stoops the eternal pimp
5/5/2007, 09:35 PM
Peterson has a high-profile fan club
Top draft pick excites Vikings greats Smith, Foreman
BY DON SEEHOLZER
Pioneer Press
Article Launched: 05/02/2007 12:01:00 AM CDT
Count the best running backs in Vikings history among those who can't wait to see No. 1 draft choice Adrian Peterson carry the football this season.
Robert Smith, now a college football analyst for ESPN, said Tuesday that the former Oklahoma star was his favorite player to watch the past three seasons.
"I could not be more excited that he's going to Minnesota," Smith said. "He plays with so much fury and fire; he's so motivated. I will watch every game very closely. I'm really excited, and I anticipate that my reign as all-time leading rusher is going to be over very early into the next decade."
Smith rushed for a franchise-record 6,818 yards during his career with the Vikings. Chuck Foreman, whose 5,879 rushing yards rank second, is another big Peterson fan.
"I thought it was a great pick for the Vikings," he said. "A player with that type of ability doesn't come around that often."
Peterson also got a ringing endorsement from current starting fullback Tony Richardson, a 12-year NFL veteran who has blocked for such 1,000-yard rushers as Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in Kansas City and Chester Taylor with the Vikings last season.
"Obviously, this kid is a tremendous talent," Richardson said. "To me, he was the third-best player in the entire draft, and we're very fortunate to be able to land him. I look at him on film, and he has the size of Eddie George, the speed of a LaDainian Tomlinson. He's shifty. He can do it all. I think the kid has all the talent to be a great back in this league."
Smith, Foreman and Richardson stressed that this was not to slight Taylor, who rushed for 1,216 yards last season and is expected to split time with the 6-foot-1½, 217-pound rookie. Foreman called Taylor a "superb" back who can "get you the tough yards." Smith said Taylor's size (5-11, 213) might make him more of a third-down back.
"It's always good," Smith said, "to have guys who are somewhat different in their capabilities."
But it's Peterson, the marquee member of the Vikings' draft class of 2007, who has local fans buzzing.
Vikings vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix said the draft has been good for ticket sales but declined to provide any numbers.
"We've definitely had a lot of activity since the draft, but that's fairly normal for a post-draft weekend," LaCroix said. "The fan reaction has been very positive about our picks. The good thing is we came out of the weekend with a real positive buzz."
Vikings Locker Room in Bloomington has not received its first shipment of No. 28 Peterson jerseys, but manager Allison Savage said pre-order sales on the store's Web site have been brisk.
"We've had a lot of phone calls, I know that," Savage said, adding that the jerseys will sell for $74.99 and that she hopes to have them in the store by the end of the week.
Considering that much of the talk before the draft centered on the Vikings' uninspiring performance in free agency and the prospect of local TV blackouts, Foreman said Peterson is just what this team needed.
"I'm telling you, we have been stagnant here as far as excitement of the fans for the last year, year and a half," he said. "You could see it at training camp last summer. Attendance was way, way down since we lost Daunte Culpepper and those guys. Now maybe it will pick up because Adrian Peterson is going to be a headliner, for sure. I think not only did we get a fantastic person, but he's someone they can market."
Unlike Foreman, Smith no longer lives in Minnesota, but he said fans have good reason to be excited.
"It's been a tough few years," he said. "I think you have some players in there now who can generate some excitement. It's great to see the fans excited. We built something really special there in the late '90s and the early part of this decade. There's been so much turmoil lately. I know people have been wondering if they were going to get things turned around. I think it's pretty clear that they're making a move to put out a great product and make a run at the playoffs."
That might be a bit optimistic for a team that finished 6-10 last year and is expected to open the season with inexperienced second-year man Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, but Smith is sure of this much:
With Peterson in the backfield mix, the Vikings should be fun to watch.
"I always want Minnesota to win, but now I'm really excited to watch them," he said. "I can't wait to see him run. For the fans up there who haven't had a chance to see him play, they're in for a treat."
Briefly: Peterson is scheduled to participate in this weekend's three-day rookie minicamp, but no final decision has been made on whether he will need surgery on his healing right collarbone. The Vikings have said they plan to monitor his progress and then re-evaluate their options.
Don Seeholzer can be reached at [email protected].
Top draft pick excites Vikings greats Smith, Foreman
BY DON SEEHOLZER
Pioneer Press
Article Launched: 05/02/2007 12:01:00 AM CDT
Count the best running backs in Vikings history among those who can't wait to see No. 1 draft choice Adrian Peterson carry the football this season.
Robert Smith, now a college football analyst for ESPN, said Tuesday that the former Oklahoma star was his favorite player to watch the past three seasons.
"I could not be more excited that he's going to Minnesota," Smith said. "He plays with so much fury and fire; he's so motivated. I will watch every game very closely. I'm really excited, and I anticipate that my reign as all-time leading rusher is going to be over very early into the next decade."
Smith rushed for a franchise-record 6,818 yards during his career with the Vikings. Chuck Foreman, whose 5,879 rushing yards rank second, is another big Peterson fan.
"I thought it was a great pick for the Vikings," he said. "A player with that type of ability doesn't come around that often."
Peterson also got a ringing endorsement from current starting fullback Tony Richardson, a 12-year NFL veteran who has blocked for such 1,000-yard rushers as Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in Kansas City and Chester Taylor with the Vikings last season.
"Obviously, this kid is a tremendous talent," Richardson said. "To me, he was the third-best player in the entire draft, and we're very fortunate to be able to land him. I look at him on film, and he has the size of Eddie George, the speed of a LaDainian Tomlinson. He's shifty. He can do it all. I think the kid has all the talent to be a great back in this league."
Smith, Foreman and Richardson stressed that this was not to slight Taylor, who rushed for 1,216 yards last season and is expected to split time with the 6-foot-1½, 217-pound rookie. Foreman called Taylor a "superb" back who can "get you the tough yards." Smith said Taylor's size (5-11, 213) might make him more of a third-down back.
"It's always good," Smith said, "to have guys who are somewhat different in their capabilities."
But it's Peterson, the marquee member of the Vikings' draft class of 2007, who has local fans buzzing.
Vikings vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix said the draft has been good for ticket sales but declined to provide any numbers.
"We've definitely had a lot of activity since the draft, but that's fairly normal for a post-draft weekend," LaCroix said. "The fan reaction has been very positive about our picks. The good thing is we came out of the weekend with a real positive buzz."
Vikings Locker Room in Bloomington has not received its first shipment of No. 28 Peterson jerseys, but manager Allison Savage said pre-order sales on the store's Web site have been brisk.
"We've had a lot of phone calls, I know that," Savage said, adding that the jerseys will sell for $74.99 and that she hopes to have them in the store by the end of the week.
Considering that much of the talk before the draft centered on the Vikings' uninspiring performance in free agency and the prospect of local TV blackouts, Foreman said Peterson is just what this team needed.
"I'm telling you, we have been stagnant here as far as excitement of the fans for the last year, year and a half," he said. "You could see it at training camp last summer. Attendance was way, way down since we lost Daunte Culpepper and those guys. Now maybe it will pick up because Adrian Peterson is going to be a headliner, for sure. I think not only did we get a fantastic person, but he's someone they can market."
Unlike Foreman, Smith no longer lives in Minnesota, but he said fans have good reason to be excited.
"It's been a tough few years," he said. "I think you have some players in there now who can generate some excitement. It's great to see the fans excited. We built something really special there in the late '90s and the early part of this decade. There's been so much turmoil lately. I know people have been wondering if they were going to get things turned around. I think it's pretty clear that they're making a move to put out a great product and make a run at the playoffs."
That might be a bit optimistic for a team that finished 6-10 last year and is expected to open the season with inexperienced second-year man Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, but Smith is sure of this much:
With Peterson in the backfield mix, the Vikings should be fun to watch.
"I always want Minnesota to win, but now I'm really excited to watch them," he said. "I can't wait to see him run. For the fans up there who haven't had a chance to see him play, they're in for a treat."
Briefly: Peterson is scheduled to participate in this weekend's three-day rookie minicamp, but no final decision has been made on whether he will need surgery on his healing right collarbone. The Vikings have said they plan to monitor his progress and then re-evaluate their options.
Don Seeholzer can be reached at [email protected].