So if the return of Daunte Culpepper is not enough for you to have some interest in this weekend’s Viking game, how about the return of Keith Millard? Keith is in his third year of being the Oakland Raiders defensive line coach and will be at the dome on Sunday to help his players chase down Tavaris Jackson. Yup, thats how low this game has sunk. In order to find anything of interest you have to look to former players, one a d-line coach and the other a washed up backup.

Last week the Raiders sacked the Chicago QB 3 times with one coming from Millard’s D line. This year Oakland is 22nd in sacks with 14, 29th against the run, 4th against the pass, and 20th in scoring giving up 21.6 per game. The Raiders have been without their best man for sacks for much of the season with Derrick Burgess being out weeks 1 -7. In his three games back he has two sacks and 4 tackles. I think its safe to say that even though the Raiders are low in sacks this year they are good against the pass and we will see another weak performance by Jackson in the passing category. The load will be on Chester Taylor this week.

Back in 1989 the Vikings led the league in sacks with 71 only behind the Bears 72 in 1984. Chris Doleman (21 sacks), Keith Millard (18 sacks) and Al Noga (11 sacks) were a force and Millard had a hell bent drive that was a fun to watch and one we don’t often see anymore. We can only dream what a pass rush like that could do for the Vike’s pass defense this year. For a little reminiscing on old number 75 in purple check out a bunch of old Keith Millard playing cards at Vikings Cards.

Adrian Peterson donated his purple jersey and white pants he wore for his record breaking game of 296 yards for a single game rushing record to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

With an honor like this its hard for a fan not to think about what might have been. Instead of one Adrian Peterson jersey in Canton, it could easily have been two, and maybe even a third for season rushing records without Adrian’s knee injury. Adrian was quoted in USA Today saying “It’s not going to change, so no reason to hold your head down and pout about it”. He’s got a great attitude and if he can handle it so well fans should be able to do the same. Let Adrian heal and you can look forward to next years opportunities.

Even with Adrian’s injury, his jersey remains the number one seller at NFL Shop where they display a list of their current top five selling NFL jerseys.

Today in the Vikings Monday press conference after yesterday’s embarrassing 34-0 loss to Green Bay Packers, Brad Childress informed the media that Adrian Peterson sustained an LCL injury to his right leg. Adrian has a partial tear to the LCL ligament. The injury is classified as a Grade 2+ injury out of 3, with a grade 3 being the worst possible in which the LCL would be completely torn.

The Adrian Peterson injury has been a roller coaster of thoughts for Viking Fans. Initially seeing Adrian go down I thought his knee was done with a complete ACL tear and he was done for the season. Then after seeing some replays where the hit was on the inside of the knee, his leg was not planted with a gruesome snap, he walked off the field, and hearing reports of Adrian moving on the sidelines and wanting to go back in, I thought maybe we got lucky with a bad bruise to the knee cap or something. Now today we find out it’s somewhere in the middle, Adrian has a partial tear and should be back in a few games.

A partial tear like this makes me nervous that it could be totally torn down the line. The LCL does not seem to be as critical as cruciate tear but when it happens to your super star that shows the promise of a Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, or Barry Sanders you can’t help but be bummin’. All we can hope for is that the tear was not too bad and Adrian gets enough time off to heal all the way. Looks like Eric Dickerson’s all time rushing record is safe this year, Eric’s rookie record might also be safe. I guess its really time to look forward to next year.

You can see video at NFL.com of Adrian Peterson’s catch and run where he injures his knee.

The knee and ligaments image is from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons web site. Be sure to check it out for more information on these kinds of knee injuries.

It would be nice if my most anticipated game of the year could at least be in Minnesota, but with our indoor Metrodump the game of the year is no doubt in Green Bay.  Out in the cold and on real grass, that’s how it is supposed to be and Lambeau Field is about as good as it gets. I’m glad the Vikes seem to get the second game of the Packers - Vikes match-up in Green Bay, the extra chill in the air makes it a little more fun.

Adrian Peterson has  given us folks in Minnesota some hope again and the excitement for this Packers game has increased for me more than one might expect with the Vikes at 3 and 5. The first meeting between the teams this year dealt a 23 -16 win to the Packers and Brett Favre grabbed the career touchdown passing record with numbers 421 and 422. The stats were pretty close in this one but Favre and the Pack were better than the numbers show. Adrian Peterson had 112 yards on a measly 12 rushes, 1 reception for 6 yards, and no touchdowns. I don’t think Adrian will be held to only 12 rushes any more this year but I will be surprised if he get the 30 touches he had last week. My guess is that its closer to 25 rushes with a couple more passes.

I hate to say it but I think the Pack has the upper hand on this one and will win another close one. But if one thing is for sure the game will be close and if Adrian Peterson has his way he might show the fans in Green Bay what they have to look forward to for the next ten years. Maybe he can throw one of his Ardrian Peterson Jerseys into the stands on the way out and convert a young Packers fan to the Purple side.

Go Vikes!

Adrian Peterson has made the cover of Sports Illustrated two time in his football career, first in 2004 as a Freshman with Oklahoma and then 2007 with the NFL Draft Preview edition. I’m not sure if the kids even notice it now, but in my younger days making the cover of SI was a big deal. I still consider it quite an honor.

Adrian didn’t make the SI cover after his NFL rushing record 296 yards against the Chargers, the Patriots linebackers got that honor after their big win against the Colts. But Adrian did a mention in the SI Notebook column and I would guess he is high on their list if he continues his ways.

So the question is, when is the next time Adrian will get on the cover of Sports Illustrated? My guess is he gets it after the Packers game. Do any of you Viking bloggers have an opinion?

 Loading …

I don’t think we will mention this Detmer guy again here in Minni so I won’t try to get clever. The Vikes picked up veteran QB Koy Detmer who spent 8 seasons or so in Philly backing up Donovan and co. The Vikings need a back up answer in case Jackson’s head has not cleared up and Bollinger would happen to go down on Sunday. Holcomb’s neck injury did not look pretty and I would guess he still should be out. Chances are we won’t see more than one shot of Detmer on the sidelines the whole year. If you want a photo of Koy  to go with this ground breaking story maybe you should try searching for “Koy Detmer” & clipboard ….

Sunday, November 4th in a game against the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson Rushed for 296 yards and set the NFL mark for single game rushing yards. This game was built up for the big show down between the established elite runner LaDainian Tomlinson and the up and coming young runner Adrian Peterson. Adrian galloped away with this one. Time will tell if LT has indeed passed the torch on to AP.

Adrian Peterson was draft with the 7th pick of the first round in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Adrian comes out of The University of Oklahoma with impressive stats and performances but questions about his collar bone and recent injuries was cause for some concern. Without the injury questions, he could have battled for the number one draft spot with Calvin Johnson.

Here’s a nice video of Adrian running through and by his opponents in his Sooner days.