Will Adrian Peterson play in 2018?
Some things in sports surprise us. Other things play out exactly how every person in America expected. Adrian Peterson’s fade into obscurity falls into the second category.
The future Hall of Fame running back, who turned 33 on Wednesday, has said that he plans on playing next season…and the season after…and the season after that….and maybe the season after that.
Peterson is taking the LaVar Ball approach of trying to talk something into existence. It certainly worked for Mr. Ball. His son Lonzo was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, just as he’d predicted countless times. But for Peterson, this might be the end of the road – not only because he isn’t effective anymore, but because he isn’t living in the same reality as the rest of us.
Last season, A.D. opened the year with the New Orleans Saints. By the end of the Saints’ first game, he was seen on the sidelines yelling at head coach Sean Payton. Both said the incident was nothing, but he was traded to Arizona in short order.
While with the Cardinals, we got one last glimpse of the unstoppable Adrian Peterson. On October 15, he ran 26 times for 134 yards and scored two touchdowns. Two games later, he carried the ball 37 times – which is unheard of in today’s game – for 159 yards.
And then over the final three games, Peterson gained 134 yards on 55 carries, good for 2.4 yards per rush. When the dust settled on his 2017 season, 41 running backs with more than 100 carries averaged more yards per rush than Peterson. That’s not to mention that he added just nine catches for 66 yards and ranked as the fourth worst pass blocker in the NFL by Pro Football Focus grades.
Peterson never had an all-around skillset, but his one dimension was so good that it didn’t matter that much. It would be like a scorer in the NBA who averaged 27 points per game and played suspect defense. His one dimension is no longer among the better backs in the league. The other-worldly explosiveness that once caused him to make cuts at hyper speed and truck linebackers and safeties like they were road cones is gone. A hint of his power still exists. Years of injuries and an incredible workload have taken the rest.
There is no shame in that. He was an anomaly in 2015 when he led the NFL in rushing at age 30...
Rest of article:
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/03/will-adrian-peterson-play-2018/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"comet52" said:This is not the stat AP, thinks he can beat.@"mgobluevikes" said: Hard to believe Frank Gore is that far ahead of him. Classic turtle vs. the hare scenario. Volume stats don't tell the story very accurately. Gore isn't even top 20 in all time rush yards/game, but AD is 4th and he and Bell are the only active guys on the list:
Rank Player Y/G Years Tm 1 Jim Brown+ 104.3 1957-1965 cle 2 Barry Sanders+ 99.8 1989-1998 det 3 Terrell Davis+ 97.5 1995-2001 den 4 Adrian Peterson 92.3 2007-2017 3TM 5 Eric Dickerson+ 90.8 1983-1993 4TM 6 Walter Payton+ 88.0 1975-1987 chi 7 Clinton Portis 87.8 2002-2010 2TM 8 Le'Veon Bell 86.1 2013-2017 pit 9 Billy Sims 85.1 1980-1984 det 10 Curtis Martin+ 83.9 1995-2005 2TM 11 O.J. Simpson+ 83.2 1969-1979 2TM 12 Edgerrin James 82.7 1999-2009 3TM 13 Earl Campbell+ 81.8 1978-1985 2TM 14 Arian Foster 81.6 2009-2016 2TM 15 Emmitt Smith+ 81.2 1990-2004 2TM 16 Jamal Lewis 81.0 2000-2009 2TM 17 LaDainian Tomlinson+ 80.5 2001-2011 2TM 18 Domanick Williams 79.9 2003-2005 htx 19 George Rogers 78.0 1981-1987 2TM 20 Shaun Alexander 76.9 2000-2008 2TM If he could manage to play more than a couple of games per season, that average would come down quickly.
2013 -2017
3,472 yards,
44 games (out of 80)
3,472 / 44 = 78.9 yards per game
I hope he goes somewhere and has a good season. He was a joy to watch play here for many years.
@"Montana Tom" said: To answer the original question...I don't care. I feel that the Vikings were hamstrung by his demands to be the focus of the offense, instead of a team-approach to winning. I felt different when he was at his peak, but with the increased perspective of time...he became an albatross around our neck. So glad Rick said "don't let the door hit ya in the ass on yer way out".Said it 2 years too late.
I can't imagine who would sign him, outside of late in training camp/preseason when the surprise injuries start to hit some teams. His skills are eroded because of his age and his pass-block is at the bottom of the barrel. He's a dinosaur to today's modern NFL offenses.
@"StickyBun" said: I can't imagine who would sign him, outside of late in training camp/preseason when the surprise injuries start to hit some teams. His skills are eroded because of his age and his pass-block is at the bottom of the barrel. He's a dinosaur to today's modern NFL offenses.
The missed block that ended Carson Palmer's career is going to hang over him - vivid demonstration that he is as much a potential danger to any team as a possible benefit. I wonder if cutting Peterson was a requirement in Bradford's contract, to improve his odds of staying upright??
My guess is he will get signed in the second month of the season by a team that has injuries or an early losing streak and wants to draw some fans even when it becomes obvious they are going nowhere in 2018. He won't be in camp with anyone and will act like that's of his own choosing, use his old attitude that he doesn't need training camp and his own workouts are so much tougher anyway.
@"Jor-El" said:@"StickyBun" said: I can't imagine who would sign him, outside of late in training camp/preseason when the surprise injuries start to hit some teams. His skills are eroded because of his age and his pass-block is at the bottom of the barrel. He's a dinosaur to today's modern NFL offenses.The missed block that ended Carson Palmer's career is going to hang over him - vivid demonstration that he is as much a potential danger to any team as a possible benefit. I wonder if cutting Peterson was a requirement in Bradford's contract, to improve his odds of staying upright??
My guess is he will get signed in the second month of the season by a team that has injuries or an early losing streak and wants to draw some fans even when it becomes obvious they are going nowhere in 2018. He won't be in camp with anyone and will act like that's of his own choosing, use his old attitude that he doesn't need training camp and his own workouts are so much tougher anyway.
in the day of the cheap rookie deals, does a team with a bad start to their season really want to bring in somebody that may help them win some meaningless games? I dont know that I would want to see any desperation attempts anymore for salvaging a season. I supported the Bradford trade at the time, and yes it was a whirlwind of crazy circumstances that have led us to this point, but in hindsight none of the scenarios that we originally envisioned with having 2 then 3 quality QBs has turned out. maybe we will end up with 1 decent compensatory draft pick out of losing those 3 QBs, but if you look at what we had invested in Teddy and Sam, with no real hardware to show for it... that was a losing scenario for the team. yes its hindsight, but IMO the smart move would be to just take the loses and look forward to the draft. sucks but it appears to be a better plan. AD is not what he once was, but he could go off for a game or two and really screw up draft positioning for a team just wanting to sell a few extra seats in a losing season.
@"RushmoreVike" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"StickyBun" said: I can't imagine who would sign him, outside of late in training camp/preseason when the surprise injuries start to hit some teams. His skills are eroded because of his age and his pass-block is at the bottom of the barrel. He's a dinosaur to today's modern NFL offenses.The missed block that ended Carson Palmer's career is going to hang over him - vivid demonstration that he is as much a potential danger to any team as a possible benefit. I wonder if cutting Peterson was a requirement in Bradford's contract, to improve his odds of staying upright??
My guess is he will get signed in the second month of the season by a team that has injuries or an early losing streak and wants to draw some fans even when it becomes obvious they are going nowhere in 2018. He won't be in camp with anyone and will act like that's of his own choosing, use his old attitude that he doesn't need training camp and his own workouts are so much tougher anyway.
in the day of the cheap rookie deals, does a team with a bad start to their season really want to bring in somebody that may help them win some meaningless games? I dont know that I would want to see any desperation attempts anymore for salvaging a season. I supported the Bradford trade at the time, and yes it was a whirlwind of crazy circumstances that have led us to this point, but in hindsight none of the scenarios that we originally envisioned with having 2 then 3 quality QBs has turned out. maybe we will end up with 1 decent compensatory draft pick out of losing those 3 QBs, but if you look at what we had invested in Teddy and Sam, with no real hardware to show for it... that was a losing scenario for the team. yes its hindsight, but IMO the smart move would be to just take the loses and look forward to the draft. sucks but it appears to be a better plan. AD is not what he once was, but he could go off for a game or two and really screw up draft positioning for a team just wanting to sell a few extra seats in a losing season.
Not arguing with you; no logic to bringing him in for any club, just as it made no sense for Arizona (or New Orleans) in 2017.I sure hope the Vikings are not in any situation to be tempted to pull a PR stunt with Peterson.
@"RushmoreVike" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"StickyBun" said: I can't imagine who would sign him, outside of late in training camp/preseason when the surprise injuries start to hit some teams. His skills are eroded because of his age and his pass-block is at the bottom of the barrel. He's a dinosaur to today's modern NFL offenses.The missed block that ended Carson Palmer's career is going to hang over him - vivid demonstration that he is as much a potential danger to any team as a possible benefit. I wonder if cutting Peterson was a requirement in Bradford's contract, to improve his odds of staying upright??
My guess is he will get signed in the second month of the season by a team that has injuries or an early losing streak and wants to draw some fans even when it becomes obvious they are going nowhere in 2018. He won't be in camp with anyone and will act like that's of his own choosing, use his old attitude that he doesn't need training camp and his own workouts are so much tougher anyway.
in the day of the cheap rookie deals, does a team with a bad start to their season really want to bring in somebody that may help them win some meaningless games? I dont know that I would want to see any desperation attempts anymore for salvaging a season. I supported the Bradford trade at the time, and yes it was a whirlwind of crazy circumstances that have led us to this point, but in hindsight none of the scenarios that we originally envisioned with having 2 then 3 quality QBs has turned out. maybe we will end up with 1 decent compensatory draft pick out of losing those 3 QBs, but if you look at what we had invested in Teddy and Sam, with no real hardware to show for it... that was a losing scenario for the team. yes its hindsight, but IMO the smart move would be to just take the loses and look forward to the draft. sucks but it appears to be a better plan. AD is not what he once was, but he could go off for a game or two and really screw up draft positioning for a team just wanting to sell a few extra seats in a losing season.
I was a big proponent of picking up a cheap vet and running with Hill and whoever, caught a lot of shit for that. But in the end we netted at most 7 wins and I'd say Hill could have won at least a few. Maybe Barnett would have helped vs the Eagles this year-just getting him off the field for them would have been a bonus.
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