For Peterson, There's Always Work to Do

Sports Commentary

Just halfway through his rookie season, Adrian Peterson has already topped 1,000 yards, toppled the defending NFC champs on their home turf and posted the best game ever by a running back -- with the reigning MVP (LaDainian Tomlinson) watching from the opposite sideline.

Ex-coaches and players are gushing about his potential ("I've never seen a talent like this," former NFL MVP Terrell Davis said on the NFL Network) and forecasting an inevitable letdown ("He is going to hit what we call that rookie wall," former San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said on the same show).

But covering him since the Minnesota Vikings drafted him in April, I am confident that I'm not rushing to this conclusion: There's plenty more to come.

His rare combination of size, speed and shiftiness were on display at the Metrodome Sunday, as he gained an NFL-record 296 rushing yards in a 35-17 upset of the San Diego Chargers. But an equally important, albeit understated, asset of Peterson's was on display Sunday night at his Eden Prairie home.

Around 6 p.m., with the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New England Patriots in what was trumpeted as the greatest regular season game in NFL history, Peterson retired to his bedroom with his father, Nelson, turned on the television, and scrutinized his record performance.

The block he missed. The hole he didn't see. The fumble that didn't have to happen.

"He had a couple of carries where he was going down the left hand side of the field, and he had the ball in his right arm," Nelson said. "It should have been in his outside hand."

That may sound hypercritical, like nitpicking Michelangelo for using too many neutral colors on the Sistine Chapel or Louis Armstrong for sounding too gravelly in belting out "What a Wonderful World." But Nelson has always challenged the son he nicknamed, "All Day."

An energetic and athletic boy, Adrian was always the fastest and strongest, yet he was constantly reminded by his father that there were other kids beyond the limits of their tiny town of Palestine, about two hours from Dallas.

"My dad always keeps me in check, and he says, 'Success is like a light switch. It can cut on and cut off just like that,' " Adrian said, snapping his fingers together.

So that is why Adrian isn't offended when his father begrudgingly gave him an A-minus hours after he did what nobody else had done in NFL history. That is why Adrian runs what teammates call "suicide sprints" after practices on Wednesday and Thursday. That is why he often meets with his position coach, former NFL running back Eric Bieniemy, before practice, after practice, during lunch, and even on his off day. And that is why Peterson keeps doing the seemingly impossible -- because he doesn't dwell on his past and he doesn't handcuff his future.

He is that rare athlete blessed with the physical gifts of a blue chipper but the intangibles of the 53rd man on an NFL roster.

When he decided he would forego the final year of his eligibility at Oklahoma last year, Adrian and Nelson devised a game plan and budgeted most of his time to football and family. While he has a handful of endorsements -- most notably Nike, Muscle Milk and Qwest -- Adrian has advised his marketing agent, Bill Henkel of 10 Sports Marketing, to pass on nearly all of the opportunities that require his precious in-season time.

He spent a portion of his offseason working out at A.P.I., the renowned workout facility in Tempe, Arizona, and he spent countless hours poring over film and practicing his craft on a practice field with Bieniemy at the Vikings' headquarters.

"He had a plan," said Bieniemy, who played running back for nine NFL season and played on Colorado's 1991 national championship team. "He wanted to prove to everybody why he is, who he is. He had goals and aspirations of playing and wanting to show what he could do right away."

Bieniemy sent Adrian home with playbooks and tapes, including a cut-up of Tomlinson, always dangling that carrot of getting on the field in front of Adrian's sometimes glazed-over eyes.

"We basically were going to school," Bieniemy said. "I told him, 'Anyone can run the ball at this level. But can you learn the pass protections, and the pass routes and be a complete player?'

"So he challenged himself to learn everything as fast as he can, which is pretty much impossible."

Now, when they watch film together, Adrian explains to Bieniemy what he is seeing, so the coach can see the game through his prized player's eyes.

Asked about Bieniemy, Adrian said, "He drives me crazy sometimes, (and) I drive him crazy sometimes.

"But we still love each other, so that's what matters."

There were numerous adjustments Adrian had to make.

For starters, because of his explosiveness, he often lined up nine yards deep at Oklahoma. That wasn't going to fly in the NFL. He also needed to shore up his pass-catching -- he only caught 24 passes during his collegiate career -- and, most importantly, his pass-blocking skills.

But Bieniemy said Adrian’s greatest gift may also be his greatest hurdle.

"He’s learning that he’s got to slow it down, and let the game come to him, and not force the issue," Bieniemy said. "That's always going to be a big challenge for him. He's a self-motivator, so he wants to get things done now."

Off the field, though, Adrian exercises more patience.

Given his countless records and awards -- he was the NFL offensive rookie of the month for September and October, and he’s the early favorite for November, as well -- Adrian has had numerous opportunities to cash in with appearances, commercials and signings. But he refuses to deviate from his original plan. During his bye week, he did multiple shoots for Qwest, and he signed some cards and memorabilia. But Henkel, his agent Ben Dogra of CAA, and his brother Derek, who coordinates much of his schedule, know better than to bother him on Tuesday.

That is A.D., Adrian’s Day.

He sleeps in, usually waking up before noon, and he heads to Winter Park for a full-body workout. Then, he meets with Bieniemy before returning home to lounge around and clear his head.

"It’s my day off," Adrian said. "I like to relax, and get my body right, and my mind right for practice on Wednesday."

That sort of discipline has impressed Adrian's veteran teammates. In his previous 12 NFL seasons, Pro Bowl fullback Tony Richardson has played alongside some of the league's elite backs, including Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson. But Richardson said Adrian has the potential to be the "best of all time," and he marveled at the rookie’s demeanor.

"With all the success that he's having, he's still even keeled, and he hasn't changed," Richardson said. "Really, it's not even fazing him. Yeah, he broke an NFL record. But to him, it's like, 'Hey, I'm just doing what I’m supposed to do.'

"A lot of times, you see young guys trying to do everything, and burning the candle on both ends, trying to be at every appearance," Richardson said. "He's not doing that. He's focused on football. And that’s impressive."

Neither Richardson nor Bieniemy are concerned about Adrian hitting the proverbial rookie wall, as Mariucci suggested. Adrian gets his rest, and he continues to run and lift throughout the week. He refuses, he said, to be one of the players who "lose sight" of the value of working out.

"You get to this level, and (coaches) don't make you do it, and it's easy to fade away from that," Adrian said. "So that's one thing I told myself I was going to do. I was going to make sure I focus on what got me here, and just continue to do those things."

Adrian may be too humble and modest to proclaim his goals, but Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards is surely in his crosshairs. But the young back who runs as smooth as Gale Sayers and punishes defenders with the ferocity of Jim Brown also has a cornerback’s short-term memory when it comes to his accomplishments.

"I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I haven’t been surprised by very much of anything," said Bieniemy, who recruited Adrian out of Palestine High School. "The kid has been doing this his whole entire life.

"I know he’s only into his eighth game," Bieniemy said, "but this is who he is."

Sean Jensen can be reached at nothinbutlovefor@aol.com.