
Peterson: Oh, yes sir. I try to eat a lot of baked foods, fish, chicken, potatoes, stuff like that. Grab me a Muscle Milk. That helps. The stuff Cytosport provides is all I stick with. Cookies N' Cream, it's pretty good (laughs).
MF: Is there anything missing from your game?
Peterson: What's missing from my game? I wouldn't say there's anything missing, but there are definitely things I can improve on. Pass protection, being quicker with my cuts, my vision, just the little details that really make a difference out on the field.
MF: Can you talk a little about your lifting routine before the season?
Peterson: I was lifting two or three times a week, coordinating upper body with lower body, getting my cardio in. That's very important. I really don't like running on a treadmill or riding a bike and all that. I like to feel that I'm getting some work done, so normally, I go outside and run, get that good sweat.
I try to do lunges, single-leg squats, then get my full squats in. I try to work every muscle in my legs from quads to the hamstrings to the calves. I haven't maxed out since college, and I want to say I squatted about 540 lbs, something like that.
I'll probably do a couple sets of 315 pounds for reps now. That is kind of light, but when you up the reps, you really getting quality work in, too. So I'll do probably about three sets of 15, you know, starting from like 12, then I might do 10, finish up with 8.
MF: What part of training do you like, and what don't you like?
Peterson: Oh I enjoy all of it. Some of the guys are like, "man, you're a robot." I know a lot of guys don't really like conditioning, but it's something that's gotten me to the level I'm at now, so I'm just continuing what I've been doing that got me here. I always hit the weight room hard.
MF: How do you recover from the beating you take in an NFL season?
Peterson: Cold tub and massages. Just keeping the kinks and knots out of your body, keeping your muscles feeling fresh and your body feeling fresh everyday after practice.
MF: Experts have labeled you a "franchise back" coming out of college. What is a franchise back to you?
Peterson: A guy you can depend on, that's going to go out there and contribute to the team. A back that has proven himself. A guy that can go out there and perform well.
MF: Is one of your goals is to be a franchise back?
Peterson: Oh yeah. Definitely.
MF: How'd you get your nickname, All Day?
Peterson: It's the name I've been had since I was young. A lot of people get it kind of twisted up, "it's easier to just be AP," but it's the first two initials of my name, AD, All Day. I was so active, always had energy, just running around. I'm pretty sure there are people that just can't sit still, they've got so much energy, always moving, always doing something. That's how I got that name.
MF: You're sharing carries with Viking running back Chester Taylor. What kind of relationship do you guys share?
Peterson: We have a pretty good relationship. I feel like I'm blessed, because it could be the opposite, knowing you're coming in and competing for the position, taking snaps away from someone else. But he really has been like a mentor, helping me a lot on and off the field.
MF: You're a rising star in the NFL, but surely you've had to sacrifice a lot to get here. Was it all worth it?
Peterson: Oh yeah, it's definitely been worth it. This is what I've been dreaming about since I was six years old. Everything that I went through has been like food to me. In life, a lot of things come, but it's how you bounce back from them when they come that counts. A long time ago, I decided that I'm going to use the negative things to feed off of, so that's what I've been doing. I'm living a dream.
MF: Looking into the future – where do you see yourself in five years?
Peterson: Five years? I see myself being the best running back in the league. That's not being cocky or anything, just confident, knowing what it takes to be able to have that label and just going after it. I'm putting the work in. I feel like that's something I can accomplish here in the near future.
http://www.mensfitness.com/exclusives/215
MF: When did you know you wanted to be a running back? When did you go from a kid running around to training for the NFL?
Peterson: When I first touched the ball as a little leaguer. It was my first game, my second carry, and I took it to the house for like 60, 70 yards. I was always fast, I was always racing guys that were older than me and beating them, so I always had speed. I was able to make good cuts at a young age, on the side of the house with my dad, going through different plays, working on cuts and stuff like that.
I definitely always felt that I could really become something. At that age, I'm not saying you overlook college, but growing up young, you got your uncles and your dad's friends that watch the NFL, so that was the ultimate dream. It wasn't like, "OK, go to college, then..." It was always, "I want to play in the NFL." It's been like that for a long time.
MF: What about your training has prepared you so well for the NFL?
Peterson: I've always been the type to work on a different level, doing more reps of conditioning in the weight room. I work on the little things that are going to make my game better, like changing directions. You're going full speed, and you have someone pointing to different places you have to cut to. In a game, you might break to the outside, and you've got that free safety coming at an angle to cut you off, and you plant and you cut back across the space. So you kind of get the same kind of movement.
MF: You're developing a reputation as a game-breaker. Do you do any drills to build your explosiveness?
Peterson: I run half-gashers across the field, sideline to sideline. I'll work on my take-off, being explosive in that way. I've got guys doing three-trippers here. We did those at the University of Oklahoma. That's over, back, and over. So basically, that's 150 yards, maybe four of those after practice. I got (wide receiver) Aundrae Allison, (wide receiver) Sidney Rice, (cornerback) Marcus McCauley, (running back) Mewelde Moore, I got those guys. They're tagging along now, running those with me.
MF: You're a physical back – is there any way to simulate being hit?
Peterson: When I go out for practice, I'm game speed, every day. I'm out there running like I'm in the game, finishing 40, 60 yards down the field. So it's not a surprise when I go out there and do it on Sundays.
MF: Do you do any mental training to prepare for games?
Peterson: Oh yeah, definitely. That's something I always do. I sit there and visualize myself breaking through the defense, making that cut to make that cornerback or free safety miss and taking it to house against the defense I watched on film on all week.
MF: Is there anything you want to change about your body?
Peterson: I'm around 218 lbs right now. I want to keep my body lean, but I'd like to add a couple more pounds of muscle. If I get my weight steady around 222 lbs, something like that, keeping my body fat low, then that's something I want to do. I want to improve my speed too, my acceleration, to be able to get into the open field whenever I hit the crease.
MF: Has your diet changed since getting into the league?
Peterson: Oh, yes sir. I try to eat a lot of baked foods, fish, chicken, potatoes, stuff like that. Grab me a Muscle Milk. That helps. The stuff Cytosport provides is all I stick with. Cookies N' Cream, it's pretty good (laughs).
MF: Is there anything missing from your game?
Peterson: What's missing from my game? I wouldn't say there's anything missing, but there are definitely things I can improve on. Pass protection, being quicker with my cuts, my vision, just the little details that really make a difference out on the field.
MF: Can you talk a little about your lifting routine before the season?
Peterson: I was lifting two or three times a week, coordinating upper body with lower body, getting my cardio in. That's very important. I really don't like running on a treadmill or riding a bike and all that. I like to feel that I'm getting some work done, so normally, I go outside and run, get that good sweat.
I try to do lunges, single-leg squats, then get my full squats in. I try to work every muscle in my legs from quads to the hamstrings to the calves. I haven't maxed out since college, and I want to say I squatted about 540 lbs, something like that.
I'll probably do a couple sets of 315 pounds for reps now. That is kind of light, but when you up the reps, you really getting quality work in, too. So I'll do probably about three sets of 15, you know, starting from like 12, then I might do 10, finish up with 8.
MF: What part of training do you like, and what don't you like?
Peterson: Oh I enjoy all of it. Some of the guys are like, "man, you're a robot." I know a lot of guys don't really like conditioning, but it's something that's gotten me to the level I'm at now, so I'm just continuing what I've been doing that got me here. I always hit the weight room hard.
MF: How do you recover from the beating you take in an NFL season?
Peterson: Cold tub and massages. Just keeping the kinks and knots out of your body, keeping your muscles feeling fresh and your body feeling fresh everyday after practice.
MF: Experts have labeled you a "franchise back" coming out of college. What is a franchise back to you?
Peterson: A guy you can depend on, that's going to go out there and contribute to the team. A back that has proven himself. A guy that can go out there and perform well.
MF: Is one of your goals is to be a franchise back?
Peterson: Oh yeah. Definitely.
MF: How'd you get your nickname, All Day?
Peterson: It's the name I've been had since I was young. A lot of people get it kind of twisted up, "it's easier to just be AP," but it's the first two initials of my name, AD, All Day. I was so active, always had energy, just running around. I'm pretty sure there are people that just can't sit still, they've got so much energy, always moving, always doing something. That's how I got that name.
MF: You're sharing carries with Viking running back Chester Taylor. What kind of relationship do you guys share?
Peterson: We have a pretty good relationship. I feel like I'm blessed, because it could be the opposite, knowing you're coming in and competing for the position, taking snaps away from someone else. But he really has been like a mentor, helping me a lot on and off the field.
MF: You're a rising star in the NFL, but surely you've had to sacrifice a lot to get here. Was it all worth it?
Peterson: Oh yeah, it's definitely been worth it. This is what I've been dreaming about since I was six years old. Everything that I went through has been like food to me. In life, a lot of things come, but it's how you bounce back from them when they come that counts. A long time ago, I decided that I'm going to use the negative things to feed off of, so that's what I've been doing. I'm living a dream.
MF: Looking into the future – where do you see yourself in five years?
Peterson: Five years? I see myself being the best running back in the league. That's not being cocky or anything, just confident, knowing what it takes to be able to have that label and just going after it. I'm putting the work in. I feel like that's something I can accomplish here in the near future.
http://www.mensfitness.com/exclusives/215
AP's offseason training to reduce fumbles
Last NFL season, Adrian Peterson the first string running back for the Minnesota Vikings had a little problem with holding onto the football while crashing through the defensive front line of the opposing team. Peterson who has proven he has what it takes to play with the Minnesota Vikings is just about to the point he needs to be at to be called an all around running back in the NFL.
The Vikings who are now starting their pre-season practices and drills have come up with a possible solution for Peterson to get more of an intense workout and more of an out of the box solution to be able to squirt through the offensive holes and come out of those holes still holding the football. The solution is to use a 14-pound pound dummy football, or a fourteen pound football filled with sand while working out and practicing in pre-season camp. This is sort of the same as working out with a medicine ball. The average medicine ball weighs about 12 " 15 pounds.
The thinking behind this idea according to Solomon Wilcott`s of the NFL Network is, If you can secure a 14-pound football, you probably can hold onto the ball when defenders are pulling and tugging at it. " (Wilcotts, Profootballtalk.com, 2010) after he interviewed Adrian Peterson and talked to him about this new idea, or at least an idea that not a lot of football trainers and fans have heard about.
The big question now becomes will this concept work for Peterson? And will all the heavy lifting, or should I say heavy carrying in this year`s training camp turn Peterson into a running back that holds the ball so tight that not even a wrecking ball and chain could knock the ball out of Peterson`s grip. I guess we will see in the upcoming NFL season.
In my opinion yes; I believe this concept will help Peterson grip the ball tighter. The other challenges as a running back are you basically have to be focusing on many different things at one time when you are carrying the ball. The first thing is to know your position and duties on the next play. When the ball is snapped, you hesitate for a second, let the Quarterback fade back as if he is going to pass which will throw the Linebackers on defense a few steps backwards, or towards where the Quarterback has his eyes focused as if he is going to throw the ball in that direction. You then start forward, let the Quarterback tuck the ball in your gut as you slide past him like a piece of ice sliding down a metal pole, you then hit the hole where your front line has just opened for you. The best thing as you go through the hole is to grab the ball with both arms and tuck it tight into your body. This is the point where the defensive line is going to be punching at the ball, grabbing at it, and slapping at it in any way they can to try to knock it out of your arms for a fumble. Imagine running through a line of trees with no leaves on the branches on a windy day, this is sort of what it is like for a running back to run through the offensive line and then into the front defensive line and secondary. The smaller branches are slapping at your body and the bigger branches bump you and knock you off balance.
After you shoot through the hole and are free and clear of the defensive line and the linebackers, then you can tuck the ball in either of your arms and run like the wind towards the end zone. You are concentrating on the play, watching the front line until the hole opens up, you are watching and trying to stay behind your lead blockers if you have any, then you mind clicks into the scoring mode. You really are not concentrating on holding the football, or watching the defense come at you to try to knock the ball loose. Any new training method to help hold onto the football better is a welcome suggestion for any running back.
The new training method of practicing holding a 14-pound football while running plays and drills in practice is a good idea, but the only thing that will really matter is if Peterson`s hard work pays off and the concept teaches him to grip the ball tighter.
http://thesop.org/story/sports/2010/06/09/adrian-petersons-goal-to-hold-the-ball-tighter-adds-a-little-sand-to-the-solution.php
The Vikings who are now starting their pre-season practices and drills have come up with a possible solution for Peterson to get more of an intense workout and more of an out of the box solution to be able to squirt through the offensive holes and come out of those holes still holding the football. The solution is to use a 14-pound pound dummy football, or a fourteen pound football filled with sand while working out and practicing in pre-season camp. This is sort of the same as working out with a medicine ball. The average medicine ball weighs about 12 " 15 pounds.The thinking behind this idea according to Solomon Wilcott`s of the NFL Network is, If you can secure a 14-pound football, you probably can hold onto the ball when defenders are pulling and tugging at it. " (Wilcotts, Profootballtalk.com, 2010) after he interviewed Adrian Peterson and talked to him about this new idea, or at least an idea that not a lot of football trainers and fans have heard about.
The big question now becomes will this concept work for Peterson? And will all the heavy lifting, or should I say heavy carrying in this year`s training camp turn Peterson into a running back that holds the ball so tight that not even a wrecking ball and chain could knock the ball out of Peterson`s grip. I guess we will see in the upcoming NFL season.
In my opinion yes; I believe this concept will help Peterson grip the ball tighter. The other challenges as a running back are you basically have to be focusing on many different things at one time when you are carrying the ball. The first thing is to know your position and duties on the next play. When the ball is snapped, you hesitate for a second, let the Quarterback fade back as if he is going to pass which will throw the Linebackers on defense a few steps backwards, or towards where the Quarterback has his eyes focused as if he is going to throw the ball in that direction. You then start forward, let the Quarterback tuck the ball in your gut as you slide past him like a piece of ice sliding down a metal pole, you then hit the hole where your front line has just opened for you. The best thing as you go through the hole is to grab the ball with both arms and tuck it tight into your body. This is the point where the defensive line is going to be punching at the ball, grabbing at it, and slapping at it in any way they can to try to knock it out of your arms for a fumble. Imagine running through a line of trees with no leaves on the branches on a windy day, this is sort of what it is like for a running back to run through the offensive line and then into the front defensive line and secondary. The smaller branches are slapping at your body and the bigger branches bump you and knock you off balance.
After you shoot through the hole and are free and clear of the defensive line and the linebackers, then you can tuck the ball in either of your arms and run like the wind towards the end zone. You are concentrating on the play, watching the front line until the hole opens up, you are watching and trying to stay behind your lead blockers if you have any, then you mind clicks into the scoring mode. You really are not concentrating on holding the football, or watching the defense come at you to try to knock the ball loose. Any new training method to help hold onto the football better is a welcome suggestion for any running back.
The new training method of practicing holding a 14-pound football while running plays and drills in practice is a good idea, but the only thing that will really matter is if Peterson`s hard work pays off and the concept teaches him to grip the ball tighter.
http://thesop.org/story/sports/2010/06/09/adrian-petersons-goal-to-hold-the-ball-tighter-adds-a-little-sand-to-the-solution.php
RB rankings
Sporting News ranks the top running back. Do you agree?
When an NFL scout evaluates a running back, the player's size, power, speed, durability and versatility all play a role in the overall assessment. Sporting News enlisted an NFL team's director of pro personnel to rank and analyze the top 20 backs based on those criteria:
1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings. His combination of speed and power gives him the top spot. He has a slight edge on Chris Johnson because he's a more physical pure power runner—and also has breakaway speed. He's working to solve issues with ball security.
2. Chris Johnson, Titans. In addition to tremendous speed, he has great body control. Although he is slightly lighter and shorter than ideal, he runs like he's bigger.
3. Steven Jackson, Rams. A big man (6-2, 231) who has amazing versatility and deceptive speed to go with sudden bursts of power.
4. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins. If it weren't for durability issues, he might be the complete NFL back. Like Jackson, he has a big body (6-0, 230) and is a good receiver. Brown has shown he can throw the ball, too.
5. Michael Turner, Falcons. He's a combination of track star and powerful zone runner.
6. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. He runs with good power and speed thanks to strong legs. He's a home run threat on every down.
7. Frank Gore, 49ers. With his compact frame, he's in the same category as Williams. He has outstanding vision to go with speed and ability to break tackles.
8. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars. Another smaller back who has powerful legs that make him tough to bring down. He excels on screens and draws.
9. Brandon Jacobs, Giants. A big, bruising back coming off a struggle in 2009. He takes a lot of hits with his upright style but delivers them, too.
10. Felix Jones, Cowboys. He fits well in Dallas' scheme and his great speed is obvious, but he can also be a good power back with deceptive strength.
11. Marshawn Lynch, Bills. Looking at him purely on the field, he is very skilled and powerful. He must show he can avoid the injury bug, however, to maintain success in Buffalo or elsewhere.
12. Marion Barber, Cowboys. He always runs with a head of steam at 100 miles per hour. He knows he's big and strong and takes it out on you.
13. Cedric Benson, Bengals. He had a bad start to his career but turned the corner last year. Now, like Lynch, he just needs to get out of his own way.
14. Reggie Bush, Saints. A little change of pace here—his elusiveness stands out as both a runner and receiver. He's a great asset on screens and draws.
15. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers. He fits the mold of a big, strong, fast back and may be ready for a breakout year with better help from his line.
16. Ray Rice, Ravens. He is proving to be a strong runner despite his small stature. They asked him do a lot last season, and he held up. That will be key going forward, because with his size (5-8, 205) they need to keep him from getting him too nicked up as a feature back.
17. Shonn Greene, Jets. You could have called him a dark horse to find the light in Year 2, but then you remember how great he was during the playoffs.
18. Matt Forte, Bears. He had a big rookie year before the workload caught up to him a bit in Year 2. His powerful body and versatility still stand out. Having Chester Taylor to relieve him should help.
19. Beanie Wells, Cardinals. He's a big back, but he also has the burst to rack up big yards per carry. Getting double-digit touches consistently this season will help him.
20. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers. They don't miss a beat when he replaces Williams; he would be a featured star on most teams.
Joseph Addai, Colts. It's hard to get a read on him in the Colts'offense. He may lose significant touches to Donald Brown.
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs. The little back surprised many with a big second half of the season. The Chiefs made a good move to bring in Thomas Jones, who will help keep Charles fresh and healthy.
Ryan Grant, Packers. He can be explosive, but his success may have more to do with his cutback running, which is ideal for his team's scheme.
LeSean McCoy, Eagles. He has the versatile skills to be a younger Brian Westbrook; he just needs to prove it.
Knowshon Moreno, Broncos. Moreno was nicked up a lot as a rookie, so it will take another year to determine just how good he is.
Steve Slaton, Texas. He has underrated toughness for a smaller back.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-07-18/peterson-s-power-provides-edge-over-johnson-rb-rankings#ixzz0vyy3fg8g
When an NFL scout evaluates a running back, the player's size, power, speed, durability and versatility all play a role in the overall assessment. Sporting News enlisted an NFL team's director of pro personnel to rank and analyze the top 20 backs based on those criteria:
1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings. His combination of speed and power gives him the top spot. He has a slight edge on Chris Johnson because he's a more physical pure power runner—and also has breakaway speed. He's working to solve issues with ball security. 
2. Chris Johnson, Titans. In addition to tremendous speed, he has great body control. Although he is slightly lighter and shorter than ideal, he runs like he's bigger.
3. Steven Jackson, Rams. A big man (6-2, 231) who has amazing versatility and deceptive speed to go with sudden bursts of power.
4. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins. If it weren't for durability issues, he might be the complete NFL back. Like Jackson, he has a big body (6-0, 230) and is a good receiver. Brown has shown he can throw the ball, too.
5. Michael Turner, Falcons. He's a combination of track star and powerful zone runner.
6. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. He runs with good power and speed thanks to strong legs. He's a home run threat on every down.
7. Frank Gore, 49ers. With his compact frame, he's in the same category as Williams. He has outstanding vision to go with speed and ability to break tackles.
8. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars. Another smaller back who has powerful legs that make him tough to bring down. He excels on screens and draws.
9. Brandon Jacobs, Giants. A big, bruising back coming off a struggle in 2009. He takes a lot of hits with his upright style but delivers them, too.
10. Felix Jones, Cowboys. He fits well in Dallas' scheme and his great speed is obvious, but he can also be a good power back with deceptive strength.
11. Marshawn Lynch, Bills. Looking at him purely on the field, he is very skilled and powerful. He must show he can avoid the injury bug, however, to maintain success in Buffalo or elsewhere.
12. Marion Barber, Cowboys. He always runs with a head of steam at 100 miles per hour. He knows he's big and strong and takes it out on you.
13. Cedric Benson, Bengals. He had a bad start to his career but turned the corner last year. Now, like Lynch, he just needs to get out of his own way. 
14. Reggie Bush, Saints. A little change of pace here—his elusiveness stands out as both a runner and receiver. He's a great asset on screens and draws.
15. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers. He fits the mold of a big, strong, fast back and may be ready for a breakout year with better help from his line.
16. Ray Rice, Ravens. He is proving to be a strong runner despite his small stature. They asked him do a lot last season, and he held up. That will be key going forward, because with his size (5-8, 205) they need to keep him from getting him too nicked up as a feature back.
17. Shonn Greene, Jets. You could have called him a dark horse to find the light in Year 2, but then you remember how great he was during the playoffs.
18. Matt Forte, Bears. He had a big rookie year before the workload caught up to him a bit in Year 2. His powerful body and versatility still stand out. Having Chester Taylor to relieve him should help.
19. Beanie Wells, Cardinals. He's a big back, but he also has the burst to rack up big yards per carry. Getting double-digit touches consistently this season will help him.
20. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers. They don't miss a beat when he replaces Williams; he would be a featured star on most teams.Six more to watch
Six talented backs who didn't quite make the cut:
Joseph Addai, Colts. It's hard to get a read on him in the Colts'offense. He may lose significant touches to Donald Brown.
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs. The little back surprised many with a big second half of the season. The Chiefs made a good move to bring in Thomas Jones, who will help keep Charles fresh and healthy.
Ryan Grant, Packers. He can be explosive, but his success may have more to do with his cutback running, which is ideal for his team's scheme.
LeSean McCoy, Eagles. He has the versatile skills to be a younger Brian Westbrook; he just needs to prove it.
Knowshon Moreno, Broncos. Moreno was nicked up a lot as a rookie, so it will take another year to determine just how good he is.
Steve Slaton, Texas. He has underrated toughness for a smaller back.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-07-18/peterson-s-power-provides-edge-over-johnson-rb-rankings#ixzz0vyy3fg8g
Adrian Peterson the "next" athlete (ESPN)
NEXT ATHLETE: ADRIAN PETERSON
Youth is Served Sooner than Ever these Days. And We're Not Just Talking About Superfrosh Adrian Peterson.
by Gene Wojciechowski
His easy is your hard. It's that simple. Adrian Peterson is a prodigy, defying logic and the laws of physics, not to mention the once-indisputable notion that a true freshman cant make hard look so easy.
A freshman doesn't finish second in the Heisman balloting. A freshman doesn't transform a program already thigh-pad-deep in national titles. A freshman doesn't cause a senior teammate to lower his voice in a near-reverential tone. "When the guy's foot hits the ground, the earth moves in the opposite direction," says defensive end Dan Cody.
Nine months ago, as he unpacked the last of his belongings from the trunk of the family Cadillac, Peterson turned to his teary mother and said, "Mama, don't cry. I'm gonna be all right." All he had were his clothes, his photos from Pop Warner the ones of him and older brother Brian and a national rep that didn't mean squat to anyone on the formidable Oklahoma Sooners roster.
The next day, coach Bob Stoops escorted Peterson to the indoor workout facility, where hard-ass über-trainer Jerry Schmidt waited to test the new kid. "Be careful," said Stoops to Schmidt. "He pulled a hamstring or something in track." Peterson waited until Stoops walked away before tapping Schmidt. "There's nothing wrong with my hamstring," he said.
Schmidt, who looks like a DI from Parris Island, cracks a rare smile as he recalls the moment. "He's got on some funky high-tops and old shorts," he says. "The guy never asks what were going to do, and then he does a 39-inch vertical, a 10'7" broad jump." Schmidt pauses to let the numbers sink in. "He runs 4.43, 4.42. He's a freak."
A freshman doesn't lead a senior-weighted team to a BCS championship game. A freshman doesn't rush for 1,925 yards 1,365 of them after getting hit. A freshman doesn't have pro personnel directors wondering what he'll look like in an NFL uni. Then again, look at him out of one: 6'2", 216 pounds; an upper body that looks like a topography map; ostrich-egg biceps; legs ordered from Fast-Twitch Direct.
Put a football in Peterson's hands, and an intuitive I, Robot kind of thing takes over. Nebraska wideout Santino Panico, who played strong safety against Peterson in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, has a catalogue of stories from the event. "He gets the ball on a pitch, the defensive linemen stop him in the backfield," says Panico. "The free safety, the linebackers they're all there. Ten guys have Adrian stopped, but somehow he breaks free on the sideline. I take a real deep pursuit angle and catch up with him. I'm going to get him&" No you're not. Peterson freezes Panico ever so slightly with an inside feint, then outruns the DB and geometry. Panico winds up on the wrong end of SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays, Stuart Scott doing the mocking.
Okay, so USC held Peterson to 82 yards in the recent BCS championship. By doing so, they paid him their highest compliment. How else to describe a defense whose first priority was stopping a freshman rather than a sixth-year, Heisman-carrying quarterback? Coach Pete Carroll well knew the breadth and width of the young man's talent. After all, he recruited him, hard. He had him mingling with Leo, and walking past those trophies in Heritage Hall. Carroll saw the possibilities.
"He's going to be an all-timer, however many years he plays," says Carroll, and he should know, having spent 16 seasons on pro sidelines. "He'll have great numbers and he'll play in the NFL forever. It's in the cards."
The winning hand, according to Carroll: Classic style& great speed& terrific strength& and size& slashes& not easily knocked off his feet& runs through tackles& long legs, steps out of tackles extremely well& great burst to finish." Adds Stoops: "When he has nowhere left to go, he comes after you."
Peterson is a football amalgam, equal parts Walter Payton and Barry Sanders, says USC safety and old-school connoisseur Darnell Bing. No, he's a Marcus Dupree throwback, say OU historians. No, say others, he's Eric Dickerson reincarnate.
Actually, he's Adrian Peterson, his own singular football entity. In a word, NEXT.
YES, PETERSON'S easy is your hard. On the field, at least. What he wouldn't give for a life without so many painful moments, or without those visits to a federal prison in Texarkana, Texas, or without the fans insisting his mom pose for photos as if she were a tourist attraction.
What he wouldn't give for your normal.
A confluence of will and heredity (his mother, Bonita Jackson, was a three-time Texas state high school track champ; his father, Nelson Peterson, played college hoops) explains the yardage, but not the motivation. Maybe that comes from the memory of brother Brian, who was 9 when a drunken driver ran down his bicycle as 8-year-old Adrian played across the street. Maybe it comes from his father, who is serving 10 years in that Texarkana prison. And maybe it comes from his adoring mother and pastor stepfather, Frankie Jackson, who says he loves Adrian "more than life itself."
All anyone knows for sure is Brian's photo sits in a place of honor in Peterson's dorm room, that he can drive to Texarkana with his eyes closed, that his mother and stepfather receive as much love and respect as they dish out. "Adrian has experienced a lot, says Bonita, her newborn, Frankie Jr., gurgling on her lap. "I used to tell him, 'Go before God. Have Him help you with your anger. Just cry.' He did that, and it helped a lot."
The journey from A to OU begins in Palestine, an afterthought between Dallas and Houston. The town has produced its share of Division I-A players (Sooners defensive tackle Lynn McGruder, for one), but none who has generated the pomp that accompanies Adrian Lewis Peterson, or, as Nelson has dubbed him, AD. As in, can run All Day.
Peterson first ran for a Pop Warner team called the Oilers. Steve Eudey, who owns a trophy shop and convenience store in town, was his coach, and by the time Peterson was 12, Eudey was telling his players to remember they once were All Day's teammates. At times the young Peterson was literally unstoppable, as in that one youth league playoff game in, of all places, Texarkana. "I don't believe they ever tackled him," says Eudey, who recently had Adrian, Bonita and Frankie over for Christmas dinner. "They ran him out of bounds. And oh, I think he fell down a few times."
If only it were all so easy. Never having fully gotten past the death of his brother, Peterson was by now also dealing with the awkward transition that comes from blending families. Frankie, a pastor at Cedar Branch Missionary Baptist Church in nearby Grapeland, tried too hard to be a stepfather instead of a parent. Peterson perhaps tried too hard not to be his son. "You don't want your real dad to feel like he's been left out," admits Bonita. A real dad, who, by the way, had slipped into a life of crime. In 1999, when Peterson was in seventh grade, Nelson was convicted of money laundering in connection with the sale of crack cocaine. Father and son spoke on the phone, but confusion and a sense of betrayal lurked just below the surface of their conversations.
So Peterson relied on sports to redirect his pain. He played jayvee football as a freshman but made no permanent impression on the Palestine High staff. That was before he ran a 10.66 at the state track meet, and before assistant Jeff Harrell was promoted to head coach and installed a one-back offense. Soon Harrell was staring at his staff in disbelief as Peterson reached Mach 1 in the six yards to the line of scrimmage. Peterson hit the hole so early that Harrell had to move him back to seven yards behind the ball, then eight. (Oklahoma coaches have done the same.) He was a blur. A rumor.
But he was still a mess. The summer after his junior year, as he dropped his sprint time to 10.33 and raised his profile among football recruiters, Peterson was finally toppled by his emotional Samsonite. After he called Bonita from a track meet in Miami, he could contain himself no longer. The loss of Brian, the loss of Nelson it was all too much. He began to sob. Bonita did too.
It wasn't a breakthrough, it was a cleansing. Peterson won't discuss such private moments, but if his on-field exploits over his final two seasons are any indication, he'd begun to accept what he hadn't been able to before. He rushed for 2,960 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2003, and in the final home game of his high school career, Harrell said, "Adrian, lets make this game special." Does 350 yards and six touchdowns in the first half qualify? Peterson didn't play in the second half. That happened a lot. "I didn't think I could live with myself had he gotten hurt," says Harrell.
The mail was arriving as if every day were April 15 and Peterson's home were the post office. For two years, his phone began to ring in the morning and didn't stop until late at night. "In one ear and out the other," says Peterson of the pitches. Except for two. Peterson wanted to play for national championships, and only Norman and LA seemed likely sites for future dynasties. Besides, on the first official day of recruiting, Coach Stoops flew to Texarkana to visit Nelson. Meanwhile, OU assistants Cale Gundy and Darrell Wyatt were talking to Peterson, offering no flattery and making no promises. "We want you, we need you," said Gundy. "But we're going to win with you or without you." That frankness was appealing.
PETERSON HAS an affinity for all things small-town. He irons his own pants and shirts. He's a sucker for honey buns and Red Lobster, and he'll be your friend for life if you cook him pork chops, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, and banana pudding. Around kids, he melts like a stick of Land O Lakes. But disrespect him and he's harder than steel.
"A kid on my East team I'm not going to tell you his name decides he doesn't like Adrian getting all the attention," says Panico, launching into another story. "He's talking, you know how players are, words you can't print. Basically, he was telling Adrian he was overrated, that he was going to kill him. The whole time he's pouring ketchup, salt, pepper, anything he can find, into a napkin. Adrian isn't saying a thing. Finally he says, 'Okay, well see.'
"Then the other player goes to throw the napkin at Adrian. I'm not going to let that happen, so I step in and the thing hits me right in the chest. Adrian looks at me the stuff is dripping down my shirt and just says, 'Thanks, man.' See, I'm a psychology major. I like to see how different people act in different situations. Adrian could have said, 'I am the s. I am No. 1.' But he didn't. He doesn't believe the hype."
Gundy watched most of the All-American Bowl, including Petersons TD runs of 15 and 50 yards in the fourth quarter. His prize recruit had said he'd end the suspense during a break in the game, so though he'd informed the Sooners of his intentions a week earlier, the coaches still collected around a television set near game's end. After an agonizing few moments, Peterson pulled out an OU cap for the cameras. "A great relief," says Gundy.
For the Sooners, maybe. For everyone else, not so much. "It felt like your guts were being turned inside of you," says Michael Haywood, who wooed Peterson at Texas before recently becoming the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame." I think he could be the best ever."
Still, when Bonita delivered him to the Norman apartment of McGruder early in the summer of 2004, no one knew what to expect. A freshman doesn't impress upperclassmen. A freshman doesn't overshadow a returning Heisman winner. A freshman doesn't become an instant local celebrity.
"Coming into two-a-days, I had my doubts," says junior fullback J.D. Runnels. "I didn't know if the hype was going to match the results."
Match? Peterson rushed for an even 100 in the opener against Bowling Green. He made a juke-they-puke move on his way to 117 yards against Houston, and gained 74 of his 183 yards in the fourth quarter against Oregon. His spin move on an 80-yard TD run against Oklahoma State became instant legend, as did the 161 yards he gained in the third quarter. His 172 yards against Colorado included a 32-yard scoring run that featured a 360, broken tackles and breakaway speed. Ralphie couldn't have knocked him down. Against Texas he gained 225 yards, prompting a classy postgame handshake from coach Mack Brown and a hug from Haywood. "People asked me, Why did you hug him?" says Haywood. "Hey, he's a great guy. And I enjoy watching him run." By season's end, Peterson had 11 100-yard games, including three 200-yarders. And he elevated a rushing attack that had been 65th in the nation before he arrived to 16th.
After games, Frankie would recite his rushing totals. "Really?" Peterson would say. He didn't have a clue. "He's been that way since Pop Warner," says McGruder. "He's still as humble as he was when he got here. He's too cool to believe."
Peterson would also have postgame talks with his dad, who'd offer advice from what he saw on television. The two were able to speak just after Adrian's disappointing night in the Orange Bowl. "He was ready to come home that night," says Nelson. "Now he has to start over and work harder than he did last year. Guys are looking at him as a leader, and I know he's up to it."
In mid-January, Peterson underwent outpatient surgery to tighten ligaments in his left shoulder. He'll miss spring practice, but he'll be fine for the start of next season. At which point, says Eudey, "he'll be on the cover of every football magazine known to man. And he won't care."
Nelson Peterson will; he calls OU coaches every other week from his low-security home to check on his son. Bonita and Frankie Jackson will. Someone asked Frankie if he thought Adrian will win a Heisman. "At least one," said the proud stepfather. And Cale Gundy will. "On a scale of one to 10, he's at seven right now, and that's scary," says the Sooners assistant. "The kid is running around out there on just freakish, God-given ability."
A freshman doesn't cause us to count the nano-seconds before he becomes a sophomore, before he empties another bottle of whiteout on everyone's preconceived football notions. Next fall, the temptation will be to measure Peterson by yardage gained and goal lines crossed. That would be a mistake. Better to calculate the distance between his easy and his hard, between smashing records and feeling normal. Between now and Next.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3645380
Youth is Served Sooner than Ever these Days. And We're Not Just Talking About Superfrosh Adrian Peterson.
by Gene Wojciechowski
His easy is your hard. It's that simple. Adrian Peterson is a prodigy, defying logic and the laws of physics, not to mention the once-indisputable notion that a true freshman cant make hard look so easy.
A freshman doesn't finish second in the Heisman balloting. A freshman doesn't transform a program already thigh-pad-deep in national titles. A freshman doesn't cause a senior teammate to lower his voice in a near-reverential tone. "When the guy's foot hits the ground, the earth moves in the opposite direction," says defensive end Dan Cody.
Nine months ago, as he unpacked the last of his belongings from the trunk of the family Cadillac, Peterson turned to his teary mother and said, "Mama, don't cry. I'm gonna be all right." All he had were his clothes, his photos from Pop Warner the ones of him and older brother Brian and a national rep that didn't mean squat to anyone on the formidable Oklahoma Sooners roster.
The next day, coach Bob Stoops escorted Peterson to the indoor workout facility, where hard-ass über-trainer Jerry Schmidt waited to test the new kid. "Be careful," said Stoops to Schmidt. "He pulled a hamstring or something in track." Peterson waited until Stoops walked away before tapping Schmidt. "There's nothing wrong with my hamstring," he said.
Schmidt, who looks like a DI from Parris Island, cracks a rare smile as he recalls the moment. "He's got on some funky high-tops and old shorts," he says. "The guy never asks what were going to do, and then he does a 39-inch vertical, a 10'7" broad jump." Schmidt pauses to let the numbers sink in. "He runs 4.43, 4.42. He's a freak."
A freshman doesn't lead a senior-weighted team to a BCS championship game. A freshman doesn't rush for 1,925 yards 1,365 of them after getting hit. A freshman doesn't have pro personnel directors wondering what he'll look like in an NFL uni. Then again, look at him out of one: 6'2", 216 pounds; an upper body that looks like a topography map; ostrich-egg biceps; legs ordered from Fast-Twitch Direct.
Put a football in Peterson's hands, and an intuitive I, Robot kind of thing takes over. Nebraska wideout Santino Panico, who played strong safety against Peterson in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, has a catalogue of stories from the event. "He gets the ball on a pitch, the defensive linemen stop him in the backfield," says Panico. "The free safety, the linebackers they're all there. Ten guys have Adrian stopped, but somehow he breaks free on the sideline. I take a real deep pursuit angle and catch up with him. I'm going to get him&" No you're not. Peterson freezes Panico ever so slightly with an inside feint, then outruns the DB and geometry. Panico winds up on the wrong end of SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays, Stuart Scott doing the mocking.
Okay, so USC held Peterson to 82 yards in the recent BCS championship. By doing so, they paid him their highest compliment. How else to describe a defense whose first priority was stopping a freshman rather than a sixth-year, Heisman-carrying quarterback? Coach Pete Carroll well knew the breadth and width of the young man's talent. After all, he recruited him, hard. He had him mingling with Leo, and walking past those trophies in Heritage Hall. Carroll saw the possibilities.
"He's going to be an all-timer, however many years he plays," says Carroll, and he should know, having spent 16 seasons on pro sidelines. "He'll have great numbers and he'll play in the NFL forever. It's in the cards."
The winning hand, according to Carroll: Classic style& great speed& terrific strength& and size& slashes& not easily knocked off his feet& runs through tackles& long legs, steps out of tackles extremely well& great burst to finish." Adds Stoops: "When he has nowhere left to go, he comes after you."
Peterson is a football amalgam, equal parts Walter Payton and Barry Sanders, says USC safety and old-school connoisseur Darnell Bing. No, he's a Marcus Dupree throwback, say OU historians. No, say others, he's Eric Dickerson reincarnate.
Actually, he's Adrian Peterson, his own singular football entity. In a word, NEXT.
YES, PETERSON'S easy is your hard. On the field, at least. What he wouldn't give for a life without so many painful moments, or without those visits to a federal prison in Texarkana, Texas, or without the fans insisting his mom pose for photos as if she were a tourist attraction.
What he wouldn't give for your normal.
A confluence of will and heredity (his mother, Bonita Jackson, was a three-time Texas state high school track champ; his father, Nelson Peterson, played college hoops) explains the yardage, but not the motivation. Maybe that comes from the memory of brother Brian, who was 9 when a drunken driver ran down his bicycle as 8-year-old Adrian played across the street. Maybe it comes from his father, who is serving 10 years in that Texarkana prison. And maybe it comes from his adoring mother and pastor stepfather, Frankie Jackson, who says he loves Adrian "more than life itself."
All anyone knows for sure is Brian's photo sits in a place of honor in Peterson's dorm room, that he can drive to Texarkana with his eyes closed, that his mother and stepfather receive as much love and respect as they dish out. "Adrian has experienced a lot, says Bonita, her newborn, Frankie Jr., gurgling on her lap. "I used to tell him, 'Go before God. Have Him help you with your anger. Just cry.' He did that, and it helped a lot."
The journey from A to OU begins in Palestine, an afterthought between Dallas and Houston. The town has produced its share of Division I-A players (Sooners defensive tackle Lynn McGruder, for one), but none who has generated the pomp that accompanies Adrian Lewis Peterson, or, as Nelson has dubbed him, AD. As in, can run All Day.
Peterson first ran for a Pop Warner team called the Oilers. Steve Eudey, who owns a trophy shop and convenience store in town, was his coach, and by the time Peterson was 12, Eudey was telling his players to remember they once were All Day's teammates. At times the young Peterson was literally unstoppable, as in that one youth league playoff game in, of all places, Texarkana. "I don't believe they ever tackled him," says Eudey, who recently had Adrian, Bonita and Frankie over for Christmas dinner. "They ran him out of bounds. And oh, I think he fell down a few times."
If only it were all so easy. Never having fully gotten past the death of his brother, Peterson was by now also dealing with the awkward transition that comes from blending families. Frankie, a pastor at Cedar Branch Missionary Baptist Church in nearby Grapeland, tried too hard to be a stepfather instead of a parent. Peterson perhaps tried too hard not to be his son. "You don't want your real dad to feel like he's been left out," admits Bonita. A real dad, who, by the way, had slipped into a life of crime. In 1999, when Peterson was in seventh grade, Nelson was convicted of money laundering in connection with the sale of crack cocaine. Father and son spoke on the phone, but confusion and a sense of betrayal lurked just below the surface of their conversations.
So Peterson relied on sports to redirect his pain. He played jayvee football as a freshman but made no permanent impression on the Palestine High staff. That was before he ran a 10.66 at the state track meet, and before assistant Jeff Harrell was promoted to head coach and installed a one-back offense. Soon Harrell was staring at his staff in disbelief as Peterson reached Mach 1 in the six yards to the line of scrimmage. Peterson hit the hole so early that Harrell had to move him back to seven yards behind the ball, then eight. (Oklahoma coaches have done the same.) He was a blur. A rumor.
But he was still a mess. The summer after his junior year, as he dropped his sprint time to 10.33 and raised his profile among football recruiters, Peterson was finally toppled by his emotional Samsonite. After he called Bonita from a track meet in Miami, he could contain himself no longer. The loss of Brian, the loss of Nelson it was all too much. He began to sob. Bonita did too.
It wasn't a breakthrough, it was a cleansing. Peterson won't discuss such private moments, but if his on-field exploits over his final two seasons are any indication, he'd begun to accept what he hadn't been able to before. He rushed for 2,960 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2003, and in the final home game of his high school career, Harrell said, "Adrian, lets make this game special." Does 350 yards and six touchdowns in the first half qualify? Peterson didn't play in the second half. That happened a lot. "I didn't think I could live with myself had he gotten hurt," says Harrell.
The mail was arriving as if every day were April 15 and Peterson's home were the post office. For two years, his phone began to ring in the morning and didn't stop until late at night. "In one ear and out the other," says Peterson of the pitches. Except for two. Peterson wanted to play for national championships, and only Norman and LA seemed likely sites for future dynasties. Besides, on the first official day of recruiting, Coach Stoops flew to Texarkana to visit Nelson. Meanwhile, OU assistants Cale Gundy and Darrell Wyatt were talking to Peterson, offering no flattery and making no promises. "We want you, we need you," said Gundy. "But we're going to win with you or without you." That frankness was appealing.
PETERSON HAS an affinity for all things small-town. He irons his own pants and shirts. He's a sucker for honey buns and Red Lobster, and he'll be your friend for life if you cook him pork chops, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, and banana pudding. Around kids, he melts like a stick of Land O Lakes. But disrespect him and he's harder than steel.
"A kid on my East team I'm not going to tell you his name decides he doesn't like Adrian getting all the attention," says Panico, launching into another story. "He's talking, you know how players are, words you can't print. Basically, he was telling Adrian he was overrated, that he was going to kill him. The whole time he's pouring ketchup, salt, pepper, anything he can find, into a napkin. Adrian isn't saying a thing. Finally he says, 'Okay, well see.'
"Then the other player goes to throw the napkin at Adrian. I'm not going to let that happen, so I step in and the thing hits me right in the chest. Adrian looks at me the stuff is dripping down my shirt and just says, 'Thanks, man.' See, I'm a psychology major. I like to see how different people act in different situations. Adrian could have said, 'I am the s. I am No. 1.' But he didn't. He doesn't believe the hype."
Gundy watched most of the All-American Bowl, including Petersons TD runs of 15 and 50 yards in the fourth quarter. His prize recruit had said he'd end the suspense during a break in the game, so though he'd informed the Sooners of his intentions a week earlier, the coaches still collected around a television set near game's end. After an agonizing few moments, Peterson pulled out an OU cap for the cameras. "A great relief," says Gundy.
For the Sooners, maybe. For everyone else, not so much. "It felt like your guts were being turned inside of you," says Michael Haywood, who wooed Peterson at Texas before recently becoming the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame." I think he could be the best ever."
Still, when Bonita delivered him to the Norman apartment of McGruder early in the summer of 2004, no one knew what to expect. A freshman doesn't impress upperclassmen. A freshman doesn't overshadow a returning Heisman winner. A freshman doesn't become an instant local celebrity.
"Coming into two-a-days, I had my doubts," says junior fullback J.D. Runnels. "I didn't know if the hype was going to match the results."
Match? Peterson rushed for an even 100 in the opener against Bowling Green. He made a juke-they-puke move on his way to 117 yards against Houston, and gained 74 of his 183 yards in the fourth quarter against Oregon. His spin move on an 80-yard TD run against Oklahoma State became instant legend, as did the 161 yards he gained in the third quarter. His 172 yards against Colorado included a 32-yard scoring run that featured a 360, broken tackles and breakaway speed. Ralphie couldn't have knocked him down. Against Texas he gained 225 yards, prompting a classy postgame handshake from coach Mack Brown and a hug from Haywood. "People asked me, Why did you hug him?" says Haywood. "Hey, he's a great guy. And I enjoy watching him run." By season's end, Peterson had 11 100-yard games, including three 200-yarders. And he elevated a rushing attack that had been 65th in the nation before he arrived to 16th.
After games, Frankie would recite his rushing totals. "Really?" Peterson would say. He didn't have a clue. "He's been that way since Pop Warner," says McGruder. "He's still as humble as he was when he got here. He's too cool to believe."
Peterson would also have postgame talks with his dad, who'd offer advice from what he saw on television. The two were able to speak just after Adrian's disappointing night in the Orange Bowl. "He was ready to come home that night," says Nelson. "Now he has to start over and work harder than he did last year. Guys are looking at him as a leader, and I know he's up to it."
In mid-January, Peterson underwent outpatient surgery to tighten ligaments in his left shoulder. He'll miss spring practice, but he'll be fine for the start of next season. At which point, says Eudey, "he'll be on the cover of every football magazine known to man. And he won't care."
Nelson Peterson will; he calls OU coaches every other week from his low-security home to check on his son. Bonita and Frankie Jackson will. Someone asked Frankie if he thought Adrian will win a Heisman. "At least one," said the proud stepfather. And Cale Gundy will. "On a scale of one to 10, he's at seven right now, and that's scary," says the Sooners assistant. "The kid is running around out there on just freakish, God-given ability."
A freshman doesn't cause us to count the nano-seconds before he becomes a sophomore, before he empties another bottle of whiteout on everyone's preconceived football notions. Next fall, the temptation will be to measure Peterson by yardage gained and goal lines crossed. That would be a mistake. Better to calculate the distance between his easy and his hard, between smashing records and feeling normal. Between now and Next.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3645380
Biography
GROWING UP
Adrian Lewis Peterson was born on March 21, 1985, in Palestine, Texas, a small town between Houston and Dallas. His parents, Bonita Brown and Nelson Peterson, had been star athletes in college. Nelson was a shooting guard for Idaho State with an possible NBA career. That dream was derailed when a gun that his brother was cleaning discharged into Nelson's leg. The wound became infected and several surgeries later he accepted the fact that his basketball career wasn’t going to happen. With several children to support, he joined the working world.
Adrian’s mother was a world-class track and field athlete. She was a 3-time Texas state champion at Westwood High School and attended the University of Houston on an athletic scholarship where she was a sprinter and long jumper.
Adrian was an extremely active child. His dad nicknamed him “All Day,” later shortened to A.D. and the nickname has stuck with him. Adrian’s older brother, Brian, was also his best friend. They were the two fastest kids in the neighborhood and they shared a love for sports. Then, when Adrian was 7, tragedy struck him and his family. Brian was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding his bike. This devastated event occurred after Adrian’s parents had separated. The boys were living outside Dallas in Oak Cliff with their aunt, Bonita’s sister. After this tragedy, Adrian and his mom moved back to Palestine, so the youngster could be closer to his father and grandmother.
Adrian began to use sports as a way to deal with his pain. He was the star of the Pee Wee football team coached by his father. Nelson taught Adrian to meet force with force. Instead of trying to elude tacklers, sometimes it was smarter to hit them head-on. He also showed Adrian the importance of priorities. When the boy received his first F as a fifth grader, Nelson benched him. The rule for the rest of his childhood: No pass, no play.
By the time he was 12, Adrian was the star of his Pop Warner team. His coach told his players to remember playing with Adrian—they would want to tell their grandkids about him someday. In one game, Adrian went an entire game without being tackled—the best the defense could do was force him out of bounds or hope he slipped and fell.
Adrian was a huge Cowboys fan. The team was a perennial Super Bowl contender when he was young, and he loved Emmitt Smith. He would watch games on TV wearing his #22 Starter jacket. There was little question in Adrian’s mind that he would one day be a Cowboy.
When Adrian was 13, his father was arrested for laundering money for a crack-cocaine ring. Though gainfully employed, Nelson was still chasing the big dollars he had expected to earn as a pro athlete. The lure of easy cash led to a catastrophically bad decision, and he ended up spending eight years in prison. Adrian and his dad communicated by phone and mail, as well as the occasional visit. In high school, Adrian spoke with his father the morning before every game.
Adrian had a better role model in his mother. Bonita remarried, to Frankie Jackson, a pastor at a church in nearby Grapeland. Initially, there was friction between Jackson and his football-star stepson, but eventually they became very close.
Adrian continued his gridiron exploits at Westwood Junior High School. His mother had relocated to the town for a new job. Adrian also became a track and field standout. At Woodward, he won multiple medals in the 100, 200, triple jump and long jump—the same events in which his mother had once excelled. Looking back, Adrian's coach believes that the teen could have been an Olympic long jumper had he note pursued a football careered.
In 2000, Adrian began high school in Westwood. He played JV football as a freshman Adrian’s family moved back to Palestine the following year, but he was not eligible to play for the Palestine High varsity football team until he was a junior. During his sophomore year, Adrian ran track and logged a 10.66 100-yard dash at a spring meet.
Adrian found a valuable ally in coach Jeff Harrell. When Harrell was promoted to head football coach, Adrian was made the focal point of his coach's one-back system. He was so quick that he hit the line before the blocks happened. Harrell moved Adrian back from six yards behind the line to seven and then eight.
Adrian got even faster as he matured. In 2002, he ran for more than 2,000 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. That's when he began to attract the attention of Division I recruiters.
ON THE RISE
After his junior year, Adrian realized he would likely have his pick of colleges. During his senior season, he decided that he wanted to go to a school where he could be a difference-maker in a national championship run. After considering schools such as Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Miami and UCLA, Adrian narrowed his choices down to Southern California and Oklahoma. There was a funny moment in coach Harrell’s office when recruiters from USC, Miami and UCLA got into a heated argument about who would get to see Adrian first.
As a senior in 2003, Adrian put up unbelievable numbers, rushing for 2,960 yards and 32 touchdowns. Often, he only played the first half. In Palestine's final game, Harrell told him to do something special. Adrian responded with 350 yards and six touchdowns—all in the first half. After the game, players from the other team asked for his autograph. It was not the first time that had happened.
Adrian’s final appearance as a high-schooler came early in 2004 at the All-American Bowl. One one play, he eluded all 11 defenders on the way to a highlight-reel touchdown. He scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and was named MVP of the game. Adrian also announced his college choice at the game—Oklahoma.
Adrian’s mom had tears in his eyes when she dropped him off at the Oklahoma campus the following summer. He told her not to worry and assured her he would be fine. The next day, he amazed the Sooner coaches with a 39-inch vertical leap, a 10–7-foot broad jump and a 4.2-second 40-yard dash.
Oklahoma was coming off a great year. Jason White, who had led the Sooners to the BCS championship game (which they lost to LSU), was the defending Heisman winner. He guided an offense that relied heavily on seniors. The team’s top receiving threat was Mark Clayton, and its running attack was [aced by Jammal Brown and Vince Carter. But it was Adrian, a freshman, who ended up leading them into battle.
Adrian ran for 100 yards in the opener against Bowling Green, 117 yards against Houston, and 183 yards against Oregon. Against Oklahoma State, Adrian rushed for 161 yards in the third quarter and pulled off an eye-popping spin move during an 80-yard TD run. He rumbled for 172 yards against Colorado and 225 yards against Texas. Adrian ran over, around and through tacklers. He drew comparisons to Walter Payton for his unwillingness to go quietly out of bounds, and to Eric Dickerson for his powerful, upright running style.
Thanks to Adrian, one of the poorest rushing teams the year before became one of the nation’s best. The freshman was spectacular, gaining 1,925 yards to smash the NCAA’s freshman rushing record. According to team statistics, roughly two-thirds of those yards came after he had been hit. Adrian was nothing if not tough. In a November game against Texas A&M, he made the difference in a close victory when he reentered the game after suffering a separated shoulder.
Despite his breathtaking season, Adrian finished second to Matt Leinart in the Heisman Trophy voting. He did, however, become the first Sooner freshman to be named First-Team All-American.
Adrian’s only other disappointment his first year at Oklahoma was the separated shoulder against the Aggies. After the season, he had surgery to strengthen the muscles around the joint.
The 2005 campaign started well for Adrian, but a high ankle sprain suffered in Oklahoma’s first conference game against Kansas State limited his mobility the rest of the year. Still, he managed to finish second in the Big 12 with 1,108 rushing yards. He also found the end zone 14 times. The highlight of Adrian’s year was a spectacular 84-yard TD run against Oklahoma State. In that game, he accounted for 237 of the Sooners’ 269 yards.
The Sooners limped to an 8–4 record, the worst of coach Bob Stoops’s Oklahoma career. They played Oregon in the Holiday Bowl and won 17–14, finishing the year with a #22 national ranking.
Another injury curtailed Adrian’s production in 2006. This time it was a broken collarbone, suffered against Iowa State as he dove for the end zone at the end of a long touchdown run. Adrian’s father was in the stands. Just released from prison, he was watching his son play in person for the first. It was a bittersweet moment for Nelson and Adrian, who was named First-Team All-Big 12 for the third year, despite missing the rest of the regular season.
Though the Sooners lost two early games in ’06, they regrouped to run the table—even after Adrian was sidelined. Their defense gelled and Adrian’s replacements—Allen Patrick and Chris Brown—got the job done. Oklahoma beat the Nebraska for the Big 12 championship and earned a berth in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.
Adrian returned in time to play in this game, which was decided by a two-point conversion in overtime. He gained just 77 yards in the 43–42 loss, ending his junior year as the school’s second all-time rusher behind Billy Sims.
MAKING HIS MARK
That’s where Adrian would stay, as he decided to forego his senior season and declared for the NFL draft. He attended the combine in Indianapolis and impressed scouts with his speed and skill, including a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. Once again, however, Adrian was forced to use sports to block the pain of a personal loss. The night before the combine, he learned that his half-brother Chris had been shot and killed in Houston.
The lingering question about Adrian among NFL scouts and coaches concerned his durability. He had been hurt for about a third of his college games, and teams wondered if his broken collarbone would be fully healed by the start of the 2007 season. The Cleveland Browns were rumored to be interested in Adrian, but they signed Jamal Lewis to a contract instead and grabbed Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn with their pick, the third in the draft.
Five other players were selected before the Vikings picked. Minnesota then made Adrian the first running back taken in the draft. Their plan was to work him into a rotation with veteran Chester Taylor, but coach Brad Childress began rethinking this strategy after Adrian reeled off 103 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in Minnesota’s opener. He also scored on a 60-yard catch and run. After he reached the end zone, he blew a kiss to his late brother Brian.
The Vikings were winning games, and they were clearly better with Adrian in the lineup. Against longtime rival Detroit in Week 2, Adrian failed to reach triple digits in rushing yardage and Minnesota lost to the Lions, 20–17.
In a mid-October meeting with the Bears, Adrian showed his explosive ability when he broke loose for 224 yards against one of the NFL’s top-ranked D’s. He scored three touchdowns in the game, and added a 53-yard kickoff return that set up the game-winning field goal. One of the TDs against Chicago was classic A.D.—a power move to pierce the line, a feint in the secondary, and then a 70-yard sprint to the end zone. Adrian gave a lot of credit for his big day to Minnesota’s offensive line. Indeed, his blockers played flawlessly all afternoon.
The Chicago game turned out to be a mere prelude to Adrian's November 4th performance against the San Diego Chargers, owners of one of the league’s better run defenses. Adrian sliced through tacklers all game long, finishing with a record 296 yards and three touchdowns. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in just his eighth game, which set a record for first-year players.
Adrian also a Minnesota record for 50-yard runs in a season, with a 64-yarder that tied the game against San Diego in the third quarter. Late in the game, he ripped off a 35-yard run but was on the sideline when the team realized he needed just three more yards for the single-game record. Adrian reentered the game and got those yards—along with a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd. The Vikes won the game 35–17.
Dickerson’s rookie record of 1,808 yards is now well within reach. The question is whether Adrian will be healthy enough to set the mark. A bum knee has him in street clothes, though the Vikings have downplayed the severity of the injury. Still, given Adrian's history, it's fair to wonder whether his all-out running style can at times be a detriment.
It is hard to imagine such a young player maintaining the pace Adrian has established in his first NFL season. But most experts—and fantasy football owners—have stopped trying to place limits on his progress. Like Vikings fans, they seem content to just sit back and enjoy the show.
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Peterson/Peterson_bio.html
Adrian Lewis Peterson was born on March 21, 1985, in Palestine, Texas, a small town between Houston and Dallas. His parents, Bonita Brown and Nelson Peterson, had been star athletes in college. Nelson was a shooting guard for Idaho State with an possible NBA career. That dream was derailed when a gun that his brother was cleaning discharged into Nelson's leg. The wound became infected and several surgeries later he accepted the fact that his basketball career wasn’t going to happen. With several children to support, he joined the working world.
Adrian’s mother was a world-class track and field athlete. She was a 3-time Texas state champion at Westwood High School and attended the University of Houston on an athletic scholarship where she was a sprinter and long jumper.
Adrian was an extremely active child. His dad nicknamed him “All Day,” later shortened to A.D. and the nickname has stuck with him. Adrian’s older brother, Brian, was also his best friend. They were the two fastest kids in the neighborhood and they shared a love for sports. Then, when Adrian was 7, tragedy struck him and his family. Brian was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding his bike. This devastated event occurred after Adrian’s parents had separated. The boys were living outside Dallas in Oak Cliff with their aunt, Bonita’s sister. After this tragedy, Adrian and his mom moved back to Palestine, so the youngster could be closer to his father and grandmother.
Adrian began to use sports as a way to deal with his pain. He was the star of the Pee Wee football team coached by his father. Nelson taught Adrian to meet force with force. Instead of trying to elude tacklers, sometimes it was smarter to hit them head-on. He also showed Adrian the importance of priorities. When the boy received his first F as a fifth grader, Nelson benched him. The rule for the rest of his childhood: No pass, no play.
By the time he was 12, Adrian was the star of his Pop Warner team. His coach told his players to remember playing with Adrian—they would want to tell their grandkids about him someday. In one game, Adrian went an entire game without being tackled—the best the defense could do was force him out of bounds or hope he slipped and fell.
Adrian was a huge Cowboys fan. The team was a perennial Super Bowl contender when he was young, and he loved Emmitt Smith. He would watch games on TV wearing his #22 Starter jacket. There was little question in Adrian’s mind that he would one day be a Cowboy.
When Adrian was 13, his father was arrested for laundering money for a crack-cocaine ring. Though gainfully employed, Nelson was still chasing the big dollars he had expected to earn as a pro athlete. The lure of easy cash led to a catastrophically bad decision, and he ended up spending eight years in prison. Adrian and his dad communicated by phone and mail, as well as the occasional visit. In high school, Adrian spoke with his father the morning before every game.
Adrian had a better role model in his mother. Bonita remarried, to Frankie Jackson, a pastor at a church in nearby Grapeland. Initially, there was friction between Jackson and his football-star stepson, but eventually they became very close.
Adrian continued his gridiron exploits at Westwood Junior High School. His mother had relocated to the town for a new job. Adrian also became a track and field standout. At Woodward, he won multiple medals in the 100, 200, triple jump and long jump—the same events in which his mother had once excelled. Looking back, Adrian's coach believes that the teen could have been an Olympic long jumper had he note pursued a football careered.
In 2000, Adrian began high school in Westwood. He played JV football as a freshman Adrian’s family moved back to Palestine the following year, but he was not eligible to play for the Palestine High varsity football team until he was a junior. During his sophomore year, Adrian ran track and logged a 10.66 100-yard dash at a spring meet.
Adrian found a valuable ally in coach Jeff Harrell. When Harrell was promoted to head football coach, Adrian was made the focal point of his coach's one-back system. He was so quick that he hit the line before the blocks happened. Harrell moved Adrian back from six yards behind the line to seven and then eight.
Adrian got even faster as he matured. In 2002, he ran for more than 2,000 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. That's when he began to attract the attention of Division I recruiters.
ON THE RISE
After his junior year, Adrian realized he would likely have his pick of colleges. During his senior season, he decided that he wanted to go to a school where he could be a difference-maker in a national championship run. After considering schools such as Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Miami and UCLA, Adrian narrowed his choices down to Southern California and Oklahoma. There was a funny moment in coach Harrell’s office when recruiters from USC, Miami and UCLA got into a heated argument about who would get to see Adrian first.
As a senior in 2003, Adrian put up unbelievable numbers, rushing for 2,960 yards and 32 touchdowns. Often, he only played the first half. In Palestine's final game, Harrell told him to do something special. Adrian responded with 350 yards and six touchdowns—all in the first half. After the game, players from the other team asked for his autograph. It was not the first time that had happened.
Adrian’s final appearance as a high-schooler came early in 2004 at the All-American Bowl. One one play, he eluded all 11 defenders on the way to a highlight-reel touchdown. He scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and was named MVP of the game. Adrian also announced his college choice at the game—Oklahoma.
Adrian’s mom had tears in his eyes when she dropped him off at the Oklahoma campus the following summer. He told her not to worry and assured her he would be fine. The next day, he amazed the Sooner coaches with a 39-inch vertical leap, a 10–7-foot broad jump and a 4.2-second 40-yard dash.
Oklahoma was coming off a great year. Jason White, who had led the Sooners to the BCS championship game (which they lost to LSU), was the defending Heisman winner. He guided an offense that relied heavily on seniors. The team’s top receiving threat was Mark Clayton, and its running attack was [aced by Jammal Brown and Vince Carter. But it was Adrian, a freshman, who ended up leading them into battle.
Adrian ran for 100 yards in the opener against Bowling Green, 117 yards against Houston, and 183 yards against Oregon. Against Oklahoma State, Adrian rushed for 161 yards in the third quarter and pulled off an eye-popping spin move during an 80-yard TD run. He rumbled for 172 yards against Colorado and 225 yards against Texas. Adrian ran over, around and through tacklers. He drew comparisons to Walter Payton for his unwillingness to go quietly out of bounds, and to Eric Dickerson for his powerful, upright running style.
Thanks to Adrian, one of the poorest rushing teams the year before became one of the nation’s best. The freshman was spectacular, gaining 1,925 yards to smash the NCAA’s freshman rushing record. According to team statistics, roughly two-thirds of those yards came after he had been hit. Adrian was nothing if not tough. In a November game against Texas A&M, he made the difference in a close victory when he reentered the game after suffering a separated shoulder.
Despite his breathtaking season, Adrian finished second to Matt Leinart in the Heisman Trophy voting. He did, however, become the first Sooner freshman to be named First-Team All-American.
Oklahoma earned a berth in the BCS championship game against Leinart and USC. It turned out to the most disappointing day of Adrian’s career. Trojans coach Pete Carroll knew Adrian well and retooled his defense to stop him. USC limited Adrian to just 82 yards, as the Trojans rolled to a 55-19 blowout. A series of first-quarter turnovers doomed the Sooners and also served to neutralize their running attack.
Adrian’s only other disappointment his first year at Oklahoma was the separated shoulder against the Aggies. After the season, he had surgery to strengthen the muscles around the joint.
The 2005 campaign started well for Adrian, but a high ankle sprain suffered in Oklahoma’s first conference game against Kansas State limited his mobility the rest of the year. Still, he managed to finish second in the Big 12 with 1,108 rushing yards. He also found the end zone 14 times. The highlight of Adrian’s year was a spectacular 84-yard TD run against Oklahoma State. In that game, he accounted for 237 of the Sooners’ 269 yards.
The Sooners limped to an 8–4 record, the worst of coach Bob Stoops’s Oklahoma career. They played Oregon in the Holiday Bowl and won 17–14, finishing the year with a #22 national ranking.
Another injury curtailed Adrian’s production in 2006. This time it was a broken collarbone, suffered against Iowa State as he dove for the end zone at the end of a long touchdown run. Adrian’s father was in the stands. Just released from prison, he was watching his son play in person for the first. It was a bittersweet moment for Nelson and Adrian, who was named First-Team All-Big 12 for the third year, despite missing the rest of the regular season.
Though the Sooners lost two early games in ’06, they regrouped to run the table—even after Adrian was sidelined. Their defense gelled and Adrian’s replacements—Allen Patrick and Chris Brown—got the job done. Oklahoma beat the Nebraska for the Big 12 championship and earned a berth in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.
Adrian returned in time to play in this game, which was decided by a two-point conversion in overtime. He gained just 77 yards in the 43–42 loss, ending his junior year as the school’s second all-time rusher behind Billy Sims.
MAKING HIS MARK
That’s where Adrian would stay, as he decided to forego his senior season and declared for the NFL draft. He attended the combine in Indianapolis and impressed scouts with his speed and skill, including a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. Once again, however, Adrian was forced to use sports to block the pain of a personal loss. The night before the combine, he learned that his half-brother Chris had been shot and killed in Houston.
The lingering question about Adrian among NFL scouts and coaches concerned his durability. He had been hurt for about a third of his college games, and teams wondered if his broken collarbone would be fully healed by the start of the 2007 season. The Cleveland Browns were rumored to be interested in Adrian, but they signed Jamal Lewis to a contract instead and grabbed Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn with their pick, the third in the draft.
Five other players were selected before the Vikings picked. Minnesota then made Adrian the first running back taken in the draft. Their plan was to work him into a rotation with veteran Chester Taylor, but coach Brad Childress began rethinking this strategy after Adrian reeled off 103 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in Minnesota’s opener. He also scored on a 60-yard catch and run. After he reached the end zone, he blew a kiss to his late brother Brian.
The Vikings were winning games, and they were clearly better with Adrian in the lineup. Against longtime rival Detroit in Week 2, Adrian failed to reach triple digits in rushing yardage and Minnesota lost to the Lions, 20–17.
In a mid-October meeting with the Bears, Adrian showed his explosive ability when he broke loose for 224 yards against one of the NFL’s top-ranked D’s. He scored three touchdowns in the game, and added a 53-yard kickoff return that set up the game-winning field goal. One of the TDs against Chicago was classic A.D.—a power move to pierce the line, a feint in the secondary, and then a 70-yard sprint to the end zone. Adrian gave a lot of credit for his big day to Minnesota’s offensive line. Indeed, his blockers played flawlessly all afternoon.
The Chicago game turned out to be a mere prelude to Adrian's November 4th performance against the San Diego Chargers, owners of one of the league’s better run defenses. Adrian sliced through tacklers all game long, finishing with a record 296 yards and three touchdowns. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in just his eighth game, which set a record for first-year players.
Adrian also a Minnesota record for 50-yard runs in a season, with a 64-yarder that tied the game against San Diego in the third quarter. Late in the game, he ripped off a 35-yard run but was on the sideline when the team realized he needed just three more yards for the single-game record. Adrian reentered the game and got those yards—along with a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd. The Vikes won the game 35–17.
Dickerson’s rookie record of 1,808 yards is now well within reach. The question is whether Adrian will be healthy enough to set the mark. A bum knee has him in street clothes, though the Vikings have downplayed the severity of the injury. Still, given Adrian's history, it's fair to wonder whether his all-out running style can at times be a detriment.
It is hard to imagine such a young player maintaining the pace Adrian has established in his first NFL season. But most experts—and fantasy football owners—have stopped trying to place limits on his progress. Like Vikings fans, they seem content to just sit back and enjoy the show.
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Peterson/Peterson_bio.html
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