There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday -- and, no, we are not talking about the collapse of the defense.
Rather, we are referencing the moment at which running back Adrian Peterson got his ankle twisted as he was being tackled by Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe after catching a screen pass from Brett Favre. After a few anxious moments, Peterson could be seen telling a teammate on the sideline that he was OK and he eventually returned to the game.
However, he was limited in practice on Wednesday. That only received a small mention in today's paper in large part because Antoine Winfield's sprained right foot is a far more serious issue. Since there are no space restrictions on the blog I figured I'd elaborate on Peterson's situation with a word of caution for Vikings fans who tend to panic easily.
Get used to seeing Peterson limited in the Wednesday practices. I'm sure Peterson's ankle still hurts but as Brad Childress said on Monday the Pro Bowl running back is sore all over. And so as he has done previously, Childress is going to be cautious with how much work Peterson ends up doing as the season goes along. Especially during the Wednesday sessions when players are still sore coming off a Sunday game.
Peterson is tied with St. Louis' Steven Jackson for second among NFL running backs with 120 rushing attempts -- Cincinnati's Cedric Benson is No. 1 with 127 carries -- and has 134 touches overall when receptions are included. No one will argue that Peterson should be carrying a heavy workload on Sundays but Childress needs to make sure his superstar stays fresh and resting him during the practice week is one way to make sure that happens.
