'All Day' Peterson Wants to Be Best Ever

On the day of the release of his new DVD, "All Day with Adrian Peterson," FanHouse caught up with with the superstar running back for a few minutes of time during his busy schedule. The movie is available at Best Buy in conjunction with NFL Films and Warner Home Video. You can also purchase it online at Amazon.com.

Matt Snyder: So, what should the masses know about this video?

Adrian Peterson: It's a great behind-the-scenes look of things from practice and some good highlights. It also shows some footage of growing up and during the NFL draft. There are conversations and things you can't see anywhere else. I definitely recommend everyone get a copy. You need to get yourself a copy, man!

Snyder: I already have it. I received an advanced copy and watched it this morning.

Peterson: Did you like it?

Snyder: Yeah, I loved a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff.

Peterson: What about the start, where I'm driving ... with the highlights on the windshield? Wasn't that cool?

Snyder: Yeah, it really was a great touch for the intro. I agree that it was really cool. A bit after that, you said your first goal is to win the NFC North and everything trickles down from there. Considering you guys won the North last year and lost the first playoff game -- and considering you are 5-0 now -- aren't things a bit heightened? Meaning, if you win the division and lose in the first round, isn't that a disappointment?

Peterson: Well, you always have to take things one step at a time. It's a process. We can't get into the playoffs without winning some games and we want to win the division. From there, you work on playoff games. Of course, we want to be a championship-caliber team and the ultimate goal is always to win the Super Bowl, but I don't want to say things have changed. We still always start with one game at a time, building first toward the NFC North title.

Snyder: One part I enjoyed from the DVD was when you discussed playing tackle football on the street as a kid -- how you wanted so badly not to get tackled on the pavement. Is that where you developed that devastating stiff-arm?

Peterson: Yes. I definitely did not want to get all cut up on the pavement, so that's where it started.

Snyder: Speaking of which, you had a few of those signature stiff-arms against Cleveland in Week 1. They were one of the six teams who passed on drafting you back in 2007. Do you remember those teams? If so, when you play against them, is there some sort of revenge factor?

Peterson: Yeah, I remember. I mean, it's always in my mind to a certain extent. It's like 'hey, you could've had me and now I'm beating you ... here's what you are missing.' But it's not a revenge-type thing. I don't get into that. I can't let anything get me outside of my game.

Snyder: After watching some of the practices from your rookie year on film, it appears that blocking was a much bigger adjustment for you than anything else. Is that true?

Peterson: I always felt like I was a good blocker. It's just that there are adjustments to be made in terms of understanding all the different schemes and coverages in the NFL. 'EB' has been working with me on it and I feel like I'm a good blocker.

Snyder: You mention, 'EB,' who is Eric Bieniemy, your running backs coach. It looked like you guys have an interesting relationship. You even bickered a few times like family members. Would you say you consider him one, like an uncle, maybe?

Peterson: Oh, most definitely. He's just like a family member to me. We get along so well because we both come from the same type of background. We are both good, genuine people and never mean any disrespect to each other. We might get into arguments or this or that, but it never crosses the line and we never say anything personal about each other. It's just two guys trying to find the best way to do things for the good of the team.

Snyder: You already have the single-game NFL rushing record. What other records, whether it's career, single-season or single-game, do you have your eyes on?

Peterson: All of them. (pauses) I want them all. Every single record possible, I want it. That's how I approach the game and everything I do. I want to be the best there is and ever was. I don't just want to be the best running back that has ever played football, I want to be the best player to have ever played football.

Snyder: Do you have to talk more about your current starting quarterback or your prowess as a fantasy football beast?

Peterson: (Iong pause accompanied by laughter) Man ... I don't even think I can answer that. It seems like all I ever hear about is either Brett (Favre) or fantasy football. The questions about Brett ... hearing 'hey, I need this many yards from you today for my fantasy league' ... or 'hey, I need more touchdowns!" It's really amazing how many football fans play fantasy football. So many people play. So many.

Snyder: Is any of that annoying?

Peterson: No, I really think it's amusing. I enjoy the talk.

Snyder: Being a Bears fan, I clearly remember that game your rookie year in Soldier Field quite well. You ran all over the Bears (20 carries, 224 yards, 3 touchdowns), but the biggest play was your late kickoff return to set up the game-winning field goal. Do you miss returning?

Peterson: Oh, absolutely I do. But don't get ahead of yourself, you might see me back there again.

Snyder: Seriously?

Peterson: Yeah, I never count anything out. You never know what they'll let me do. I'm still begging coach (Brad) Childress to let me be a gunner on the punt team. Just put me on the outside to run down the punt returner. I'd love to do that.

"I want to be the best there is and ever was. ... I want to be the best player to have ever played football."
-- Adrian Peterson Snyder: Who is the best team in the NFL, other than you guys?

Peterson: What, you don't want me to say us?

Snyder: Say you're No. 1, who is No. 2?

Peterson: It's way early. Early. There are some teams playing really good football right now. The Colts are playing great. The Saints ... we knew about Drew Brees, but the defense has really stepped up. Darren Sharper is such a good player and always makes those picks into big plays. There are a lot of teams playing really well ... Denver ... but it's early and hard to tell. We'll see.

Snyder: You've won some tough games, but it appears the schedule leading up to your bye week is the toughest slate of games to date: vs. Baltimore, at Pittsburgh and at Green Bay. Can you guys win all three games playing the way you've been playing and head into the bye 8-0, or do you need to step up and do some things better?

Peterson: Well, you say three games and I say one. We don't look ahead. We are focused on the Ravens right now and they are a great team. There are always adjustments to make. We try to plan like a championship team would plan and play like a championship team would play. We have to make sure to never play down to an opponent if we are clearly better and keep playing that way the entire game. Honestly, we haven't played a complete game to the best of our ability yet. We really haven't.

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Here's a promotional clip from the DVD: