Peterson gives stiff-arm to critics
Washington running back plans to prove Carter, Sharpe and others wrong
ASHBURN, Va. – Nothing, it seems, gets under Adrian Peterson’s skin quite like doubters.
That means you, Cris Carter. Ditto Shannon Sharpe.
Peterson had a few choice words for the Hall of Famers-turned-TV hosts as he sat at his new stall in the Washington locker room this week. It sounded a lot like motivational fuel, while surely flipping the notion that star athletes don’t pay attention to what’s said about them.
Carter and Sharpe, co-hosts for backto-back morning shows on FS1, “First Things First” and “Undisputed,” praised Peterson effusively last season … yet have drawn his ire as more recently they have concluded that, at 33, Peterson won’t dominate like he used to.
In Peterson’s mind, that’s in-yourface insult stuff.
“Watching some of the things they said about me, man, it really hurt me to the core,” he told USA TODAY. “Not only are they black men, but these are people I looked up to. And these are people that made mistakes, especially Cris Carter. So some of the things that came out of his mouth, not only personally, but about me as a player — aw, he’s washed up and this, that and the other, and he should just retire — how dare you.
“Then Shannon Sharpe, the same thing. He said some things, and I’m just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that would come out of your mouth.’ I understand that people are entitled to their opinions. That’s the way of the world. But they are in a position where millions of people are watching them.”
Thus, a personal “hit list” for Peterson. Carter and Sharpe were the only critics mentioned by name by Peterson, unsigned until last week, when asked to whom he wants to prove a point.
“What I’m going to do when I ball out this year,” Peterson added, “I’m going to have all my fans … look up all the people who (said) something negative about me and put them on blast and prove that when they are on TV, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Contacted Wednesday, Sharpe and Carter understand Peterson to a degree. Great players are just that, in part, due to determination and confidence.
“I get it,” Sharpe said. “I don’t take it personally. He forgets that Cris and I played the game. We sat in those seats as older players.”
Sharpe was 35 when he finished his
14-year career; Carter was 37 when he closed out a 16-year career by playing just five games with the Dolphins in
2002.
“Did you see me in a Dolphins uniform?” Carter said. “I had no business playing that season. I wouldn’t have admitted it, either. These guys get so sensitive about everything. Adrian had better get over himself. We were all great. But at the end, we all smelled like a baby’s diaper.”
At least Peterson is positioned to issue a final statement on the field, with Washington in need after second-round rookie Derrius Guice blew out an ACL. During his preseason debut against Denver last Friday, Peterson showed flashes of greatness with keen vision, explosion, jump-cuts and acceleration. On the last of his 11 carries, he bolted off left tackle for 15 yards on fourth-and-1.
In a backfield that includes holdovers Rob Kelley, Samaje Perine and Chris Thompson, Peterson has the chance to be a lead back again.
Last year, Peterson’s move to the Saints halted the emergence of Mark Ingram and rookie standout Alvin Kama- ra. He was averaging just 6.8 carries per game when traded to Arizona in October. The Cardinals needed him while scrambling to fill the void left with David Johnson’s season-ending wrist injury. Peterson started with a bang, producing 134 yards on 26 carries in his Week 6 debut, then rushing 37 times for 159 yards in Week 9. But he had clunkers in which he averaged 1.4 and 1.9 yards per carry and missed the final four games after suffering a neck injury.
Then came months of rehab, training and waiting for the phone to ring. “I guess the injury kind of scared them,” he said of his time on the market. Think he considered hanging it up? “If anything, I would have played in the Alliance League or something,” he said, referring to the spring league poised to make its debut in 2019, the Alliance of American Football. “Retire- ment was not one of my options.”
No, Peterson still loves the game that much, wants to prove something. Even thinks he can win another rushing title. “I plan on it, he said. “I know that.” Then, he gives an essential shoutout. “A great offensive line is what I’m looking forward to the most,” declared Peterson of a unit that includes stud left tackle Trent Williams. “I haven’t had a line in a long time. New Orleans had a good offensive line, but I really wasn’t able to get much time down there. But this line is top-notch. It’s going to give me something I haven’t seen since the beginning of my career.”
While Peterson has typically been more effective as the game wears on, Washington coach Jay Gruden is wary about overloading him. “I think early on, give him 15 or 16 carries a game,” he said.
In the past, it would have been foolish to count out Peterson. Remember 2012? He carried the Vikings to the playoffs and nearly broke Eric Dickerson’s season rushing record (2,105 yards) when he gained 2,097 yards, while coming off a torn ACL and MCL.
Yet it’s 2018 now.
“You will have that spot game, when you remind people of how good you used to be,” Sharpe said. “But to do it on a continuous basis, I think that’s where the trouble will be for Adrian.”
While Sharpe can recall how much longer it took his body to recover from games as he aged, Peterson will have to prove just how special he can be in that regard with the wear and tear of 2,574 rushing attempts in 11 NFL seasons.
The odds are against him. Call it added motivation … or a grand delusion, pending further developments.
“Hey, you can live outside the box,” Peterson said. “You can do what people tell you that you can’t.”
One thing for certain. The challenge is on.