Continued: Vikings Insider: Peterson-Taylor backfield intrigues

The play-by-play sheet from the Vikings' victory over Carolina indicates the opening play of the third quarter was of little significance: "Frerotte pass incomplete short left to Berrian."

But what the recap fails to say is important. For the first time this season, the Vikings employed a split backfield that featured both Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor.

Anyone who has followed the Vikings the past two seasons knows it is a rarity to see Peterson and Taylor at the same time.

On the surface, it would appear to be an ideal, and potentially lethal, combination for a struggling offense: Peterson and Taylor together in the backfield on one play; Taylor split out wide with Peterson in the backfield on the next; defenses accounting for a guy who rushed for 1,216 yards in 2006 (Taylor) and another who rushed for 1,341 in 2007 (Peterson).

"When we're both out there it kind of throws the defense off," Peterson said. "[They] don't know if they're going to spread us both out, throw the ball to us, free one of us up, run the ball. So you can throw a lot of stuff at the defense."

Coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell at least dipped their toes in the water last week. The Vikings used Peterson and Taylor together twice in the final quarter after opening the second half with this look.

The first time in the final quarter it appeared to work to perfection. On third-and-11 from the Panthers 13, Gus Frerotte completed a short pass to Taylor, who scored, thanks in part to a Peterson block. However, a holding penalty on center Matt Birk wiped out the score.

The question is whether personnel packages that employ the Peterson-Taylor combination are going to be used frequently, or was this a brief flirtation?

The Vikings have little to lose. They have only three offensive touchdowns and, if not for the penalty, would have increased that number.

But Childress never has seemed enamored with the idea. He called the Peterson-Taylor combination "just a mixer for us" and "not a steady thing." Childress also said the defensive matchups the Vikings saw from Carolina were not "particularly favorable" when it came to personnel.

One reason to expand the Peterson-Taylor combination this season is because Peterson has a better understanding of the offensive responsibilities at the NFL level, including pass protection. But while Bevell is well aware of the benefits, he sounds as if the complexities of pulling it off continue to present a challenge.

"It's hard to give you the exact answer and the reason being is depending on how much you can load on a particular player," Bevell said.

"When you think how many players are in the game plan, there's quite a few. So you have to know exactly how much a certain guy can handle.

"There are some guys that it doesn't matter what you throw at them. They are sharp guys, they pick it up, they have just that little innate football feel and then there are some guys that it is really hard for them to make adjustments to go over here, to line up here and then remember all the different alignments."

Bevell said as Peterson progresses in the passing game it should become easier to get him on the field with Taylor. But time might be running out. Taylor is in the third season of a four-year contract and it would not be surprising if he looks elsewhere for a starting opportunity in 2010.

Until then the Vikings have an opportunity to create headaches for defenses that have very little knowledge of exactly what a team would or could do with Peterson and Taylor playing together.

Frerotte is intrigued by the possibilities.

"Obviously, when you have your athletes on the field it's going to help you," he said. "I think we're going to try and do that a little more as the year goes along.

"We'll see what happens. I'm not really sure what we have planned for the future, but it's a good idea."

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com