Here Comes the AP Hype… And Finally, I See Right Through It

It’s the off-season and Adrian Peterson is still over 30 years old. So, until he’s retired, you know you’re going to hear one (or three) thing(s) around this time of year, every year. That he’s A) Still got it, B) Is adding new elements to his game and C) Is gonna be among the lead leaders in rushing that upcoming year. With Peterson moved on to browner pastures as a New Orleans Saint now, that talk is in overdrive. I don’t know why I’m surprised, I guess surprise isn’t the right word. Just, kinda tired of it. When he was here, of course I welcomed that sort of talk because for most of his time here the general success of the Vikings offensive was directly tethered to the performance (Or more often, health) of Peterson. But now that he’s gone and also 32, I just find it about as eye-rolling as I’m sure a lot of people did around the league the past few seasons when it was announced out of Winter Park or Mankato.

The hype did seem to start sooner than most years, with the first inkling of it coming out yesterday. The “news” out of Saints camp was that Peterson was essentially the same old AP and also that he’s been working hard at adding pass catching/protection elements to his game he hasn’t had before. So, before we delve into everything, let’s get through the quote that came from Saints fullback, John Kuhn, according to ESPN.

“He looks the same way he looked when I was watching him from the other sideline for all those years. He looks like the same old AP, and I’m just excited to see him in the same team colors.”

Yep. Not a lot to see here, really. I mean, it’s to be expected and I have no doubt that Peterson is in tremendous shape. Revenge body shape, even. But, that shape hasn’t helped him stay healthy lately, and that’s probably why (at least partially) that he’s spending so much time at the Saints facility (As opposed to working out privately, like he did during his time as a Viking). He has to learn an entire new offense as well, so it helps being on-site, but really, I think Peterson wants to show that if/when he does go down with another injury that he did all he could to get into playing shape (Which I bet will include a decent amount of pre-season game work as well, something I can’t even remember the last time he did in Minnesota).

At least some of the attentiveness at the Saints facility, probably comes from a chip on his shoulder that only he (And his group of friends and family) can see. It should come as little surprise to the Vikings faithful that he’s most likely got that chip on his shoulder over that $18 million dollar contract the Vikings “Owed” him (His words, on ESPN, months ago) or whatever other imagined slights only a man who rides a camel with zero irony at his birthday party can come up with (Just ask Kevin Warren). This is, after all, a man who used his own child abuse charges to somehow create a holdout against the team that stood by him during those charges.

The sad thing is, Peterson may not be as alone in his assessments as I claimed. Peter Schrager of NFL Network recently made a claim on the network that, if true, should worry Vikings fans. However, it is late May and NFL Network, so I wouldn’t put too much stock into it. But considering it is late May, I have to cover it, dag nabbit. Essentially Schrager said that he believes that Peterson will have more rushing yards and touchdowns that the Vikings running backs COMBINED in 2017. If it was just Peterson in New Orleans, it wouldn’t be that big of a prediction, but considering he’s going to be sharing a backfield with Mark Ingram, and you’ll see why that wouldn’t be a great sign for the likes of Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon. Peterson has never really shared a back-field or been part of a committee, so it’ll be interesting to see how that works out (or falls apart) as the season draws nearer.

Questions about how Peterson will fit into the Saints offense have been raised since he visited the team months ago. Apparently, per the ESPN piece, Peterson has been taking first team reps with the Saints in OTA’s, however it has been said that Ingram was on the sidelines because of an unspecified injury issue. So, that may not be a harbinger of things to come but you wouldn’t think that the Saints would sign Peterson if he’s going to be a sub-10 carry/touch per game guy. For that to happen though, Peterson has to get a lot better at aspects of his game that he’s never really had. At 32, none the less.

The Saints (Perhaps due to Ingram’s injury, or a sign of things to come) have been using Peterson a lot in their nickel offense so far as well. That’s been the weakest part of Peterson’s game, as he is terrible as a blocking running back, a protection back and as a pass catching running back. While Saints coach Payton did praise Peterson’s work in that regard, he did relent by saying that every running back does a bit of everything during “This time of year”. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Peterson ends up being the first and second down back he’s been his entire life and that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Saints. Whether or not that ends up being enough to best the Vikings 1-2-3 punch at running back is still, like a lot of the balls thrown Peterson’s way, up in the air.

Either way, while this has yet to really reach Brett Favre levels of nonsense, I can see now why the Vikings felt that they were beyond ready to move on from the Adrian Peterson show. While it was actually a lot harder, emotionally, than I expected it to be (I kinda grew up watching the guy), it seemed like the right move back then and looks more and more to be the right move now. I really do think that the Vikings have amassed one of the better (On paper), young group of backs in the league, so especially considering the type of offense they’ll employ and the amount of passes to backs they’ll have in 2017. They made the right move(s).

We will see how that works out firsthand as the Vikings face the Saints for their season opener on Monday Night, 9/11 at 7:25. We at purplePTSD.com are actually hosting an awesome viewing party at the Parkway Theater for that game! It’s free to attend, you just have to RSVP! We’ll have food, a full bar, entertainment and give-aways. So, click HERE to RSVP.

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