Opinion

Vikings must count on Peterson to carry the team

By Ashley Goettl

September 23, 2010

The cheese-heads around campus are ecstatic and there can only be one reason for that: the Minnesota Vikings are 0-2 to start the National Football League season. But for all those Aaron Rodger fans, don’t be crowning him king of the National Football Conference North just quite yet, and Vikings fans, don’t be fretting, we will still make the play-offs and we will still beat the Packers once, if not twice during the regular season.

After Brett Favre’s performance in week two versus Miami, many columnists and sports critics were asking the same questions that they’ve been asking for the last five or so years: will Favre be able to repeat his past performance and be able to compete through the wear and tear of a grueling NFL season? And time and time again, Favre has been able to defy the “age” limit and has put his team in a position to succeed throughout the years (the exception was his one year “fling” with the New York Jets).

Although 0-2 was not the start we had imagined, especially after last year’s success and the high expectations of this year’s team that returns all of its starters (minus Sidney Rice who is out for half the season due to hip surgery), the Vikings are still poised to become a threat in the NFC and beyond.  First, look at all the potential Super Bowl prodigies that have already lost as well: Indianapolis, Dallas (who lost to the Bears for crying out loud) and Baltimore, to name a few. So to write the Vikings off already is simply foolish.

But if there is a positive to take away from the 14-10 loss (and trust me, there wasn’t much to find for positives), and this should not be taken lightly, but the reemergence of Adrian Peterson as the primary playmaker for the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson singlehandedly carried the team and brought them within yards of winning. He had over 140 yards rushing, including a touchdown and added 40 yards in receiving yards as well. While old man Favre was playing catch more with the Dolphin’s defenders than our receivers, Peterson brought life back to the offense. I have always believed that Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the league; after all, he did lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season with 18.

But there have been the fumbling issues which have come at the most crucial times. I know it’s only been two weeks, but thus far Peterson seems to have corrected the issue by keeping the ball closer to his body, making it harder to be knocked away. If the Vikings will continue to give Peterson the ball and let him go to work, there is no doubt in my mind that the Vikings will not only win the division, but go a few steps further.

So, my cheese-head friends, don’t start your postseason celebrations yet, and the true purple and gold fans don’t fret, because we have Brett‚(okay, I only put that because it rhymed) but what we do have, is a one of a kind running back who can single handedly take over a game and run his way to the top.

Ashley Goettl is an alumna of UW-River Falls. She was editor of the Student Voice from fall semester 2011 to spring semester 2013.