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Peterson might run ball out of multiple sets
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
8/29/2006
The junior is an I-back, but OU will run more shotgun this year.
NORMAN -- Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is the classic I-formation tailback: Big, strong, powerful, explosive, fast and determined.
But does that limit Peterson's involvement in the Sooners' offense this season? It's expected that OU, with new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson calling plays, will line up often in the shotgun formation, much the same he ran as coordinator at Miami-Ohio and Northwestern, and again in OU's Holiday Bowl win over Oregon last December.
Will Peterson's effectiveness as a power runner be lessened if he's taking handoffs from a standing start?
"Coming out of the shot gun, it's not like coming straight downhill when you're in the I-formation or in the one-back," Peterson said. "Being back there by yourself or with a fullback, I can get my speed and just see things clear.
"When I'm coming straight down, I have the opportunity to make a lot of different cuts. Coming out of the shotgun, it's like, you're not moving as fast and your momentum's not the same. That's the biggest difference."
In a nutshell, I-formation tailbacks are moving forward toward a designated hole
when they receive the handoff and are at full speed when they get there. Shotgun runners are often standing still when they get the football and must then find one of several potential openings, and must frequently change directions.
This is all, of course, conjecture without knowing Wilson's scheme and the frequency with which he calls Peterson's number in various formations. That will become evident on game day.
Some say it wouldn't matter where Peterson lines up; that he's talented enough for any formation. University of Alabama-Birmingham coach Watson Brown -- whose team kicks off the season-opener at 6 p.m. Saturday against the 10th-ranked Sooners at Memorial Stadium -- watched closely USC's loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl last January (Brown's brother, Mack, is the Longhorns' head coach). He figures Peterson to be a combination of Reggie Bush and LenDale White.
"He's the best back I've played in the 12 years we've been here," Watson Brown said. "I just don't see a weakness. I don't think it matters what they do with him. They could put him in the gun, they could stick him in the I, they could put him outside and throw him a quick screen. I mean, this guy can do everything."
OU running backs coach Cale Gundy agreed.
"Adrian Peterson's going to be great in the gun -- what we call the home position -- or in the I, because he's a great player," Gundy said. "He's fast, great quickness. Typically your smaller backs that don't weigh as much aren't your power-formation running guys."
Wilson cited examples in the pros.
-- Former Sooner Quentin Griffin rushed for 1,884 yards in 2002 at OU out of the shotgun, but, at 5-foot-7, 190 pounds, hasn't made a great impact in the NFL because he isn't the prototype back for a physical running game (Griffin has also been injured).
-- NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith, Wilson said, was suited for the I-formation in Dallas because running lanes in the I take time to develop, and Smith wasn't overly fast and knew when to cut back.
-- Barry Sanders, on the other hand, was perfect for Detroit's spread offense and, with his body type, Wilson said, might not have lasted as long in Washington or Denver running directly into defenses.
"In the shotgun, you're run ning sideways," Peterson said. "When you're back there with a fullback, you step right and your shoulders are downhill and there's a lot of different cuts you can make.
"Some guys are better in some formations, but either way, you've got to get it done."
Peterson, most suggest, is best with the quarterback in front of him, not beside him.
"He's better when he's deep than he is in the gun," Wilson said. "He's better going downhill than he is going sideways."
Conventional wisdom suggests smaller, quicker runners with a low center of gravity are better from a standing start, while bigger, stronger runners who take on tacklers are better from a running start. But it's much deeper than that.
"Some guys feel things and make nice cuts, some guys can't," Wilson said."They process it different. Whether it's their vision or mentally or whatever, I don't know."
But the idea that runners should be in formations that suit their body types, Brown said, is a fallacy.
"I don't believe that," Brown said. "I've seen all kinds of backs be good at lots of different things through my time. Now, you put 'em in the spread-type thing, they have to be good at seeing holes and hitting holes, running to daylight. You stick 'em in the I, sometimes there are hole-type running plays in the I and then there are just power plays that go right at you.
"But I just don't see this kid not being able to do all of that. I've seen him do all of that, matter of fact."
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John E. Hoover 581-8384
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