Adrian Peterson -- The elephant in the room

[VikingLord]

The Star Tribune's Mark Craig weighs in:

http://www.startribune.com/for-all-his- ... 364934701/
Sound familiar?

It's a good article.

Yeah, I read it and I agree with the logic. I also don't see the Vikings cutting Peterson after renegotiating his contract and sweetening it prior to last year. He certainly didn't disappoint with the season he had.

I would, however, like to see Turner mix it up a bit with McKinnon. We did see some of that and I think it was effective, plus it should help extend AD's career. AD led the league in carries this year with 327 attempts (next highest was Doug Martin with 288 and Jerrick McKinnon clocked in with 52), so that is a lot of wear-and-tear on a 30 year old at the RB position. It seems reasonable for Turner to balance that out a bit more.

But yeah, I don't see AD going anywhere. Heck, I could see him play a larger role as a receiver. Even though the fumble was frustrating, the upside still vastly outweighs the downside when it comes to having AD on the team.

[indianation65]

Yes, trade him and someone like Jerry Jones will give worlds to get him.

Mr. Losperros, lack of TDs is vital, and talked about countless times, but this topic is about Peterson specifically. I bring up TDs instead of FGs often. I got yelled at for bringing it up after the Vikes blew out NY, but yes, I still wanted more red zone production even in that game, but alas, back to AP.

Mr. Purplemustreign, no, some forum members are not crazy for wanting to trade Peterson, a great running back on the north side of 30, with a history of fumbling at critical times; and yes, all running backs fumble, but his production is overshadowed by his "brain," ex: double your arms over the ball, stretching the arm out and holding the ball like bread is often, game on the line, secure it! etc. It's a passing league now, and serviceable running backs are still on the team should AP leave. Just think what another good wide out would do, (keeping in mind the qb coach will groom TB in a qb who can zip the ball more downfield).

Besides, we're all in pain here, years of pain like a lot of us who have suffered since the 70s. After all, we're all just opining about our favorite running back...or is he? Ha!

I've consigned myself to believe that a good kick in the pants to Norv, Teddy and a couple lineman will help tremendously. However Peterson, he might help more by being traded. As stated, JJones would pay a lot for him. Heck, I'd believe he'd even trade his love-child/god son Romo for him...kidding, but JJ would probably give up a lot.

Trade Peterson? It matters not, at least here. If only the Vikings coaches and GM would read the Vikes forum, all their problems would be solved. Fans know best! IN65

Addendum: Go Vikes, next season can't come fast enough.

...wisdom

[mondry]

I think if all we're going to do is throw him at 9 man boxes on first down then it's a total waste to pay his salary and make him the focal point. I'm not an expert in running an NFL offense but I feel like you should be able to do more than 2 play action passes a game on first down.

You can say Peterson won the rushing title but realistically he had 39 more carries than second place and basically won on pure volume. Doug Martin averaged 4.9 YPC while Peterson had 4.5. Jerick Mckinnon on a much smaller sample size had 5.2 YPC. If you think that isn't legit he had a 4.8 YPC last year when Peterson wasn't in the mix so that's 2 seasons with a better YPC than Peterson.

I'm not saying Mckinnon could run for 1,700 yards if we gave him all of Peterson's carries but it is interesting that he's so successful. It boils down to this, with Peterson, the other team is playing the run and in the NFL, a playoff caliber defense is going to severely limit him. It's true Peterson helps you beat bad teams in the regular season and that's where most of his rushing title winning yards come from but in the playoffs against a team like Seattle he's basically worthless averaging 2.0 YPC and typically has a back breaking turnover (first green bay game, seattle playoff game come to mind) against good teams.

Again that's not all his fault, like I said if we're just going to run him into a wall and not take advantage of play action more often that's on Norv but what I am saying is if that's the extent of how we're going to use him then I'd rather just go with Mckinnon and Asiata because they'll average more YPC than Peterson anyway and overall help our offense by being less predictable and offer a better weapon in the passing game out of the back field.

Ideally we would take advantage of the stacked fronts by running more play action passes, especially on first down and get the best of both worlds WITH peterson. Let's not forget that our O-line sucked bad this year so there's reason to believe the run blocking could improve and Peterson could still have a better year. Our defense should be even better next year so I don't think it's time to give up on the ball control offense with Peterson because under those circumstances we can probably hold most teams to under 14 points.

Another whacky opinion I have is that the offense actually isn't that bad. Okay that's the wrong way to say it, it IS bad, but I also don't think they're that far away from being "okay". Essentially they need to turn 1 or 2 field goals per game into a touchdown instead and we'll win a lot of games since our defense will hold most teams to under 15. We can move the ball and we had the 3rd best average starting field position because our defense and special teams sets the O up so well. They just have to be willing to take more risk and get the reward from it. I'm hoping an improved O-line is the ticket Norv and Teddy need to feel safer about taking more risk, a lot of it is simply being afraid to make mistakes or the costly turnover and that can change in time.

[Boon]

Want a better option at RB than asiata? Make Patterson a RB and see what happens. I love Adrian but for him to come out after the first game vs the turkeys and start airing out dirty laundry and talking nonsense, to turn around and have yet another crucial fumble is completely mind boggling. How are you that strong and fumble so much? It's not about having a knee jerk reaction after one game, its a gradual reaction after seeing what he has done in crucial moments and seeing what's best for the team moving forward.

This is what I've noticed. Obviously teddy throws better out of the shotgun, Peterson runs better from behind center. You have a soon to be 3rd year QB and an over 30 year old rb. It's a simple solution, you build around your QB. I have absolute faith in this being a top 10 defense as long as zimmer is the HC, if not top 5.

As of this moment, round ball park figure in 2016, with the cap increase projected to about 153 mil, Vikings are sitting at 24 mil in cap space. Hypotheticals in place, it doesn't seem right, but cutting Wallace and Peterson saves 22 mil or so. In the dead money category next to them both it says 0, third is griffen who has a 3.6 mil in dead money and a 4.6 cap clearing. So I'm assuming if they cut both they don't owe them anything. so lets say they do just for shizz and giggles, that would be roughly 46 million in cap space. Give hitman a long term deal, draft a stud WR in the late first. As heavy as this upcoming draft is with Oline, three projected first round quarterbacks, and Defensive players they can get the #2 projected receiver most likely, maybe even the #1. They need a bully. Teddy needs a bully.

Given teddy's struggles it's easy to point a finger and say it's his skillset, but the fact of the matter is he was THE most pressured QB in the league. That has already been shown. That's a lot for a 10 year player to handle, let alone a second year qb. I've been tiptoeing the line as far as passing judgment goes. He shows flashes of talent you didn't see with his predecessor. I think the bulk of the spending has to be on offensive line, and If we remove the two anchors, they can make it happen rather easily and have money left over to lock up hitman.

Patterson is almost identical in build to Adrian. MAYBE faster. Threat to take it to the house everytime he has the ball in his hands and RB is probably a lot easier to learn than WR is. Not only that, you would have two guys coming out of the backfield that can outrun most cornerbacks, and can definitely outrun linebackers. They both can catch, Patterson is not a bad blocker. And comes about 10 million dollars cheaper than Adrian. Mckinnon, Patterson and Asiata can more than handle the RB duties.

[Mothman]

Excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject, Kapp, but I don't understand the above. Why is the cap hit zero under those conditions? I thought a contract was locked through next year.

It's the way the deal was structured, Craig. If I remember correctly, his contract was fully guaranteed for this season but is only guaranteed against injury next season. If they release him before free agency begins, there's no cap hit in 2016.

That seems like a pretty slim possibility to me though. As Edward said, Peterson certainly didn't disappoint with the season he had.

[fiestavike]

Good to hear Peterson recognize that he wasn't a good fit in this offense and that he needs to address his versatility in the offseason.
http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 605df80120

[J. Kapp 11]

The Star Tribune's Mark Craig weighs in:

http://www.startribune.com/for-all-his- ... 364934701/
Sound familiar?

It's a good article.

Perhaps it's a good article because you agree with it?

As they say with investments, past performance does not guarantee future results.

We'll see what happens. But if they do move on from AP, remember who told you so.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mothman]

Perhaps it's a good article because you agree with it?

That doesn't hurt!

However, I thought it was a good article because it covered the subject well and Mark Craig made some valid points.

As they say with investments, past performance does not guarantee future results.

Yes, and we heard that line frequently last offseason, when turning 30 and coming back from a year away was supposedly going to mean a serious decline in Peterson's productivity.

We'll see what happens. But if they do move on from AP, remember who told you so.

It's a deal!

I just think it's extraordinarily unlikely that we'll see him released this year, before free agency. Mike Zimmer clearly wanted Peterson on his football team. He got his wish and the team leaned heavily on Peterson this season. They won 4 more games than they did in 2014, Peterson won the rushing title and the Vikes won the division. I seriously doubt that adds up to Peterson being released in March. 2016 might be his last year as a Viking but he's very likely to be with the team for at least one more season.

[losperros]

I just think it's extraordinarily unlikely that we'll see him released this year, before free agency. Mike Zimmer clearly wanted Peterson on his football team. He got his wish and the team leaned heavily on Peterson this season. They won 4 more games than they did in 2014, Peterson won the rushing title and the Vikes won the division. I seriously doubt that adds up to Peterson being released in March. 2016 might be his last year as a Viking but he's very likely to be with the team for at least one more season.

I agree. I think Peterson will be a Viking next year. He's acknowledged that he will work on the fumbling and blending into Norv's scheme during the offseason. And nobody works harder than AD does. So if he comes back, Peterson should still be a force.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I liked Mark Craig's article a lot. Very valid points. And no, Jim, I didn't like the article just because he has "Craig" in his name. Sheeesh...

[fiestavike]

I agree. I think Peterson will be a Viking next year. He's acknowledged that he will work on the fumbling and blending into Norv's scheme during the offseason. And nobody works harder than AD does. So if he comes back, Peterson should still be a force.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I liked Mark Craig's article a lot. Very valid points. And no, Jim, I didn't like the article just because he has "Craig" in his name. Sheeesh...

Adrian publicly acknowledging his deficiencies goes a long way with me. Its hard not to respect people who can do that. I still doubt he will be able to make the necessary changes, but I appreciate the sincere effort I think he will put in.

[IrishViking]

I agree. I think Peterson will be a Viking next year. He's acknowledged that he will work on the fumbling and blending into Norv's scheme during the offseason. And nobody works harder than AD does. So if he comes back, Peterson should still be a force.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I liked Mark Craig's article a lot. Very valid points. And no, Jim, I didn't like the article just because he has "Craig" in his name. Sheeesh...

I'll admit his blocking has gotten moderately better and his receiving is better as well. But he has been "working" on these issues for nearly a decade and he still fumbles, he still wiffs on blocks regularly, he still drops easy catches. After a decade of knowing what his problems are! I have as much faith in Peterson "fixing" his issues as I do in the sun not rising tomorrow.

[Crax]

I'll admit his blocking has gotten moderately better and his receiving is better as well. But he has been "working" on these issues for nearly a decade and he still fumbles, he still wiffs on blocks regularly, he still drops easy catches. After a decade of knowing what his problems are! I have as much faith in Peterson "fixing" his issues as I do in the sun not rising tomorrow.

I agree. It's been like six plus years since he was going to fix it last time. He did somewhat fix it in the regular season, but it doesn't really matter if he's still going to fumble in the playoffs.

[Mothman]

I agree. It's been like six plus years since he was going to fix it last time. He did somewhat fix it in the regular season, but it doesn't really matter if he's still going to fumble in the playoffs.

It wouldn't matter when he did it. Fans basically have a zero tolerance policy about it.

[IrishViking]

It wouldn't matter when he did it. Fans basically have a zero tolerance policy about it.

Exactly, you can't be whiffing blocks regularly, dropping easy catches and fumbling at terrible times and just say you are "gonna work on it"

[Crax]

It wouldn't matter when he did it. Fans basically have a zero tolerance policy about it.

Disagree for myself personally. Everyone fumbles sometimes. Adrian does it ONCE in the middle of a game during the regular season? Oh well, won't like it, but will live with it. Critical playoff game, care a lot more. His problem has been the multiple fumble games and the critical fumble. Didn't he have a multiple fumble game this year as well?

NFC championship game ones were backbreaking as well.