Peterson stiff-arms Father Time aside
Adrian Peterson wields his legendary stiff-arm like a powerful weapon, reminiscent of a simpler, more primal era of football.
Now with the Arizona Cardinals, the veteran running back once had a memorable encounter with Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel. During the tail end of his tenure as an All-Pro outside linebacker with the New England Patriots, Vrabel was the recipient of one of Peterson’s vintage stiff-arms in a preseason game.
“Those guys were asking me if I got one of those stiff-arms,” Vrabel said. “I think it was in my 13th year in a preseason game and came off the fullback and next thing I know I caught one of those stiff-arms in Minnesota. There’s a lot of great backs, and he’s certainly one of them with the longevity, the production. He runs hard.
“We’ve got a great challenge ahead of us.”
The trademark of Peterson’s career has been a rare mixture of power, speed and elusiveness.
He played 10 seasons with the Vikings before he was let go because of injuries and a big contract. He started this season with the New Orleans Saints but was the odd man out in a crowded backfield headlined by Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Peterson is enjoying a revival since be-
ing traded to the Cardinals.
In four games with Arizona, Peterson has rushed for 314 yards and two touchdowns on 74 carries. He’s averaging 4.2 yards per run for the Cardinals heading into Sunday’s game against the Texans at NRG Stadium after gaining just 81 yards and scoring no touchdowns on 27 carries in four games and one start for the Saints.
It amused Texans Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to hear about Vrabel coming up short against Peterson during his playing days.
“Man, the guy’s crazy. So he’ll come out and tell you somebody else got him or something,” Clowney said. “You don’t expect that coming from a guy like Vrabel. He’s a guy who’s always on the winning side all the time.”
Not against Peterson, though.
At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Peterson has maintained a sculpted build and remains explosive at 32 years old. The former Oklahoma star and Palestine native lives and trains in Houston during the offseason at his ultra-modern gym called O Athletik in the Heights.
“Oh yeah, there’s no doubt about the fact that he still has it,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “I mean, you think about his workout regimen in the offseason here in Houston, it’s legendary.
“He’s another guy that’s defying age, especially at that position where basically the history of the game tells you when you’re 30 years or older, that’s about it for you. That’s really not the case with him, obviously. He’s big, he’s in great shape, he’s tough. He’s hard to handle.”
A former NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year, Peterson ran for 2,097 yards during the 2012 regular season. He has rushed for 12,171 career yards and 99 touchdowns with an average of 4.8 yards per carry.
“He’s a good downhill back, runs with a lot of energy, he’s hard to bring down,” Texans middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney said. “Just got to get all 11 people to the ball and contain him and build a wall and do our job.
“He’s still pretty fast. I forgot he was that fast and explosive of a player. He still has a lot of juice.”
‘Lot of energy’
Several of the Texans’ players, including Clowney, have spent time with Peterson around town. They admire his work ethic and friendly personality.
The Texans practiced against Peterson this summer during a joint training camp session with the Saints in New Orleans.
“He’s a nice guy; he brings a lot of energy every play,” McKinney said. “He’s a great guy and a role model for all the guys who want to be like him.”
Peterson was stonewalled by the Seattle Seahawks during a loss last week as he was limited to 29 yards on 21 carries. It was one week after a 159yard performance on 37 carries during a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s incredible,” Clowney said. “The guy runs hard. Just don’t let him get up to your second level. As a defense, it’s going to be a long day for us. We have to bottle him up early before he gets going.”
The Cardinals are still figuring out how to best utilize Peterson at this stage of his career.
“The one thing about him is he’s carried the ball a lot in his career, so it’s just a matter of learning terminology, and the biggest thing is the passing game with the pass protections and the routes, flare controls,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “Handing him the ball, that’s kind of easy for him. Each week, it’s kind of been a rollercoaster — big week, bad week, big week, bad week. So hopefully we have a big week.”
The Texans will lean heavily on McKinney to counter Peterson.
McKinney (6-4, 250) is big, fast and aggressive. He leads the Texans with 53 tackles to go with two sacks and one forced fumble.
“I consider Benardrick McKinney one of the captains of our team,” O’Brien said. “The way I define Benardrick McKinney is he is what you’re looking for in a pro football player. He loves football, loves his teammates. He’s a tough guy, plays banged up and I’m glad he’s on our team. He’s a hell of a player.”
McKinney keys defense
McKinney was the only player in the NFL last season to record at least 100 tackles and five sacks. The former second-round draft pick from Mississippi State has replaced suspended inside linebacker Brian Cushing as the Texans’ defensive signal caller.
The Texans have had some defensive breakdowns lately and are mired in a three-game losing streak. They’re 23rd in total defense, but they are seventh against the run and have allowed just 96.9 rushing yards per game.
“I’ve been doing my part, just trying to continue to keep guys going, get guys lined up,” McKinney said. “I think I’ve done a good job being a leader of this defense.”