Adrian Peterson is learning how to be patient.
The Minnesota Vikings were, in a way, spoiled last season. Not in the standings, where they faltered in the final two weeks and finished 8-8. But in the backfield, where Peterson began all those are-you-kidding highlight-reel runs.
As a rookie, he accounted for seven gains of 50 yards or more, including scampers of 73, 67 and 64 yards, plus a bobbled swing pass he turned into a 60-yard reception for his first NFL touchdown.
Peterson was almost solely responsible for the resuscitation of Minnesota’s offense, which has been lagging behind the league average and bogged down by failed third-and-longs since coach Brad Childress arrived in 2006. Peterson had a pair of show-stopping performances last fall: In those games against Chicago and San Diego, he combined for 520 yards and six scores.
Even before the 2007 season ended, opposing defenses were well aware of the danger and they were determined to make it as difficult as possible for Peterson to find room — daring Minnesota’s unimposing passing attack to move the chains.
This year, that stack-the-line strategy has predictably persisted. Though Gus Frerotte has begun to find a rhythm with his receivers and the passing totals over the past month have slowly increased, the Vikings still don’t have an aerial attack that foes fear. Plus, Frerotte was picked off four times in last week’s 48-41 loss to the Bears.
Peterson, thus, must continue plugging away. Keep pushing the pile for that extra yard. Keep waiting for the hole in the secondary to appear. Keep fighting the temptation to pump those gifted feet as fast as he can when the blocking in front of him just isn’t there.
“I always go in with the mind-set that I want to score every time I get the ball,”
Peterson said recently. “The coaches are saying, ‘You don’t want to focus on that. Every play is not going to be a touchdown or 60-yard run. Be patient. Continue to pound and eventually it will open up.’ ”
On Sunday in Chicago, Peterson broke free for his first big gain of his sophomore season: a 54-yard burst for a score that pulled Minnesota within three points early in the third quarter. But he didn’t have the same impact on the final result and on his other carries against the Bears as the year before. Take away the long touchdown, and he totaled 67 yards and one score on 21 attempts.
In fact, Peterson’s performance has strangely had minimal effect on the outcome this year for the Vikings. All five of his touchdowns were recorded in losses, and two of his three lost fumbles came in a game they won.
In four defeats, Peterson is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. In three victories, the average is 3.5.
“Each game has its own story,”
Peterson said. “That’s how I really view it. I don’t go in with the attitude of thinking about it in a negative way. You’ll never be successful. I let each game play out.”
Childress and the offensive coaches are trying to get Peterson to let each run play out, too. Last week in Chicago, early in the second quarter, Peterson lost 3 yards on a particular carry after the Vikings had reached the Bears 19. He got the ball on the next play, ran to the right and saw no room.
Rather than putting his head down and using his power to scrap for a couple of yards, Peterson planted and raced to his left. Even he wasn’t fast enough to get around the end, and Brian Urlacher brought him down for a 4-yard loss.
“When you take that into your own hand and try to force it, you end up with a result like that: minus-4,”
Childress said. “Because he has that home-run mentality, which you love, you have to fight against yourself.”
Despite the growing pains, the Vikings consistently balk at suggestions they take Peterson’s ability for granted. Teammates and coaches, as well as opponents, haven’t offered any less praise despite his, uh, glaring lack of 200-yard games. He is, after all, still second in the league behind Washington’s Clinton Portis with 684 yards rushing.
“You can’t say enough how great it is to have him back there,”
center Matt Birk said. “Aside from the accomplishments and the achievements — just the way he approaches this thing every day and the way he plays. He came in with this ‘All Day’ nickname, and you kind of think, ‘Well, that was college. Whatever.’ But it’s the real deal. The guy is 100 miles an hour, all the time. Even in walkthroughs, he does it.”
Therein lies the challenge for Peterson, who is as frustrated as any of the Vikings by the 3-4 record they took into their bye week. They emerge with consecutive home games against Houston and Green Bay, but the schedule appears only slightly more kind than a difficult first-half slate.
To make the playoffs and likely save Childress’s job, they must stop turning over the ball and putting themselves in unfavorable downs and distances on offense. They must stop giving up long passes down the middle at inopportune times. And they must stop making inexcusable and inexplicable gaffes on special teams.
“We’re a good team, and we’ve just got to keep going,”
Frerotte said, adding: “We have a lot of optimism, and we say we’re going to move ahead and get ready to play Houston. That’s all we can look at. And there’s a lot of games left.’ ”
