Adrian Peterson wants to prove he’s not one-dimensional

Adrian Peterson seems determined to prove that he’s not just a one-dimensional running back.

There are several knocks on Adrian Peterson as a football player (there are several other knocks on him as a person but we’ll leave that for another day).

1. He fumbles too much.

2. He doesn’t always run with enough patience.

3. He can’t stay on the field on third down because he’s not a good enough receiver/pass blocker.

These knocks always come up whenever Peterson’s place in history is discussed. The argument goes that Peterson will never be considered a truly great back like Walter Payton because Peterson fumbles too much and is too one-dimensional.

Last year, all Peterson’s warts as a player seemed to come popping out in an alarming way. Not only did he fumble more, he also gave fuel to the one-dimensionality argument by becoming such a liability in third down situations that he was often yanked off the field in favor of Jerick McKinnon.

Peterson’s lack of patience as a runner and receiver also showed up whenever the Vikings tried to employ him in spread looks with Teddy Bridgewater lined up in shotgun.

More from The Viking Age

• 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
• Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
• Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
• 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
• Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022

To Peterson’s credit, he seems to have taken his somewhat shaky 2015 season as motivation to get better in those problematic areas. The running back worked with a private coach this offseason to get better at running routes (per Minneapolis Star-Tribune) and also did more work running out of shotgun looks.

The emphasis for Peterson is on becoming more patient when rushing the ball and when running pass patterns.

Will this extra work pay off for Peterson in the form of better production in shotgun looks and more time on the field?

There is good reason to be skeptical about Peterson’s ability to clean up this part of his game.

Peterson didn’t become the player he is today by being patient and letting things develop. His game has always been about lining up deep in the backfield, getting up a head of steam, taking the hand off and exploding through the hole.

Few running backs in history have burst through the line with as much violence as Peterson, and few have delivered as much pain to would-be tacklers after that initial burst.

Add break-away speed and you have the makings of a great pure running back.

The word “pure” is the nagging one for Peterson. It implies lack of multi-dimensionality.

As dominating as Peterson has been, it obviously bugs him that people don’t believe he’s a truly complete back. This year, Peterson wants to prove his doubters wrong by showing he can get it done in all areas of the game.

Next: Sharrif Floyd health worries

Peterson has proven doubters wrong many times before. After he tore his ACL, he returned faster than anyone thought possible. After he missed nearly a full season due to off-field issues, he came back stronger than most people believed he would.

But this time, Peterson isn’t coming back from an injury or shaking off rust to return to his Pro Bowl form. This time he’s up against his own impatient nature.

For Peterson to improve in the way the Vikings need him to improve, he has to go completely against what has always made him who he is. Can Adrian Peterson learn patience this late in the game? He will have to if he wants to silence his critics.