Adrian Peterson not Slowing Down
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson talked about breaking Emmitt Smiths All-Time NFL leading rushing of 18,355 yards last year. Right now, he has 11,675 yards so he has a long way to go. Peterson is now 31 with over 2,000 carries, when running backs generally slow down.
He has also complained in recent months about the grind of training camp and OTAs. That doesn’t bode well for becoming the NFL’s All-Time leading rusher. But he still loves the game and works extremely hard, outdoing anything he does with his team while working out on his own.
Ben Goessling of ESPN did a report on Peterson’s work in Houston after the Vikings’ offseason program. The grueling workout, which consists of a some running and lifting and agility drills. The main part of it is a series of 10 40-yard dashes, with 30 seconds of rest in between each one.
And Goessling reported that his slowest ones were in the range of 4.49 to 4.55 seconds. Those times are good for most running backs period and Peterson did this while winded from resting only 30 seconds. And this is a 31-year-old tailback with over 2,000 NFL carries.
If you watched him play last year, you can see that he has not slowed down at all. He lead the league in rushing in 2015 with 1,485 yards, averaging 92 yards per game with all the burst he went into the NFL with. And he’s determined to go past what the experts expect of him.
Peterson told Goessling, “There’s nothing you can do about it if your body starts breaking down and you getting injuries and things like that,” “I mean, there are ways to try and prevent that, but I don’t know what [Walter] Payton did going into his last 1,000-yard season.
“I don’t know what Emmitt [Smith] did. All I know is that from the history I’ve seen, when it comes to athletes, I’ve [seen] so many athletes go way past what people think. That’s the mindset that I have, as well. In this world we live in, people always like to just put you in this box,.
“I guess it’s like what drives this world, you know, and it just hurts me that people take that approach, to viewing people and expectations they put on people, the limitations they put on people because of our age.
“Being 31, I’m able to see that I’m outdoing the younger guys that are fresh out of college. It’s always just confidence to inspire you to keep working hard.”
Watch out Emmitt, he’s coming!