Childress: There's room for Peterson to improve

Adrian Peterson will play his final game as an NFL rookie today when he represents the NFC in the Pro Bowl. It will conclude a season in which the Vikings running back finished second in the league with 1,341 yards rushing and was honored as offensive rookie of the year by the Associated Press and as rookie of the year by a soft drink company after a vote of fans.

But as successful as Peterson's first season turned out, Vikings coach Brad Childress is confident the seventh pick in the 2007 draft will be that much better in Year 2.

"There can be a ton of development," Childress said, sitting in his Winter Park office Thursday. "It will be a big offseason for him and [running backs coach Eric] Bieniemy."

Two areas in which Childress wants to see Peterson progress are in his pass protection and in making reads while running the ball. Peterson, who missed two games because of a knee injury, frequently was replaced by Chester Taylor on passing downs because of concerns about his ability to pick up would-be rushers.

Peterson's need to improve in the latter phase became evident late in the season as more teams focused on containing him. He did not reach 100 yards rushing in any of the last four games. Childress said it's a fact of life that opponents are going to put eight men close to the line of scrimmage against the Vikings and Peterson is going to have to learn how to deal with it.

"It's here to stay," Childress said. "When Emmitt Smith was playing, same deal. [The Cowboys] were fortunate enough to have Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman, who were able to negate some of those eight-men fronts [through passing the ball]. That's what you have to be able to do at times. And at times you have to be able to hand the ball to Emmitt and have Emmitt say, 'Which guy is my guy?' You're not going to block that guy. Just by sheer numbers, you're not going to block him."

This means that Peterson will need to combine his athletic ability with an understanding of which defender is going to be unblocked. An offseason of film study and on-the-field work with Bieniemy should help.

"The running back has to have a full understanding of when he can maybe go backside and when he needs to keep it front side," Childress said. "When he should push it, cram it for 2 1/2 or 3 yards, as opposed to making the big hit and all of a sudden he gets hit for zero as he's cutting back."

As Peterson progresses, there will be more opportunities to use him in different situations. This could mean he and Taylor will find themselves on the field more often together in an attempt to confuse opponents. That combination rarely was used at the same time this past season.

"We will" do that, Childress said. "But that's not a steady diet thing. Really, what you're trying to do is you're trying to change up with defensive coordinators all the time whether you're going with three wide receivers and two backs or you're going with three tight ends or you're going with two backs, a tight end and two wide receivers. ... If you can get them to play you in a certain defense with those guys, then perhaps it's an advantage."

Although Peterson could assume a greater workload next season, Taylor likely won't be going anywhere. The two combined to rush for 2,185 yards, and Childress called the pairing "a great changeup."

"I don't know what the downside of it is," he said. "You've got two different styles of runners with their own inimitable styles. [It's a] high-impact position; the guy is going to take a lot of shots. So when a guy needs a breath, you don't want to lose anything on the next play. ... I think it's a win-win situation."