Despite Adrian Peterson injury, Sam Bradford gives Vikings reason for hope

Adrian Peterson - Unbreakable

USA TODAY Sports" Tom Pelissero recaps the biggest takeaways from Sunday"s games.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford (8) smiles following the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.(Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)

MINNEAPOLIS For a guy best known for his injury history when he arrived here 15 days ago, Sam Bradford sure earned a lot of points for not backing down from a beating in his Minnesota Vikings debut Sunday night.

That dude is one tough (expletive), Vikings guard Alex Boone told USA TODAY Sports after Bradford completed 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns (and officially took 10 hits) in a 17-14 triumph over the rival Green Bay Packers.

There was a couple times he got hit I thought he was dead. He wasnt moving, so I had to pick him up. Im like, Sam, dont be dead. Next play: (Expletive) bullet. Youre going, Jesus, this guys a beast!

The Vikings needed that production and resiliency from their new quarterback on a night they again struggled to get star running back Adrian Peterson going before he was carried to the locker room in the third quarter with a right knee injury.

Peterson had minimal swelling and could extend his leg after the game, providing optimism he avoided a season-ending ACL tear an injury Bradford is familiar with, since two of them are responsible for 25 of the 35 starts he missed because of health in his first six NFL seasons.

Bradford, 28, did go briefly to the locker room Sunday for an X-ray after taking a helmet to his left (non-throwing) hand on the Vikings first touchdown drive, causing nasty swelling from his wrist to his pinkie that was captured by NBCs cameras.

It was nice and fat, tight end Kyle Rudolph said of Bradfords hand. But hes gutsy. Just to stand in there and take hit after hit it speaks volume of him as a player and a person.

Equally impressive: Bradford outplayed two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers with all of two weeks to learn Norv Turners offense and about a half-dozen practices under his belt, including three last week getting most of the reps after veteran backup Shaun Hill started the opener.

Coach Mike Zimmer said the plan was to get Bradford into that first game at Tennessee, because he didnt think this the first regular-season game at the new $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium, not to mention one on national TV against a blitz-happy Packers defense was the best atmosphere for the former No. 1 overall draft pick to make his Vikings debut.

But it didnt seem to bother Bradford, who connected withRudolph on an out for the first score (and took a hit from Clay Matthews) and Stefon Diggs on a post for the second (and took a hit from Mike Daniels). Perhaps Bradfords best throw was a 44-yard strike on a deep crossing route to Diggs, who made a fingertip grab that helped set up a field goal before halftime.

Its unbelievable to have timing like that when we havent even been together for two full weeks, Rudolph said.

Bradfords only here because of a season-ending knee injury to third-year pro Teddy Bridgewater, who was hurt Aug. 30. Four days later, the Vikings traded a first-round pick and change to the Philadelphia Eagles, flew in Bradford that night and began immersing him in an offense h**l still be learning all season.

Right now, its still in the phase where I have to translate it in my mind to what it was in a previous offense, because thats what hits my brain first, Bradford said.

The Vikings believed in Bradford then in part because his former coordinator in St. Louis and Philadelphia, Pat Shurmur, is their tight ends coach, providing insight on how they could meld the scheme to his strengths and weaknesses. They also had extensive access to Bradfords medical records, thanks in part to head athletic trainer Eric Sugarmans time on the Eagles staff.

Bradford passed the teams physical and passed his first test Sunday night, on multiple fronts.

Asked what he learned about Bradford on the TD throw to Diggs (and the ensuing shot from Daniels), Zimmer said: He can throw the ball. Hes got some toughness about him. This isnt his first rodeo, so hes had opportunities to get in there and to go. He was pretty composed all night. ... It was a good start.

The tests only figure to get tougher the longer the Vikings may be without Peterson, who remains the focal point of their offense, even if the numbers through two games 50 rushing yards on 31 carries dont show it. Poor run blocking has been a major problem.

But the Minnesota defense showed again how impactful it can be in preventing Rodgers from taking over as he so often does. Brian Robisons strip-sack snuffed one late Packers drive, and an interception by second-year cornerback Trae Waynes stopped another with 1:50 left.

By playing like this, and holding up physically like this, Bradford provided something rather unexpected: reason to believe this Vikings has a chance to be a dangerous with Peterson or without him.

Not that letting Bradford get knocked around like that every week is a good long-term plan.

He took some hits he shouldnt have taken, Boone said of Bradford. He delivered the ball well. Just an overall great performance by him.

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.

PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 2

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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/vikings/2016/09/18/adrian-peterson-knee-injury-minnesota-green-bay-packers/90671158/

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Adrian Peterson Gives 90-Minute Interview, Doesn't Say Much

Adrian Peterson has finally broken a two month silence. After he was placed on the exempt/commissioner's permission list on September 17th, he's basically only communicated through bizzaro twitter postings and closed-door hearings. Tonight he spoke with USA Today's Pelissero tonight for a "more than 90-minute" interview.

While Peterson said a lot, not much of it was anything other than what you expect from somebody trying to repair a very tarnished public image. He is remorseful. He didn't mean to hurt his son. He wants to be in his children's lives. He won't hit any of his kids again. He is getting help. He wants to play football.

Below are some of Peterson's more notable statements.

On calling his 4-year old son (the one he hit with a switch) last week for the first time in five months:

"When he got on the phone, he said, 'Hey Dad,'" Peterson said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "I was like, 'Hey buddy, how you doing?' 'I'm doing OK.' I was like, 'I love you.' He was like, 'I love you, too, Dad. Can I come over to your house?' "

On how he will discipline his children in the future:

"I won't ever use a switch again," Peterson said. "There's different situations where a child needs to be disciplined as far as timeout, taking their toys away, making them take a nap. There's so many different ways to discipline your kids."

On whether he will ever play in Minnesota again:

"I would love to go back and play in Minnesota to get a feel and just see if my family still feels comfortable there," Peterson said. "But if there's word out that hey, they might release me, then so be it. I would feel good knowing that I've given everything I had in me.

On who is helping him out:

Peterson says he has been seeing a therapist out of Washington D.C., as well as a pastor near his home outside Houston who is certified in counseling. He also remains in touch with Vikings executive director of player development/legal Les Pico.

On how he feels about photos of his child's injuries being leaked:

"That's illegal," Peterson said. "For someone who wears the badge to disregard their badge and commit a crime says a lot. (But) no one cares how the pictures were released. All they care about is, 'Hey, these are the pictures. They say that he put leaves in his mouth. They say that he beat him. They say that I hit his hands (and those were) defensive wounds.' "

On how he's not Ray Rice:

"I take full responsibility, because I spanked my child, and no matter what my intentions were, I end up leaving those marks on his legs," Peterson said. "That's the bottom line.

"That's not what I tried to do, but that's what ended up happening. Don't put me in the same (category as Rice)."

[USA Today]

Photo via Scott Halleran/Getty

Source: http://deadspin.com/adrian-peterson-gives-90-minutes-interview-doesnt-say-1661473745

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Brennan: If Adrian Peterson has learned, he's not showing it

(Photo: The Associated Press)

Does Adrian Peterson want to play football again?

I know the answer must be yes, but after his actions last week, I wonder.

If the goal the past week was to get back on the field as soon as possible, blowing off a meeting with the NFL commissioner was not the way to do it, no matter what the players' union was whispering in his ear.

We hear that Peterson and the NFL Players Association didn't like "the process" surrounding the NFL's scheduled hearing with him last Friday, so they decided not to attend. The role of outside experts apparently was a problem for Peterson and the union, even though much of the national conversation over the past 10 weeks about how the league and its players will address the enormous problem of domestic violence has centered on the hiring of exactly those experts to help deal with the issue.

Instead of coming in to meet with Goodell and the experts with plenty of lawyers on both sides of the table, presumably and trying to show Goodell that he is worthy of reinstatement this season, Peterson listened to the union and gave up his last, best chance to show how serious he was about doing what's necessary to return to the game after pleading no contest to injuring his four-year-old son as he whipped him.

This means that his old statements, including the appalling comment Goodell cited in which Peterson said he did not intend to "eliminate whooping my kids," still hang in the air, as fresh as the day that he said them.

If you're Adrian Peterson, and you know that quote remains in the public arena, and you have seen the nation react with collective disgust to any kind of domestic violence in the wake of the Ray Rice elevator video, you are asking for nothing but trouble if you skip the one meeting that could help you regain your job.

Three days later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Peterson for at least the remainder of this season, without pay, saying the earliest he could be reinstated was April 15.

"These comments raise the serious concern that you do not fully appreciate the seriousness of your conduct," Goodell said, "or, even worse, that you may feel free to engage in similar conduct in the future."

Of course the union wailed in reply, which begs this question: Has it been paying any attention to what has happened in this country since Sept. 8?

That's the day the video of Rice's horrifying knockout of his then-fiance Janay Palmer (now Rice's wife) was made public. Four days later, Peterson was arrested. Three days after that, the Radisson hotel chain suspended its sponsorship of the Minnesota Vikings when Peterson was allowed to return, albeit briefly. Throughout it all, the words "zero tolerance" became part of our national vocabulary.

Back in September, Goodell was heavily criticized for not doing enough to punish and prevent domestic violence by NFL players. Now the union and its allies say he's doing too much.

This much we know: Goodell's NFL is the only sports organization on earth making significant changes and hires right now to try to begin to combat domestic violence. Things are fluid and the rules are changing.

At times like this, it would be extremely wise for any player who has been linked to domestic violence to not miss another meeting.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/11/19/adrian-peterson-domestic-abuse-national-football-league-christine-brennan/19297801/

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