Adrian Peterson was not on the injury report this week, yet he wasn't a starter for the Vikings today in a pivotal game at Jacksonville. The Vikings were still able to put together a touchdown drive, and Chester Taylor scored a rushing touchdown. Peterson did enter the game on the third series, ripping off a 21-yard run on his first carry, so he's obviously healthy. Peterson also doesn't seem like the type to have gotten himself into the doghouse or warrant a benching for disciplinary reasons.
There were some reports this week that Brad Childress was concerned about the workload of their star workhorse, so perhaps they are just trying to limit his wear and tear by holding him out for a few series.
Still, it's kind of odd. Whether or not a player is the named "starter" is usually a formality and pride-type thing for players.
Update: Via PFT, the Vikings simply made the move to "mix things up." This doesn't make sense to me. You don't take out one of the best players in the league just for the sake of variety. Can you imagine the Colts starting Jim Sorgi for a few series tonight "just to mix things up?" Quite odd, move, though it didn't hurt the Vikes, as they are on their way to victory.



















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-23-2008 @ 4:48PM
Mitch said...
Chester Taylor is not just any backup, does that mean this makes sense? I don't know.
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11-23-2008 @ 8:49PM
guildamnliar said...
I am a vikings fan through and through---it just erks me that brad childress does'nt use adrian peterson---like other teams use their star players!!!
Reply
11-25-2008 @ 8:04PM
Ralph said...
go back to Joe Kapp days. run the best running tandem by far . if Gus does not kill us we could make a big run and get to the SUPERBOWL. and win it this time.
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