Peterson returns to site of big day vs. Rams/ESPN

[RamBill]

Peterson returns to site of big day vs. Rams
By Ben Goessling

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/138589/peterson-returns-to-site-of-big-day-vs-rams

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The first carry of Adrian Peterson's 2013 season saw him break free for a 78-yard touchdown. The first of the 2014 season will come in the building where he recorded the longest run of his career the last time he visited.

The Minnesota Vikings' previous trip to St. Louis came in Week 15 of the 2012 season, in a game the Vikings had to win to keep themselves in the playoff race. Peterson was in the middle of a transcendent stretch, having logged at least 100 yards in his previous seven games and gaining 210 two weeks before in Green Bay. The Rams game, though, turned out to be Peterson's best of the season; he ran for 212 yards on 24 carries, with 82 of them coming on a touchdown run that helped him get the last word over a defense Peterson said had him in a foul mood that day.

"What I do remember about that game is that it's first time in eight years, I've ever talked off to players," Peterson said in a conference call with St. Louis reporters on Wednesday. "Those guys had me so hot; like, I haven't ever been that mad playing football. Those guys were just running to the ball -- I love it, too -- but (they) were just yapping at the mouth. I'm talking about from the defensive front to the second level to the secondary. Those guys were just yapping and they were doing pretty good initially, kind of getting a couple tackles for loss, a couple of three-and-outs. And then when I gunned at them one time, it got real quiet. I'm not going to give you my hint. I hope they come in talking a lot of noise this time, too. I'm excited to play these guys."

Sunday's game should be a good opening test for Peterson against an aggressive Rams defense that was ninth in the league against the run last season while posting 53 sacks. The Rams took down opposing quarterbacks on 10.2 percent of their dropbacks, which was tied for the second-highest rate in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and pressure from the St. Louis front four could make Peterson a safety valve for Matt Cassel, through his new role in the passing game and delayed handoffs designed to take advantage of aggressive fronts.

"I think they do a tremendous job up front creating pressure, making you get the ball out quick, make quick decisions at the quarterback position," Cassel said. "I think it's going to be a big task for us this week to take care of that front and be able to let me get the ball out and I think that these guys will be up for the challenge."

Peterson didn't play at all in the preseason, and has seemed eager to get his first game action in the Vikings' new offense after a long stretch of non-contact work. "He welcomes contact even when he's running and doing those thing," Cassel said. "You can see that he doesn't shy away from it and it's almost the defender's responsibility to get out of the way. I think that that's how he's got to practice and that's how he plays no matter what the situation and that's good because once he gets to the season I think that's why he's ready to go."

He'll have a little extra edge playing against a Rams defense that brought out the best in him last time.

"They have some guys that can get to the ball, to the passer and they run to the ball well," Peterson said. "I know Coach Zimmer would love that type of defense. I'm excited to play those guys."

 

[Speeps]

The Rams are quiet. Just they way I like it. They shouldn't respond to Peterson. They should just come out and kick his ass.

 

[jjab360]

"What I do remember about that game is that it's first time in eight years, I've ever talked off to players," Peterson said in a conference call with St. Louis reporters on Wednesday. "Those guys had me so hot; like, I haven't ever been that mad playing football. Those guys were just running to the ball -- I love it, too -- but (they) were just yapping at the mouth. I'm talking about from the defensive front to the second level to the secondary. Those guys were just yapping and they were doing pretty good initially, kind of getting a couple tackles for loss, a couple of three-and-outs. And then when I gunned at them one time, it got real quiet. I'm not going to give you my hint. I hope they come in talking a lot of noise this time, too. I'm excited to play these guys."

Even though Peterson got the upper hand in the end, it's still pretty interesting to hear how they were able to get in his head like that.

 

[theramsruleUK]

There is zero chance our D will be quite, I expect a lot of chatter but hey if we can back it up.. I have no problem with that at all

 

[shovelpass]

Rams D talking it up only to have it backfire, sounds about right. Steve Smith and Golden Taint can attest to that.

 

[Athos]

Time to take the mental midget down then.

Time to make Peterson irrelevant this time. By turning Cassel into a punching bag.

 

[RaminExile]

I don't mind us talking at him. We can talk because we ARE going to back it up and stop him cold. Got a lot of respect for him as a player though.

 

[fearsomefour]

Rams D talking it up only to have it backfire, sounds about right. Steve Smith and Golden Taint can attest to that.

Yep. Jenkins just killed me last year....embarrassing.

 

[fearsomefour]

Peterson faced New Orleans (with GW) three times from 2009-2011.
Totals were:
54 carries, 269 yards, 3 TDs. 4.9 yards a carry is pretty impressive.
My biggest concern with the Vikings is big plays. Either from Peterson running, Peterson in the passing game or off of play action after a bunch of Peterson running. Adrian getting the ball 22* or more times and it is tough to keep him from popping one or two. The Rams being able to run the ball themselves and limit the touches Peterson gets by controlling the clock will really help the front 7 this week.
One thing for sure, if the Rams pressure is strong and or there is a lot of blitzing you can expect to see Peterson on screens....and more than a couple of times.

*totally random number based on nothing in particular.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I can't wait until Sunday.
Talk or no talk. I expect to see an aggressive defense from week one this year.
AP will not be getting 212 yds. 80 maybe.

 

[The Rammer]

Yep. Jenkins just killed me last year....embarrassing.

STEVE SMITH ATE JJ'S LUNCH DINNER AND BREAKFAST THAT NEXT DAY

 

[Loyal]

I guess I'm from a different generation. I certainly did not trash when playing..Wanted my play to speak for me..It was just an embarrassment seeing Jenkins talk the cr@p that he did to Steve Smith last year, and then what happened. Just go out an dominate, and make them say how good you were after the game. Make it so apparent through domination, that it would be stupid to deny the @sskicking...

 

[Realign]

I've heard talk of Cassel using Peterson as a safety valve, kinda of a way to counter act the Rams aggressive pass rush. I would love to see Cassel try and throw a short pass out in the flat to Peterson to avoid a big sack only to have it picked off by Ogletree and returned for a pick 6. Then the Rams never look back from there. They hold Peteson to no more than 75 yards rushing, end up with at least 2 picks (one of these being a pick 6), 4 sacks and the Rams role to a solid 2 touchdown victory.

 

[RamBill]

Here comes AP: Vikings RB poses huge threat to Rams
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2e12a954-d2cb-5d0c-9a0b-26ce8a5733bb.html

The last time Adrian Peterson visited the Gateway to the West, he was totally shut down in the first quarter at the Edward Jones Dome.

Five of his first eight carries that day went for negative yardage. Entering the second quarter, he had eight yards to show for those eight carries. The Rams’ defense was all over him, physically and verbally.

“I think that’s the first time in eight years I’ve ever talked noise to players,” Peterson said on a conference call Wednesday with St. Louis reporters. “Those guys had me so hot — I haven’t ever been that mad playing football.

“They were yapping at the mouth. I’m talking about from the defensive front, to the second level, to the secondary. Those guys were just yapping and they were doing pretty good initially.

“And then when I gutted them that one time, it got real quiet. ... I hope they come in talking a lot of noise this time, too.”

Peterson gutted them to the tune of an 82-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Not only did it break a 7-7 tie, it broke the Rams’ backs, starting a run of 26 unanswered points for the Vikings, who went on to win 36-22 in 2012.

By day’s end, Peterson had 212 yards rushing — his last carry of the day went for 52 — en route to a 2,097-yard season, the second-highest season total in NFL history.

The mid-December loss ended any hopes of a playoff berth in Jeff Fisher’s inaugural Rams season; the team had been flirting with wild-card status at the time.

Even though the Vikings were playing it ultra-conservative at the time with quarterback Christian Ponder, de facto Rams defensive coordinator Blake Williams called a blitz on the play — a strange call on a 1st-and-10 from the Vikings’ 18.

Williams, the son of current defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, was not retained at the end of the season. At the Senior Bowl five weeks later, Blake told the Post-Dispatch that he thought that call may have led to his dismissal.

“We were in the wrong defense, obviously, ” Fisher said after that game. “We were expecting pass ... and so I think as coaches we have to take that.”

Exactly why the Rams were expecting pass remains a mystery because the Vikings were the league’s 32nd-ranked pass offense at the time.

In any event, the Rams sent safety Quintin Mikell and linebacker Rocky McIntosh in from their right on a blitz. Compounding matters was the fact that defensive tackle Kendall Langford dropped off the line into coverage. All of that left Peterson with a huge hole once he reached the line of scrimmage — and he knew what to do with it.

But back to the chirping. Did Peterson’s run quiet the Rams?

“I guess that’s his opinion,” linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. “That’s all right. Maybe we got quiet; maybe we didn’t.”

“Well, you know, when you take the ball 82 yards to the house, there’s not much to say after that,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said.

So Laurinaitis was impressed with the play?

“There’s a lot of plays that Adrian has that I’m impressed with,” Laurinaitis replied.

There’s no doubting that. In the Rams’ defensive team meeting Wednesday, Gregg Williams told the players they were facing the best back in football in Sunday’s season opener at the Edward Jones Dome.

Defensive end Chris Long explained why.

“He doesn’t avoid contact, and if you’re a DB, he’s gonna find out if you like to hit people or not,” Long said. “And he’s gonna figure out who wants to tackle.”

Coupled with that punishing style is excellent vision and tremendous open-field acceleration.

“There’s some great backs just as good as him in the tackle box,” Long said. “But when he gets in the second level and when you let him out into the back end of your defense, he’s the best. And that’s what separates him.”

So for all the hype about the Rams’ pass rush and the #SackCity nickname, Sunday’s game figures to be more a test of how well the Rams play run defense.

Can they neutralize Peterson?

“That’s the only way you can give yourself a chance to win the game,” Dunbar said. “Neutralize him, which is easier said than done. We know the type of challenge that he brings. We know his attitude, and the running style. He can change the game obviously.”

Peterson comes to the dome with fresh legs.

As has been the case in recent years, he didn’t play at all in the entire preseason. He hasn’t carried the football once in exhibition play since 2011.

In fact, his only exhibition action over the past three years was two snaps in Game 3 against San Francisco. (He was a decoy on a pair of play-action passes.)

Peterson spent his game nights this August chewing sunflower seeds — Ranch flavor — on the sideline.

“Two bags, man,” Peterson said. “I try to not have a dip in (of tobacco), so I constantly have to have the seeds in the mouth.”

Peterson, who turned 29 in March, is closing in on 30 — the age when many running backs fall off the cliff in terms of production. His yards per carry dropped from 6.0 during his superhuman 2012 season to a still very respectable 4.5 last season.

After the 2,000-yard campaign, he rushed for “only” 1,266 yards last season, missing 2 ½ games late in the year with groin and foot injuries. Peterson underwent offseason groin surgery, but says he’s fully healthy.

Healthy and ready to quiet the dome Sunday afternoon. Not that the Rams’ defense is going to change its tune.

“No,” Langford said. “We’re going to be us. We will keep talking. We’re gonna hit, we’re gonna stick, we’re gonna talk (stuff).”
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Rams opener • Noon Sunday vs. Minnesota

TV • KTVI (Ch. 2)

 

[RamsesIII]

"Peterson, who turned 29 in March, is closing in on 30 — the age when many running backs fall off the cliff in terms of production. His yards per carry dropped from 6.0 during his superhuman 2012 season to a still very respectable 4.5 last season."

I think I mentioned in a previous thread about how hard Peterson has worked this off-season. He's determined to have a record-breaking year. So, I think he's going to be a load. I wish Greg Williams' history against him was better. We'll see. He will do some damage, I'm certain, but if we can hold him to around 100 yards & one touchdown, then I think we win by 2 TD's. Defense will score. Special teams will score. And the offense will do a good job of controlling the ball. 27 - 10.

 

[Oldgeek]

Rams can't get to focused on Cassel when AP is really their main weapon. The Rams can put pressure with the front 4 so they need to be careful sending everyone and leaving AP alone out in the flat.

 

[LetsGoRams]

I remember being at that game. We were dominating the line of scrimmage and AP couldn't do anything - then bam.. Gone - 82 yards. Thanks to the ole' defense of Mr. Craig Dahl... he turned around so many times I thought he was going to screw himself into the ground. Next thing you know he put up 2 hundy against us...

 

[RamBill]

Rams have hands full with Adrian Peterson
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11309/rams-have-hands-full-with-peterson

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis winces at its mention. The it in this case being the 82-yard lightning bolt of a touchdown run Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson delivered in his team's win against the Rams in a 2012 meeting.

That was the last time the Rams and Vikings met, a 36-22 Minnesota win in which Peterson was held to 8 yards on his first eight carries before ripping off the long touchdown run that essentially buried the Rams.

"I remember that 82-yard run that Adrian had," Laurinaitis said. "I thought we came out, played solid the first quarter and then bam, he hits that. You can shut him down, shut him down, shut him down but really any play he can take it to the house."

The play was one of the most memorable of that season for all the wrong reasons. While nobody will really say it now, it was also the play that shined a negative light on then linebackers coach/de facto defensive coordinator Blake Williams.

On first-and-10 from Minnesota's 18, Williams called for an odd zone blitz in which defensive tackle Kendall Langford faked toward the line of scrimmage then dropped back into coverage. Peterson burst through the spot Langford vacated, juked right, jumped back left, turned the speed to a higher gear, made safety Craig Dahl miss and raced the rest of the way for the touchdown.

Peterson's big play not only gave Minnesota a 14-7 lead it would not relinquish but quieted a Rams defense that had spent most of the first quarter barking at him. He finished with 212 yards on 24 carries, including a 52-yard run later in the game.

"What I do remember about that game is that it’s first time in eight years, I’ve ever talked off to players," Peterson said. "Those guys had me so hot; like, I haven't ever been that mad playing football. Those guys were just running to the ball -- I love it, too -- but (they) were just yapping at the mouth. I'm talking about from the defensive front to the second level to the secondary. Those guys were just yapping and they were doing pretty good initially, kind of getting a couple tackles for loss, a couple of three-and-outs.

"Then when I gummed at them one time, it got real quiet."

It's become pretty common to see plenty of chirping from the Rams under coach Jeff Fisher. That part of it probably won't change Sunday when the teams renew acquaintances. But there are plenty of things that have since that meeting.

While much of the personnel on the Rams defense is similar, most of it is far more experienced than it was at the time. Minnesota has a similar look on its offensive line but much more in the way of weapons to complement Peterson.

Most important, the Rams have a different, more experienced Williams guiding the defense. Gregg Williams, Blake's father and the man who was supposed to be the defensive coordinator for that 2012 game is finally settled in that role.

“We’ve got a lot of the same guys here, but we’ve got a different approach and a different game plan to this," Fisher said. "Realistically speaking you can’t shut him down. It’s hard to find a game where he's (struggled) unless the team got real behind fast where you’ve taken him out and neutralized him. He’s a very talented player.”

Peterson will provide the toughest of tests for a defense which finished ninth in the league against the run 2013 but had games where it was nothing but a speed bump for the likes of Dallas' DeMarco Murray and Tennessee's Chris Johnson.

While the Rams should be better equipped to slow Peterson this time around, they also should be prepared for some new wrinkles. Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner has brought his own ideas to the offense and has Peterson prepared to be more involved than ever after sitting out the preseason.

A short survey of Rams defenders on the best way to slow Peterson reveals that the first piece of the puzzle is understanding that he can't be completely stopped. Second, each defender talks about swarming to the ball to prevent him from getting to the second level so that his long runs are limited to 12 to 15 yards rather than 70 to 80.

"He’s going to figure out who wants to tackle," end Chris Long said. "I think when he gets in the second level and you let him out in the back end of your defense he’s the best. That’s what separates him is his ability to break a run. He’s not just going to chip away at you. He’s going to chip away at you and then you could have them pinned down on the 7-yard line and he’s going to go for 93 yards and a score so that’s what I think makes him one of the best."