All Star running back Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings is closing in on the 2000 yards rushing mark for 2012. Not many guys have ever even come close to that mark. So far he has 1812 total rushing yards for the season with just 2 games remaining in regular season play. Peterson has averaged an incredible 6.3 yards per carry over 289 carries and has 11 rushing touchdowns this year.
Peterson is in his 6th season in the NFL out of the University of Oklahoma. He wears jersey number 28 for the Vikings, weighs in at 217 pounds and is 6’1” tall.
The NFL record for a single season rushing is 2,105 yards and is held by the great Eric Dickerson. That record has stood since 1984 and Dickerson has gone on record to say that he would rather not see someone break his long standing mark….and Peterson says that he understands. So there. Both Dickerson and Peterson are from Texas and comparisons between the two greats are inevitable.
The most amazing part of the story is that last year Adrian Peterson tore his ACL & MCL. I remember when he had to be carted off the field and, at that point his prospects looked pretty sad indeed. He has worked through the injury and the pain and has returned to the football field better than ever before. It seemed certain that Payton Manning would be a shoe in for the comeback player of the year, but now, it could go either way. Peterson has certainly come a long ways back.
Some say that he has now taken over the title of “Best Running Back Alive” from LaDainian Tomlinson. His thrilling offensive performances this year would certainly back that up. Peterson does not get caught from behind. He has excellent vision and power at the line of scrimmage, but, once he gets a lead, forget it…he’s gone! His most impressive ability is to make tacklers miss in the open field with subtle shakes of the shoulders and hips. He leaves defenders gasping for air as he races for the end zone.
Minnesota will face the Houston Texans next week down in Texas and then take on the Green Bay Packers at home. Adrian Peterson needs just 294 yards to break Dickerson’s long standing record. That’s about 147 yards per game. Over the last eight games, Peterson has averaged over 164 rushing yards per game so the record is very much in jeopardy.
