Souhan: AP might steer offense back to basics

This might be difficult to remember, considering the way the Vikings' 2009 season became an AARP promotion for greying quarterbacks with an aversion to razors, but a year ago at this time, this was supposed to be a running team. Adrian Peterson's team.

Last August, no one expected Brett Favre to play the most efficient season of his career, or Sidney Rice to become a star, or Percy Harvin to become the league's most dynamic rookie, or Brad Childress to rely on a pass-first offense down the stretch.

The most popular phrase attached to Favre was "manage the game." As in, "Favre doesn't need to be great; he just needs to manage the game, and produce first downs."

If we can believe what we saw on Saturday night, that notion might not have been wrong, just premature.

Until Favre cast a spell on the franchise and its fan base, Childress' Vikings were built to rely on the guy who still was considered the best back in the game.

With the 2010 season opener less than two weeks away and Rice sidelined, the Vikings lack a reliable No. 1 receiver. Bernard Berrian remains the team's best deep threat, but he bobbled a perfect Favre pass into an interception in the second quarter, and Seattle's Earl Thomas returned it for a touchdown.

Harvin's migraines make his availability unpredictable. And even when the passing game is working, it would be unwise to expose Favre to 30 pass rushes a game.

"If I had my druthers, we'd be a run-first team," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "You start to build around the skills you have. All of a sudden last year we had a plethora of receivers and tight ends and backs, and that's what we went with.

"Not taking anything away from Adrian, but that's where we made our best gains. But if I could run the ball every time for 4 and 5 yards, then you'd see us hand the ball off every time."

With Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera healthy after playing despite shoulder injuries in 2009, the offensive line should be better at run blocking. And the calf injury that has limited starting center John Sullivan could even work in favor of the running game.

If Herrera can handle the center position and rookie offensive lineman Chris DeGeare could take over at Herrera's guard spot, the Vikings line suddenly would be immense, and perfectly suited to drive-blocking for Peterson.

Peterson looked sharp on Saturday night, breaking a screen pass for 31 yards and a handoff for a 24-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. There were times last season when Peterson looked a step slower than in previous years. Saturday night, he looked quick and hungry.

Tennessee's Chris Johnson passed Peterson as the best and most explosive back in the league, and Peterson, when asked about that perception early in training camp, bristled.

There's another reason this would be a good time for Peterson to resume prominence in this offense: Chester Taylor is gone, and his replacement, rookie Toby Gerhart, simply isn't as good as Taylor. In any way.

Peterson not only needs to display his old explosiveness and stop fumbling; he needs to become a worthy third-down back who can pick up a blitz when necessary.

Maybe Favre will turn Greg Camarillo or Javon Walker into this year's Rice. But probably not.

What's more likely is that Peterson reasserts himself, and the Vikings become the physical, run-first team we expected them to be last year.