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Apparently Adrian Peterson's recovery is going extremely well. As always, he has risen above everyone else and has surprised many with how fast he is moving along. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be back for week 1.

That being said, how will be play this year?

It will be hard to expect anything less that we have seen over the last few years, but will this year be different?

I think so, and in a good way.

The vikes have addressed the offense quite a bit this off season. New O-line, upgraded receivers, and are working on a very good tight end duo. If Ponder can connect with these receivers and get a hold of the vikings offense, Peterson will flourish.

We all know that if the pass game is working, the run game usually is left wide open. Teams will have to play the pass and risk Peterson getting the ball. I think that Peterson will come back STRONGER than he was before. He will also have a better idea of his limits. He is growing into a Hall of Fame football player. This injury was going to happen at some point, we all knew that. The way Peterson has run for the last few years is unlike anyone else. He was going to get hurt, just a matter of time. We as vikings fans need to be happy that this injury didnt happen 2 or 3 years down the road, potentially ending APs career.

With the new O-line, upgraded WRs, better offense, APs growth as a player, and Ponder opening up the pass game I think AP is set to have a great year. IF he truly is as far along in the recovery process as they all say he is, he should be able to tear up the NFL.

IF YOU DONT STACK 8 IN THAT DAMN BOX YOU CANT STOP THAT MO-FO!!

Any thoughts?

Depends on Ponder. If hes horse crap like last year, they can put 9 in the box. If Ponder can play even slightly better then average AD should have a good year, even with a bum knee.

I don't think he'll be back in week one. Not because he doesn't want to be back, but because I think the team will bring him along very slowly, including missing the first 4-6 games. This isn't a year where the Vikings are swinging for the fences, so there's no pressing need for Peterson in the early weeks of the season. They'll let him heal fully and then give the injury the benefit of the doubt and hold him back a few more weeks.

How will he do? ... Absolutely nobody knows.

Eli wrote:I don't think he'll be back in week one. Not because he doesn't want to be back, but because I think the team will bring him along very slowly, including missing the first 4-6 games. This isn't a year where the Vikings are swinging for the fences, so there's no pressing need for Peterson in the early weeks of the season. They'll let him heal fully and then give the injury the benefit of the doubt and hold him back a few more weeks.

How will he do? ... Absolutely nobody knows.

That's about how I feel too... I think that is the smartest way to go too, especially since Gerhart had as good of a year as he did, so they know they have a competent RB that defenses have to worry about, rather than focusing on murdering Ponder.

Yes I think he will want to be back in week one, but I think they will bring him back
slower than that.

Eli wrote:
How will he do? ... Absolutely nobody knows.

i agree with most of your post but found this part funny. absolutely nobody knows anything, including how many games we'll win or how good ponder will be......yet it never stops people from giving their opinion.

i think he'll be back before week 4 though....

vikeinmontana wrote: i agree with most of your post but found this part funny. absolutely nobody knows anything, including how many games we'll win or how good ponder will be......yet it never stops people from giving their opinion.

I meant it a bit more seriously than that.

If a bunch of people predict how many wins the Vikings will have, or how well Christian Ponder or Harrison Smith will do this year, then I can look at those opinions and (subconsciously) grade them - I either agree or disagree with them to some extent - perhaps just a little or perhaps very strongly. But no matter what I think of those opinions, I _do_ know that some amount of football knowledge and observational experience went into forming each one.

That can't be said of anyone predicting how well Adrian Peterson will recover from his injury. Few people have even the slightest bit of knowledge about such things, and experience has shown us with similar injuries in the past that nobody can honestly predict the extent of a player's recovery. I wouldn't give the least bit of credence to the opinion of anyone on this planet, not even Peterson himself.

My opinion, AP will be back week one but limited. Ponder has a better year than anyone thought which allows the running game to go to a whole new level. Whatever that means?

Eli wrote:I don't think he'll be back in week one. Not because he doesn't want to be back, but because I think the team will bring him along very slowly, including missing the first 4-6 games. This isn't a year where the Vikings are swinging for the fences, so there's no pressing need for Peterson in the early weeks of the season. They'll let him heal fully and then give the injury the benefit of the doubt and hold him back a few more weeks.

How will he do? ... Absolutely nobody knows.

I wish the Team was precautious like this after his first injury at the end of last year. Shouldn't of rushed him back in like they did.

Viva la Vikings wrote:I wish the Team was precautious like this after his first injury at the end of last year. Shouldn't of rushed him back in like they did.

How about that? I didn't even know precautious was an actual word!

Regarding Peterson: he wouldn't have sustained the knee injury he suffered against the Redskins if he hadn't been on the field but aside from that very obvious fact, I don't think "rushing" him back from his ankle sprain had anything to do with his subsequent injury. He could have sat out the rest of the season and all offseason and if he had taken that hit to the side of his knee when he returned, the result probably would have been the same. It was an unfortunate hit in just the wrong spot.

I have no idea how he'll perform this year but I hope they're cautious with him. I believe he has a legitimate chance to come back from this injury and be as good as he was before but considering the seriousness of the injury, he may not truly return to form until 2013.

Mothman wrote: How about that? I didn't even know precautious was an actual word!

Regarding Peterson: he wouldn't have sustained the knee injury he suffered against the Redskins if he hadn't been on the field but aside from that very obvious fact, I don't think "rushing" him back from his ankle sprain had anything to do with his subsequent injury. He could have sat out the rest of the season and all offseason and if he had taken that hit to the side of his knee when he returned, the result probably would have been the same. It was an unfortunate hit in just the wrong spot.

I have no idea how he'll perform this year but I hope they're cautious with him. I believe he has a legitimate chance to come back from this injury and be as good as he was before but considering the seriousness of the injury, he may not truly return to form until 2013.

Great, Jim is repeating himself again...

PurpleMustReign wrote:Great, Jim is repeating himself again...

huh?

I agree with the consensus in this thread. I hope the Coaches recognize that this is one of the major reasons why they invested a 2nd round pick in Toby Gerhart. They’ve got their stadium now, so there is no reason to put AP at risk unless they rack up some Ws and feel like they need him in mid-season form for the playoffs.

mansquatch wrote:I agree with the consensus in this thread. I hope the Coaches recognize ...

I'd be amazed if the coaches have any real say in the matter. I guarantee you that someone from above has pointed out that the team has an astounding $40M in contract guarantees tied up in this guy. They can't afford to bring him back too early.

Eli wrote: I'd be amazed if the coaches have any real say in the matter. I guarantee you that someone from above has pointed out that the team has an astounding $40M in contract guarantees tied up in this guy. They can't afford to bring him back too early.

I hope your right. Because we wont win 6 games even if he does play. Need to sit him all preseasona dn at least 3 games, so next year, whe it matters, hes 100%.