Last Christmas Eve Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a serious knee injury in a game against the Washington Redskins.
The injury was one that is feared amongst all running backs — a torn ACL.
Peterson was carted off in Washington and was done for the season. Now the season was nearly over, but what was so bad about his injury was that it came so late in the season where it was believed that it would affect his 2012 season.
It usually takes a long rehabilitation period for players to return from a torn ACL, at the time of the injury it was unclear if Peterson would make opening day.
But from the day he was hurt he had one thing on his mind, and that was being ready for training camp. Peterson went through the rehabilitation period at a much faster pace than normal players who suffer similar injuries.
He pushed himself so that he could be ready to come back for his team. The fact that he is even playing football right now is scary enough, it is not normal to see a player return from such a serious injury so early — not to mention the fact that he is playing at an extremely high level.
One of the most exciting things to watch this NFL season has been Peterson tearing up opposing defenses.
AP has ten touchdowns this season on 1,600 yards rushing, averaging 123 yards per game. Eight times this season he has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game, and he is currently on a seven game streak of 100 plus yard performances. He also has had game where he rushed for 171, 182, and 210 yards.
It seems like every week you can count on a long Peterson touchdown where he carves through the defense and goes the distance – it truly has been an amazing sight to see.
With three games left in the season, Peterson could still total out with 2,000 rushing yards by the end of the year.
Granted, two of the Vikings last games are against the Texans and the Packers, but Adrian could easily pull it out.
Usually running backs take a step back after an ACL injury, Peterson has moved forward and has cemented himself as the best running back in the league. As he gets closer to 2,000 yards on the season it seems like he may be the front runner for comeback player of the year.
The whole team should be praised for their turn around; they finished the 2011 season with a 3-13 record and are currently in the playoff hunt with a record of 7-6. Now they most likely will not make the playoffs, but the fact that they are even in the discussion and have a positive record is impressive.
The Vikings were abysmal last season; Peterson has returned this year with a vengeance and has helped his team turn it around. IF Peterson can keep this up the Vikings might return to their dominance in a year or two.
One thing is for sure: AP is back and is having a memorable season.
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to
tyrollason@yahoo.com.
