Call me crazy

[Doc1001]

but i would be more comfortable with the vikings re signing Chester Taylor and play him for the most part than Adrian Peterson. Because of his fumble we lost home field advantage to the saints---and then in New Orleans----we lost the game again mainly due to him.He was instrumental in many of our low points of the year. He does explode but has far too many two yard gains. The fumbles are going to keep happening. As good as he is ---he will kill us when we least need it. Culpepper used to do the same thing.

[GophersInIowa]

but i would be more comfortable with the vikings re signing Chester Taylor and play him for the most part than Adrian Peterson. Because of his fumble we lost home field advantage to the saints---and then in New Orleans----we lost the game again mainly due to him.He was instrumental in many of our low points of the year. He does explode but has far too many two yard gains. The fumbles are going to keep happening. As good as he is ---he will kill us when we least need it. Culpepper used to do the same thing.

You're crazy! :D

The two yard gains are just as much the OL's fault as Peterson's. Yes AD needs to get better and finding the holes sometimes but our OL was not very good run blocking this year.

As for the fumbles, I agree it needs to get better. But it is not as bad as some think. Through his first three seasons, Peterson has fumbled 20 times (regular season only, not going to look up playoff games for all these players). Other notable RBs and how often they fumbled their first three seasons:
Emmitt Smith - 19
Barry Sanders - 19
Earl Campbell - 21
Tony Dorsett - 28
Walter Payton - 30
Eric Dickerson - 37 (fumbled 49 times in 4 seasons!)

Attempts per fumble over the course of their entire career:
Payton - one fumble every 50.3 touches (attempts + receptions)
Dickerson - one fumble every 42 touches
Dorsett - one fumble every 37 touches
Peterson through three seasons - one fumble every 49.9 touches

I know his fumbling is an issue and I think he needs to get better at it. But it's not as bad as we sometimes make it out to be, especially considering he is a power RB.

Oh, and there are many reasons we lost home field advantage and the game at NO. Peterson was a reason, but there are many, many guys to blame.

[jamiche]

You're crazy! :D

The two yard gains are just as much the OL's fault as Peterson's. Yes AD needs to get better and finding the holes sometimes but our OL was not very good run blocking this year.

As for the fumbles, I agree it needs to get better. But it is not as bad as some think. Through his first three seasons, Peterson has fumbled 20 times (regular season only, not going to look up playoff games for all these players). Other notable RBs and how often they fumbled their first three seasons:
Emmitt Smith - 19
Barry Sanders - 19
Earl Campbell - 21
Tony Dorsett - 28
Walter Payton - 30
Eric Dickerson - 37 (fumbled 49 times in 4 seasons!)

Attempts per fumble over the course of their entire career:
Payton - one fumble every 50.3 touches (attempts + receptions)
Dickerson - one fumble every 42 touches
Dorsett - one fumble every 37 touches
Peterson through three seasons - one fumble every 49.9 touches

I know his fumbling is an issue and I think he needs to get better at it. But it's not as bad as we sometimes make it out to be, especially considering he is a power RB.

Oh, and there are many reasons we lost home field advantage and the game at NO. Peterson was a reason, but there are many, many guys to blame.

My issue with Peterson is more that he has lost a step than the fumbling, though the fumbling has gotten progressively worse. There were a number of times this year that he broke free and was caught from behind. That didn't happen the first two seasons. I think he's so beat up that he has peaked as a running back (not unusual in the NFL).

[GophersInIowa]

My issue with Peterson is more that he has lost a step than the fumbling, though the fumbling has gotten progressively worse. There were a number of times this year that he broke free and was caught from behind. That didn't happen the first two seasons. I think he's so beat up that he has peaked as a running back (not unusual in the NFL).

You could be right about him losing a step or two. It seemed to me that he hardly could get up to full speed whenever he had some daylight. Maybe he was never fully 100% this year, who knows.

But again, with the fumbling, statistically he was about the same from 2008 to 2009. In '08, he fumbled once every 44.9 touches, compared to once every 45.7 touches this past year. This includes the playoff games from the last two years as well.

So he actually hasn't gotten worse. It may be a little far-fetched, but you could make an argument that he has gotten a little better, being that defenses now really key in on trying to take the ball from him.

[jamiche]

You could be right about him losing a step or two. It seemed to me that he hardly could get up to full speed whenever he had some daylight. Maybe he was never fully 100% this year, who knows.

But again, with the fumbling, statistically he was about the same from 2008 to 2009. In '08, he fumbled once every 44.9 touches, compared to once every 45.7 touches this past year. This includes the playoff games from the last two years as well.

So he actually hasn't gotten worse. It may be a little far-fetched, but you could make an argument that he has gotten a little better, being that defenses now really key in on trying to take the ball from him.

Using your stats, it's still a pretty dramatic change from his rookie year when he averaged a fumble every 59.10 carries. Over the last two years defenses have really keyed on taking the ball from him and it doesn't look like he has adapted.

I remember one run this year (don't remember the game or the player) when he was taken down from behind by a linebacker. Pretty surprising.

[GophersInIowa]

Using your stats, it's still a pretty dramatic change from his rookie year when he averaged a fumble every 59.10 carries. Over the last two years defenses have really keyed on taking the ball from him and it doesn't look like he has adapted.

I remember one run this year (don't remember the game or the player) when he was taken down from behind by a linebacker. Pretty surprising.

I guess I was more responding to your comment of him getting "progressively worse."

Peterson is a guy that fights for the extra yard and doesn't like to just "go down" or run out of bounds. I like guys who fight for the extra yard, but that also means a better chance of fumbles. The one against the Packers where Matthews took the ball and returned it for a TD was a good example of that. Most RBs in that situation would have just gone down. I personally like that he fights for every yard he can get.

I'm really not worried about him. When he fumbles or has a bad game, no one is harder on him than himself. It's easy to see how pissed off he gets when he screws up. That's why I think he'll work as hard as he can to get better.

[Bayfieldgopher]

I agree with doc. Actually I wish the Queens would trade AP for an established QB, a couple of top draft choices or two solid OL. Chester Taylor is a good enough to get us to a Super Bowl but the Queens need to beef up the OL. Even if Farve plays one more season, who will be the QB?

[Doc1001]

that Pierre Thomas of NO. He is a rough son of a gun. Dont see him fumbling much at least when I have watched him and is as tough as nails.