tone1oc
Footballguy
This is the kind of discussion I was trying to steer. I haven't watched every game of his, I did catch a good amount of the Bears game and a few others and I could probably concede that the O-Line isn't that good. Even with that said, it seems he used to be able to overcome that. The Bears game did include many more smaller chunk runs, which is definitely a good sign for owners. I'm not so sure though that it didn't have more to do with the Bears being bad, than him and/or oline turning the corner.Sure. The offensive line has not been playing well until the most recent game against the Bears. Part of that is because they played against Denver (very good defense) and KC who effectively run blitzed and caused a lot of tackles for loss because the offensive line isn't good enough. The Vikings have had some success in the passing game and the Bears do not have the personnel on defense to apply pressure and run blitz the way that Denver and KC can. Against the Bears Peterson did not have many long runs but instead consistently got good yardage running in the middle.Can we talk about how he looks flat out awful on about 90% of his runs? It's amazing to me that he keeps on ripping off a long run almost every game which definitely masks the odor of most of his production.
I'm not trying to cherry pick stats here, but I read that he has the largest %age of runs of < 2yds (can't remember where I saw the stat the past week or so, I did some searching and couldn't find). I think his decline has already started, though its still masked by volume.
Peterson has converted many 1st downs as well. Some of the low yardage runs have been when the Vikings only needed one or two yards to get the 1st down. The offensive line has not been good enough to create any push in goal line situations.
Peterson in interview that I linked above he says himself that he has been stopping his feet when he doesn't see a hole right away. That he didn't used to do that. Some times he said he was trying to make a big play, which when you are facing 8 defenders in the box is hard to do. He says he needs to keep his feet moving and keep his power ahead of him, something he can't do if he stops his feet.
Strangely Peterson being away from the game for almost a season has him kind of starting over on a lot of things he has developed over the years. He still suck in pass protection which is strange to me. I remember being critical of former Vikings coaches for not using him in the passing game more early in his career. But Chester Taylor was much better at this aspect of the game than Peterson and I am not sure the coaches really tried to develop Peterson as a receiver. That development is on him as well, and he has stated this was a goal of his, to become a better all around RB and football player like Walter Payton was, yet it still hasn't happened.
To the current coaches credit they gave Peterson the opportunity to be more involved in the passing game. But after Peterson failed multiple pass protections over the first few games they made a change and have had Matt Asiata on 3rd downs since.
The new boss is the same as the old boss. Obviously it would be an advantage to have Peterson in the game on 3rd downs if he were good enough at it. He isn't and the coaches adapt to what the players can do or not do. Even with players as good as Peterson.
Is there something to be said that maybe he just doesn't have the quick burst he use to, but still has the long speed and power to break through second defenders? He just doesn't look like the player I'm used to seeing, even on some of his longer runs. Perhaps I'm reading to much into it.
I did dig up a few interesting stats from Rich Hribar via his weekly Worksheet on rotoworld (a great weekly read)
- Adrian Peterson leads the league in rushing attempts inside of the 5-yard line with 11, but has converted just one for a touchdown.
- Peterson has carried 69 times for 192 yards (2.8 YPC) in the first half of games this season and 51 times for 338 yards (6.6 YPC) in the second half. His 3.8 YPC increase in the second half is the second highest in the league.
- Peterson ranks 42nd in points per touch (.68) on the season out of all backs with 50 or more touches.
Thanks again for a nice breakdown.
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one of the worst posts ever in the shark pool....and that's saying a lot.