Inside Adrian Peterson's success
We are seeing a season by a remarkable player that may never be duplicated, and every week the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson continues to make plays that defy description and add to his lore -- all of this production coming after a devastating 2011 knee injury that might have ended the career of a lot of players.
Everybody is talking about AP's numbers in 2012 and the potential in the next two weeks for him to break Eric dikkerson's single-season rushing record, but we will take a different approach here and go into the film room and dissect Peterson -- the football player -- and break down his overall game.
Why has he been so successful this season?
Inside runner
His power is off the charts, and he actually seems to attack defenders with almost a defensive mentality. He is the best back in the NFL in yards after contact and he rarely goes down after the first hit. His pad level is excellent, and he is not an upright runner who gives you a lot of surface to hit.
By nature, Peterson is a north-south runner who does his best work between the tackles. He is a no-nonsense guy who attacks the hole straight on, and there is rarely any wasted movement.
He is very patient inside and may have several carries that produce minimum yardage before he breaks the big run. He is fully aware that those short runs are necessary to set up those big plays. He runs with his knees high and has a nice, wide base. His quickness to the hole is excellent, and his balance is rare for a power back.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Peterson as an inside runner is his breakaway speed when he gets to the second level. You get the feeling that defenses are not prepared for his explosiveness until they see it in person.
Outside runner
Defenses load up the box with eight and nine defenders to slow Peterson down -- almost baiting him to run more outside -- with the mentality that if he is forced to run more east-west it will allow the defensive pursuit to catch up. However, be careful what you wish for.
In 2012, a lot of his big runs are coming outside the tackles, and he has done a terrific job of adjusting his running style. He is Barry Sanders-like in his ability to move along the line of scrimmage and make multilateral cuts as he looks for the hole that he wants. His speed around the edge is very much underrated, and he is almost impossible to bring down in space.
Another subtle skill that he has developed is the ability to press the hole, using a style that reminds you a little bit of LaDainian Tomlinson when he played for the Chargers. With defenses expecting Peterson to attack between the tackles, he will get really deep into the hole, which lures the defender to crash inside and set the edge. When that happens, he can make one of his amazing lateral cuts to bounce the run outside. With defenders stacked to stop him, the more Peterson can lure them inside the more room he has to run outside.
To their credit, the Vikings' tight ends and wide receivers have developed into good second-level/open-field blockers, and that helps on some of those runs.
Another area Peterson excels in is the cutback run. He loves to set up defenders by getting them to over-pursue against off-tackle or outside runs and then cut back against the grain. He has become a quality backside runner. If a defensive front doesn't play with outstanding gap discipline, he will make it look silly.
Offensive schemes
A big part of Peterson's success has been the ability of Minnesota's coaches to adapt their playbook to fit his skills.
His preference in the past was to run out of mostly one-back sets, where he can be more creative. But this year a lot of his explosive runs have come out of two-back sets with a terrific lead fullback, Jerome Felton, out of the I-formation. Peterson has surprising patience as Felton forms the block in front of him, especially on the second level, and there seems to be solid trust between them. They are also very good on the draw play.
The Vikings will also show multiple-tight end sets, overloads and unbalanced looks in the offensive line. They will pull guards and utilize traps and wham blocks in an attempt to give Peterson a crease against the eight- and nine-man fronts. They have even used a three-back formation to give a little more power in their run game. However, this offense is so simplistic that by the time the ball is snapped, there are not a lot of surprises.
All of this run success has come without the benefit of a passing game that scares anybody. Peterson's average gain per carry is higher than quarterback Christian Ponder's average gain per pass. Defenses simply don't respect this passing game on the edges, and that allows them to stack the box versus the run instead of playing more coverage schemes.
One wrinkle we are seeing with Ponder is more bootleg plays to get him outside the pocket. The hope is it will force defenses to widen a little bit, which could give Peterson better run lanes.
Other unique skills
Peterson may have the best stiff-arm of any running back in recent years. It is shocking how many extra edge yards he gets because that arm keeps the defender away from his body.
He has also developed a good spin technique, especially in space as the defender tries to tackle him. When you combine that with his change of direction and lateral quickness, he is tough to contain on the second level.
He has never been a big part of the Vikings' passing game, but, as you would expect, he has worked to improve as an outlet receiver and also as a blocker in blitz pickup. I have never seen a player who seems to be more determined to get better in his areas of perceived weakness.
He was a little bit of a fumbler early in his career, but his ball security is much better now. He is terrific at changing the arm he uses to carry the ball to prevent the defenders from knocking it out.
What should we expect in the final two games?
This team is fully aware that the only chance it has to get into the playoffs is to ride Peterson's legs -- and every opponent knows it, too. While he didn't miss any games early in the season, his coaches put him on a little bit of a "pitch count" and limited his carries. But now there are no limitations and he will get a lot of touches down the stretch.
His last two regular-season opponents, Houston and Green Bay, are not playing defense at an elite level right now -- partly because of injuries -- so plays are there to be had. It is going to be fun to watch if he can break dikkerson's record and lead the Vikings to the postseason.
