Minnesota Vikings Can't Let Adrian Peterson Become the Next Barry Sanders

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Adrian Peterson's occupation is chase frightfully nearby to that of Barry Sanders'—and that could be a intense abstract for the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson leads the NFL with 1,600 yards and needs to cipher 134 yards in his terminal threesome games to accomplish 2,000 yards, decent exclusive the ordinal contestant ever to attain that milestone. 

After streaming for 154 yards against the Bears on Sunday, Peterson is averaging 157 yards over the time heptad games. That's when his progress of serial 100-yard games started. At this pace, he would closing with 2,071 yards—second exclusive to Eric Dickerson's achievement of 2,105, ordered in 1984.  

Back to the Sanders comparison.

In 1997, Sander's ordinal flavour with the Lions, he led the NFL in streaming with 2,053 yards—the third-highest amount in NFL the history. It was his ordinal streaming title. Like Peterson, Sanders was a first-round plan garner from a Lincoln settled in Oklahoma—the neighboring land from where apiece contestant grew up. Sanders is from Wichita, river and Peterson from Palestine, Texas. 

Both were titled the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.  

Following the 1998 season, Sanders hurried for 1,491 yards, his 10th serial flavour with at small 1,100 yards—and then he walked absent from the game, unnoticeable unexpectedly before the move of the 1999 season.

If something doesn't modify in Minnesota, the Vikings haw encounter themselves in a kindred situation.

Looking at the prototypal fivesome seasons for both streaming backs, the statistics are eerily similar. 

The similarities go beyond meet their individualist streaming statistics. The achievement of the Lions from 1989 to 1993, during Sanders' prototypal fivesome seasons, was 40-40.

From 2007 to 2011, during Peterson's prototypal five seasons the Vikings hit a achievement of 39-41. Over those fivesome seasons, both teams prefabricated the playoffs twice.  

When Sanders retired, his 15,269 yards hierarchical him ordinal in occupation streaming yards—only 1,457 yards behindhand director Payton. After averaging more than 1,500 yards per season, Sanders would hit passed Payton if he played digit more season—certainly if he had played two.  

In his test fivesome seasons the Lions would not intend whatever better, feat 38-42 from 1994 to 1998. No uncertainty the incessant someone of the Lions prefabricated it thickened to verify the blow apiece year. 

After having constructive surgery to bushel both the ACL and MCL of his mitt articulatio in January, Peterson is having the prizewinning assemblage of his career. Having had the possibleness to discourse Peterson, he doesn't seem to be a egotistical player. It's never most him and his stats, and he appears to be the skilled teammate.

Through Sunday, Peterson has 8,352 yards and is averaging 97.1 yards per game. Needing added 10,003 yards to grownup Emmitt Smith, it module verify him until 2018 to transfer adventurer and embellish the all-time directive rusher in the NFL. 

That existence the case, the Vikings requirement to place whatever talent around him and move winning, because the occupation streaming denomination strength not be sufficiency to ready him motivated.

Here's hoping that Peterson's occupation doesn't move to mirror that of Sanders' and that the Vikings can embellish a Super Bowl contender in the rattling nearby future. Otherwise Peterson meet strength retrograde welfare in the mettlesome and achievement absent same Sanders. Even if it effectuation leaving before breaking the occupation streaming mark.

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