Adrian Peterson: Is He the Greatest Ever?
September 25, 2009 – 10:00 am by Jimmy Shapiro
This post is courtesy of Tim Gunter from 790 the Zone in Atlanta. No matter who you are you have got to like watching Adrian Peterson run the ball except when it is against your team. He is one of the most talented backs that I have seen in a long time. I still think he should have won the Heisman Trophy as a true freshman at Oklahoma when he ran for 1,925 yards. He had the same impact for the Vikings as an NFL rookie when he rushed for 1,341 yards which he then eventually won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. It baffles me that JaMarcus Russell was picked #1 overall and A.P. was selected 7th. With the addition of Brett Favre at quarterback, with Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian at wide receiver, with a great offensive line and a pretty good defense, the Vikings should win the Super Bowl barring an unforeseen collapse. Wouldn’t that be great for Brett Favre to finally get his 2nd Lombardi Trophy and ride off into the sunset? Ok maybe not.
Adrian Peterson joined Fox Sports Radio to talk about how he is dealing with the back pain against the 49ers, hearing praise from Jim Brown that he may be one of the greatest of all-time, how much he talks to Brett Favre about greatness, whether it is realistic to make a run at Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record, what stands out about the last time they played the 49ers, and whether he has any fear that his style of running will shorten his career.
On how he is dealing with the back pain against the 49ers:
“I am dealing with it pretty good. I just had a weak back.”
On if he is going to get extra padding or painkillers or just play through it:
“I am going to play through it. It’s really not that serious. I am going to play through it. I am ready to go.”
On hearing praise from Jim Brown that he may be one of the greatest of all-time:
“It sits well. To hear it come out of Jim Brown’s mouth it means a lot knowing that he was the best running back to play the game. It really means a lot. It motivates me to keep on working and perfect my craft.”
On how much he talks to Brett Favre about greatness:
“He is my next door neighbor in the locker room. I talk to him from time to time to try and drain as much wisdom as possible. I get caught up sometimes looking to my right at Brett Favre. He is right here. I used to watch him in middle school and now I am playing with him. He is handing me the ball.”
On whether it is realistic to make a run at Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record:
“Oh yeah it’s more than realistic. I definitely believe that with the group of guys that we have on the offensive side of the ball and defensive side of the ball, it’s up there you know. It’s definitely possible to crush it.”
On what stands out about the last time they played the 49ers:
“Oh man that was the worst game of my career. The worst game that I ever played as a football player. They did a good job defensively… But when I watch film, I was able to notice that it was really about what I was doing. The offensive line did a good job. I was really putting the offensive line in some bad positions on some plays. I really learned a lot from those tapes. Being more patient, setting guys up, giving the offensive lineman more time to get on their guy. When I looked at the tape it was more like, those guys did a great job on defense, it was all that I did that really disrupted a lot of plays.”
On whether he has any fear that his style of running will shorten his career:
“I just go out and play ball. I don’t think of any injuries or anything like that. When I am out there and delivering a blow from someone I am going hard and I am going hard. I am actually the one that delivers the blow so they are getting the most force from the collision.”
Listen to Adrian Peterson on Fox Sports Radio with Chris Myers and Steve Hartman
Tags: Adrian Peterson, All Day, greatest running backs ever, Jim Brown, Minnesota Vikings, NFC North
