He has one NFL MVP award, five All-Pro honors and more than 10,000 yards rushing. But Vikings running back Adrian Peterson still considers himself a work in progress in some areas.
One of those areas is having the patience to play behind a fullback and linemen or tight ends who pull to block for him. The Vikings relied heavily on a number of those power calls with All-Pro fullback Jerome Felton and a variety of pulling linemen and tight ends last week. The result was a 23-20 overtime win over the Bears and 211 yards rushing on a career-high 35 carries for Peterson.
Peterson was asked a series of questions about Felton today. He said the two have a close relationship and a strong trust that's developed over the past two seasons. But when asked why he didn't like playing with a fullback earlier in his career, Peterson's answer was a bit of a surprise in its bluntness.
"I still kind of don't like it now, at times," Peterson said. "It all depends on the play call. ... It varies."
Peterson also said on some plays, such as the toss sweeps, he doesn't care whether there's a fullback in or not.
Peterson was asked how difficult it is to match up the timing with a fullback.
"Based off last week, I wouldn't say it's difficult," he said. "But I can say for myself, I'm just so quick to shoot the gun sometimes. When you have two pullers or three pullers in front of you, you have to be more patient. I haven't had a lot of time over my career being patient. That's why sometimes, I don't like the fullback in front of me.
"When I work on myself and try to be more patient, you see what happens last week. Allowing those guys to get in front of me, you see how effective it can be in the running game. It worked out well."
