*FAN SUBMISSION by Bennett Rhodes.*
Courtesy: CBS Sports
With the NFL season quickly approaching every team and player has a lot of questions. One topic being subtly overlooked is the Adrian Peterson controversy that surrounds the Minnesota Vikings. He was indicted on reckless or negligent injury to a child last September and given two years probation. Though he was recently removed from judicial obligations, he did only play one game last year. While Adrian Peterson has also reached the dreaded 30 year old benchmark for running backs.
He may have missed a year on the commissioner’s exempt list, but through it all the Minnesota Vikings still have confidence in his ability. Adrian Peterson has been consistently rated as the best back in the league throughout his entire career, with his best season coming in his 2000 yard 2012 campaign. His offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, also has a good history with some well known ball carriers, who carry the workload for the offense including: Emmitt Smith, Ricky Williams, Frank Gore, and LaDainian Tomlinson. With Turner calling the plays, Peterson may again be the focal point of the Minnesota Vikings attack, making an impact people may not have expected (even by his standards).
Now that his legal issues are behind him, he can focus on football, while trying to prove he still remains the top back in the NFL. There is plenty of upside with Peterson, however he is not just going to magically have another 1,000 yard season. The Minnesota Vikings will be dependent on Adrian Peterson’s ability to control the ground game, but they should make sure that they don’t overwork the 30 year old. Even with the (unwanted) time off last season, there is a shelf life for ball carriers in the NFL. It is reasonable to believe that his skills will decline over the next couple seasons before being forced into retirement.
So what type of back will we see this season out of Adrian Peterson? It may just be based on how he is able to translate back onto the field with the added ridicule of his off-field transgressions. Although Adrian Peterson has the credentials to be an impact player, we will have to wait and see if he is still “All Day.”
