PETERSON'S GOLD RUSH
Cardinals CB can’t wait to put on Hall of Fame jacket
Patrick Peterson’s walk-in closet is full of fancy suits, exotic outfits and some of the best things that an All-Pro NFL cornerback’s money can buy. It’s stacked, packed and, of course, never off the rack.
There’s something stark missing from Peterson’s expansive wardrobe, though. All you have to do is ask the Cardinals’ superstar and he’ll freely confirm it. Question: You don’t own a gold suit or a single gold jacket, do you?
“No, I don’t. I don’t want it yet,” Peterson said. “I don’t have anything resembling that. I want the Pro Football Hall of Fame to give it to me. But it’s crazy that you say that because my stylist has been trying to make me this gold suit, like for years. I told her, ‘I don’t want it.’
“She’s always telling me, ‘I think this color will look good on your skin.’ I say, ‘No, I don’t want it yet.’”
Peterson is holding out for the real thing, and why not? A Pro Bowl selection in each of his seven seasons in the NFL and three times a first-team All-Pro, he’s well on his way to Canton, Ohio. If he plays the next seven years anywhere near the way he’s played his first seven, Peterson has to be viewed as a veritable lock for Hall of Fame enshrinement.
“His body of work and what he’s done so far, he’s already got a jacket waiting for him,” Cardinals secondary coach Dave Merritt said. “All Pat has to do is keep working and hopefully play another seven, eight years, and he’ll be in the Hall. Right now, all he has to do is just keep staying steady.”
“His body of work and what he’s done so far, he’s already got a jacket waiting for him.”
Dave Merritt Cardinals secondary coach
Patrick Peterson's personal quest
Peterson isn’t shy about his fascination with earning a Hall of Fame induction. It has consumed him for years and it’s become his Holy Grail. Yes, he wants the Cardinals to win. He wants division titles, NFC championships and a Super Bowl ring. But the Hall of Fame is personal.
Peterson’s quest for it won’t end until he hears those five knocks on a hotel door by the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame. Peterson will have to wait at least five years after retirement before those knocks come, but he knows he’ll be hearing them someday, along with the accompanying voice, “Welcome to Canton.”
“Oh yeah, I can’t wait,” he said. “I think about it all the time. Honestly, that’s why I play the game. You play the game to be in that fraternity and be recognized as the best to play that position. That’s what I want.”
For the longest time after his second NFL season, in which he had a careerhigh seven interceptions, Peterson felt he desperately needed more picks to validate his Hall of Fame resume. He hasn’t had more than three in a year since and, last season, finished with only one. But a talk he had with former position coach Kevin Ross changed Peterson’s outlook on the need for more interceptions.
“He gave me this good analogy, reminding me that, back in the day, when guys had 60, 50, 40 interceptions, the offenses weren’t as complicated as they are today. It wasn’t as pass-happy as it is now,” Peterson said. “So now, the criteria will be different. It’s all about what you’re giving up, not about what you’re getting.”
Peterson has made a living out of shadowing No. 1 wide receivers. Last season alone, he saw the fewest targets (60) and allowed the fewest receptions (21) among all cornerbacks with at least 500 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Even though he knows it helps build his case for the Hall, the lack of activity and opportunities to make splash plays has left Peterson feeling a little bored.
“To be honest, I hope it continues to happen,” Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said. “He’s frustrated, but you know, that’s the price of being great.”
Peterson eager for new D, more picks
In Wilks’ new defense, Peterson will get his chance to do a little more freelancing this season. He’ll often find himself in zone-coverage situations, which will allow him to roam the secondary, jump routes, break up plays and pick off tipped passes.
Cardinals defensive coordinator Al Holcomb can’t wait to coach Peterson when it counts.
“He’s still at the top of his game,” Holcomb said. “He’s one of the best to ever put on the shoulder pads and the uniform. His explosiveness, his speed and, and most importantly, his football IQ is just phenomenal. He picks up concepts and schemes and understands route progressions and all those kinds of things. I’m excited to have him, and, honestly, I don’t think I’ve been around any quite like him.
“He’s one of the best in my opinion to ever play the game. He’s a rock on our defense.”
Chalk up yet another Hall of Fame endorsement for No. 21. When it happens, and Peterson eventually gets into the Hall, he said it will be “a surreal moment.”
“It’ll be almost like when I got drafted,” he said. “You talk about it so much, you dream about it so much and when it finally happens, it’s like, ‘Damn, the time is here. How do I react? How do I respond to what’s going on?’
“I’m patient as I can be because I don’t plan on leaving the game any time soon.”
One day, Peterson will have a gold jacket in his closet. And once he gets it, he plans on calling his stylist to make a few alterations.
“I want to be different,” Peterson said. “Everybody gets the same singlebreasted gold jacket with the same lapels. I want to get a double-breasted one. It’ll be almost like the green jacket (given to the PGA winner of the Masters). I can wear it where I want and I can be different from everybody else. You know me, I always want to be different.”