Rotoworld reports Adrian Peterson to miss three weeks

[covering head, ducking] Kidding!...I'm kidding about fanboy Rotoworld!...[/covering head, ducking]

But the news is bad for A.Peterson/Vikings regardless. This is really too bad both for NFL fans and Vikes fans...the kid was really becoming a weekly monster out there and fun as hell to watch, despite the brutal team he plays on.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Adrian Peterson (torn lateral knee ligament) is expected to be out for up to three weeks. Chester Taylor will take over as Minnesota's starter, and would have excellent matchups against the Raiders in Week 11 and Lions in Week 13, with a game vs. the Giants sandwiched in. Peterson isn't expected to need surgery and should be back before the end of the season, but this is a devastating loss for a Vikings offense that presents no threat of a passing game.

 

Shit.

Last time he was listed as "Questionable," I sat him and he scored three TDs.

 

Oh, fudge.

 

Nobody cares about your fantasy team, fanboy looser. [/spnited]

 

You mean 'Spirited,' don't you?

 

IIRC, all of the injuries he had at OU weren't lower body. When you start tearing knee ligaments and the such, you open yourself up for losing a lot of money in the future.

 

Keep up the good work, Norm. Saves me the trouble.

 

All Day will be OK.

 

Happy to help, spnited. Happy to help.

 

Grade A is what I wanted to nickname him after the 296-yard effort, but this news is making me wonder if I should go ahead and buy a ticket for the upcoming 49ers-Vikings game in SF in early December.

 

Minnesota Vikings star rookie Adrian Peterson could return by Nov. 25, but that could be risky
BY SEAN JENSEN
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/13/2007 12:35:44 AM CST

(No caption with photo)

The Vikings are not ruling out the possibility of rookie Adrian Peterson returning from a sprained right knee as soon as the Nov. 25 game against the New York Giants.

But a renowned orthopedic specialist said Peterson should shut it down for the rest of the 2007 season.

"It's not realistic," said Dr. Johnny Benjamin, the chief of orthopedics at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, Fla. "Saying it's a Grade 2-plus (tear) is the doctors trying to give coach (Brad) Childress and all the Viking faithful some hope.

"But it's a torn ligament, and a torn ligament is going to take six weeks to heal. And that's for someone like a doctor or news writer, who doesn't go out there and make cuts like Adrian Peterson obviously does."

Peterson and the Vikings were relieved Monday morning when a magnetic resonance imaging exam confirmed that the running back tore his lateral collateral ligament, the least debilitating of the four ligaments in the knee, during the third quarter of a 34-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Childress, who ruled Peterson out for Sunday's home game against the Oakland Raiders, and head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman declined to provide a timetable. But Sugarman said Peterson "absolutely has a chance" to play against the Giants, "unless there's some crazy setback."

"It is not a season-ending injury," Sugarman said. "It just is not."

Childress acknowledged that Peterson could do more damage by returning too soon, and
Advertisement
he added, "We're not going to put him out there until he can protect himself."

Benjamin said Peterson could return this season - the Vikings have seven games left - but he said the risk isn't worth taking.

"If you're looking out for that young man's career, you'd shut him down," said Benjamin, who works with the Los Angeles Dodgers during spring training and has worked with, among others, former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson. "But if coach Childress is looking for his job security, then you're trying to figure out a way to get him back on the field.

"If treated properly, Adrian Peterson will be the beast he's always been," Benjamin said. "But if treated improperly, this could be a nagging injury and impact his career, and he may never be the same. He is maybe the best rookie ever. Why would you take a chance on his career by bringing him back too early?"

Peterson said he was thankful that it was "just a sprain," admitting that he initially feared that he suffered a more serious knee injury. He didn't sleep well Sunday night, and he was nervous about his Monday morning MRI.

A few hours later, Peterson was upbeat, and he insisted the injury scare wouldn't affect his psyche or aggressive running style.

"That's me. That's how I run the ball," Peterson said. "I can't do anything about a guy coming and hitting me in my legs. It's football."

Asked if he had any fear of injuries, Peterson said, "That's not something I think about.

"I don't go out there and be worried about getting injured, because nine times out of 10, that's how you get injured," he said. "I just go out there and play fast, and let things happen."

Peterson said he would trust Sugarman and the Vikings' medical staff to help him get back onto the football field. But it is common for injured players to seek a second opinion, especially on a day off like today.

Sugarman said offensive linemen, with a brace, could play with the injury as soon as Sunday. In October 2002, Packers quarterback Brett Favre suffered an LCL sprain, rested during the bye week, then continued his record streak of consecutive games played.

Sugarman said Peterson's knee needs to be more stable than either an offensive lineman's or a quarterback's.

"He is an aggressive, violent runner," Sugarman said. "He's not physically able to do that (cut) yet. You've got to let the trauma settle down."

Benjamin said an LCL tear can heal if "given the proper time," but he added that there are no exercises or magic elixirs to expedite the process.

"You don't want to stress it," Benjamin said. "Let it quiet down. Get it nice and strong and tight again."

There is another challenge, Benjamin said: Even if Peterson's knee heals, his fitness could suffer because his workout options would be limited.

"He may be able to swim and ride a bike and do Pilates," Benjamin said, "but football has that added dimension, and that's contact."

Benjamin pointed to players who miss a significant chunk of training camp but keep working out. "It's not the same," Benjamin said. "You got to get back in football shape."

With 1,081 yards, Peterson leads the NFL in rushing, and he's still on pace to break Eric Dickerson's rookie record of 1,808. But Benjamin said that shouldn't matter.

"Why push him for a rookie record?" Benjamin said. "Part of the issue with professional sports is, there are a lot of things that come into play, and it usually relates to dollars and cents. If I was Adrian's uncle, there would be no way I would advise him (to play)."

Sean Jensen can be reached at sjensen@pioneerpress.com.

 

Msaint, considering I roasted you on the other thread, have to give props when due...
Great thread title. The ability to poke fun at yourself will take you a long way here.