Vikings: Where's Adrian? Analysts spout their theories

Vikings: Where's Adrian? Analysts spout their theories


Running back Adrian Peterson isn't about to question how the Vikings coaching staff elects to use him, but NFL analysts are more than willing to express their opinions.

"If I had Adrian Peterson on my team, I think any time I started a series I would always have him in there," said John Madden, the analyst for NBC's Sunday night telecasts. "I know you can't play one running back every down, but I'd sure have him in there every first down."

Adrian Peterson had two rushing attempts and three touches in the second half of the Vikings' 23-16 loss last Sunday to Green Bay after he gained 108 yards on 10 carries in the opening two quarters.

Adrian Peterson, the seventh pick in the NFL draft, has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the Vikings' four games and is tied for 11th in the NFL with 85 touches. Nonetheless, the way he is being used has come into question in the past two weeks.

Adrian Peterson's reduced workload in the second half against the Packers -- the result of returning kicks, according to the Vikings -- came after he wasn't involved in the two-minute offense in the Vikings' final drive in a 13-10 loss at Kansas City. That was, in part, because of concerns about his pass protection.

"I thought that we were going to see a lot more of Adrian Peterson and he would be put in a position to kind of carry this football team," said Cris Collinsworth, a member of NBC's NFL studio show. "I personally think Adrian Peterson is their best player [and] has to see the ball a lot more."

ESPN's Merril Hoge spent eight seasons playing running back for the Steelers and Bears and breaks down coaches' film of games. Hoge watched tape of the Vikings-Packers on Thursday and came away with three observations, two of which support the Vikings' decision:

• Adrian Peterson is not yet ready to be put in a position where he has to pass-protect on a regular basis;

• Running back Chester Taylor "is not chopped liver" and needs to be included in the mix.

• Hoge's third point, however, is this: If the Vikings had wanted to get Adrian Peterson involved in the second half, there was a way to do it. Namely, not work out of the shotgun formation 59 percent of the time (16 out of 27 plays) in a half in which the team's biggest deficit was 14 points. "I would have used different formations and different play calling," Hoge said. "Made [the Packers] think of more than just pass."

Hoge was asked what he saw that served as an indication Adrian Peterson still has plenty of room to grow in pass protection.

"In the second half ,they tried to put him in there to get the ball in his hands and you could tell he's uncertain," Hoge said. "Going into third down [the running back has] to know everything the quarterback knows. You have to understand protections and pressures and how coverages change. There is no way he can know that right now."

JC Pearson, a former NFL player who has worked the past three Vikings games as an analyst for Fox, said keeping Adrian Peterson on the field in potential blocking situations would be as simple as flaring him out. "Now, one of the linebackers who might be blitzing would have to come off and cover him," Pearson said. "If they don't [put the linebacker on Adrian Peterson] you throw him the ball. There are different ways to get him in the game without just making him a blocker."

Taylor missed games at Detroit and Kansas City because of a hip injury before returning against the Packers. He carried the ball eight times for 40 yards and had nine touches. Last season, Taylor rushed for 1,216 yards in his first year with the Vikings.

"Sometimes I think it's a really difficult thing when a rookie comes in with that kind of talent because you have a guy like a Chester Taylor ... and you go, 'Oh, well, he's getting benched for this guy,'" Collinsworth said. "And there are internal pressures that I don't think everybody always understands."

That being said, Collinsworth stands by his statement that Adrian Peterson must play, admitting he was "stunned by [Adrian Peterson's] talent" after watching tape of the running back from his time at Oklahoma.

Hoge feels that any talk about Adrian Peterson's playing time or sharing the load with Taylor will disappear by 2008.

"On a scale of one to 10 -- 10 being a gifted, special runner -- Adrian Peterson is a 10 and Chester Taylor is a seven," Hoge said. "Seven is pretty damn good, but 10 is special. All indications are he's going to be a dominant back. Ultimately [next year] he would become the main ball carrier and Chester would be the third-down back. I would make him earn that, and right now he's doing that."

[www.startribune.com]