2008 Woodie Awards
Forget rookie of the year, Peterson might be the MVP
Matt Bailey
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Sports
So I'm pissed off. I do this confidence poll every week, in which you select all 14 (because of bye weeks, there are typically only 14 games a week) games and allocate a different point to each team you expect to win. 14 points to the "obvious" blow out victory of the week (hopefully), and one point to a game you have no idea who will win.
Last week, after looking at the match-ups, injuries and trends, I decided to go ahead and put San Diego at 14 points against the Vikings.
After all, the Chargers were winners of three straight, finally had LT going and essentially have dominated the NFC over the past three years. In addition, Kelly Holcomb was out for the Vikings, who were 2-5, and Tarvaris Jackson (who?) was starting.
So I'm thinking, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am a free 14 points. Not so much. Because my beloved Packers were on, I didn't get to see the live feed of what ended up being the AP show. I'm talking of course, about Adrian Peterson, who needn't play one more game but already has ROY honor's locked up.
I knew heading into the game he was good, and honestly, the world did too because of his 224 yard performance a few weeks back. But I didn't think he would duplicate that anytime soon much less break the all-time single game rushing mark a few weeks later. I mean come on, just put nine players in the box for God's sake because the Vikings have a pathetic passing game. In fact they average 30 more yards rushing than passing per game. Here's the thing I learned: They put nine in the box, and it didn't matter.
Luckily, the game had made my Tivo list and with a few quick "bloop-blops," the game was on my television as if it were live. Naturally, I forwarded through any Chargers possession, though I did watch the 109 yard field goal return a few times.
My main focus was to see how Peterson was able to accomplish this feat. After watching the sequence of plays, there was no pattern, other than Peterson doing whatever he wanted. He ran the ball about every possible way you could run it. He ran through people, he ran stretch plays, he ran draws, he ran sweeps, he waited for blockers, showed finesse… get the drift?
Last week, after looking at the match-ups, injuries and trends, I decided to go ahead and put San Diego at 14 points against the Vikings.
After all, the Chargers were winners of three straight, finally had LT going and essentially have dominated the NFC over the past three years. In addition, Kelly Holcomb was out for the Vikings, who were 2-5, and Tarvaris Jackson (who?) was starting.
So I'm thinking, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am a free 14 points. Not so much. Because my beloved Packers were on, I didn't get to see the live feed of what ended up being the AP show. I'm talking of course, about Adrian Peterson, who needn't play one more game but already has ROY honor's locked up.
I knew heading into the game he was good, and honestly, the world did too because of his 224 yard performance a few weeks back. But I didn't think he would duplicate that anytime soon much less break the all-time single game rushing mark a few weeks later. I mean come on, just put nine players in the box for God's sake because the Vikings have a pathetic passing game. In fact they average 30 more yards rushing than passing per game. Here's the thing I learned: They put nine in the box, and it didn't matter.
Luckily, the game had made my Tivo list and with a few quick "bloop-blops," the game was on my television as if it were live. Naturally, I forwarded through any Chargers possession, though I did watch the 109 yard field goal return a few times.
My main focus was to see how Peterson was able to accomplish this feat. After watching the sequence of plays, there was no pattern, other than Peterson doing whatever he wanted. He ran the ball about every possible way you could run it. He ran through people, he ran stretch plays, he ran draws, he ran sweeps, he waited for blockers, showed finesse… get the drift?
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