vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
Peterson: 'Stay away from the negative because the devil is at work'
Posted by: Dan Wiederer under Vikings, Adrian Peterson Updated: May 10, 2012 - 11:40 AM
Just in case you've been living under a rock this week -- or, as the case may be for state legislators, living inside meeting rooms at the state capitol -- we're here to provide a comprehensive up-to-the-minute update on Adrian Peterson's knee rehabilitation.
Want to understand the cautious approach of Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman? Got ya covered.
Want to get a gauge on Peterson's unwavering intent to return to the field by Sept. 9, the date of the Vikings' 2012 regular season opener? We've got that story surrounded.
How about video of Peterson doing rehab drills in the Winter Park field house? How about an "Access Vikings: The Show" with discussion on how AP looks and feels and what it all means?
And if you're not Petersoned out after all that, then you may want to tune into the NFL Network tonight at 6 p.m. where Peterson's one-on-one interview with Michael Irvin will air. Peterson and Irvin spent a significant amount of time visiting Wednesday afternoon and discussed, among other things, the initial agony of suffering a torn ACL and the mental hump that needed to be cleared to start the rehab process on a positive note.
"It was brutal," Peterson told Irvin. "It was brutal for me and it was a challenge. Coming from being the best at your position and what you do to reality, and the reality at that point was you basically have to start from scratch. Waking up from surgery and seeing all of the muscles I have built over the years and years of working gone just like that. Mentally that was a blow for me. But rather quickly I was able to get my mind right and get it together, and stay away from the negative because the devil is at work. He’s going to do everything to bring you down. I fought him, even though there were times where I still struggled and questioned, ‘Why me, why me?’ I ultimately got to the point where I accepted it for what it was and said this is what I need to do to get back to the regular and normal Adrian Peterson – not even that, even better.”
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