Peterson's comin' for you...
Published: 9/21/2006 10:14 PM
Last Modified: 9/21/2006 10:14 PM
Sitting at home giving my DVR a workout while catching up on last weekend's Separation Saturday when I was nearly thunderstruck by a moment of genius by ESPN studio analyst Mark May.
Watching the Iowa State-Iowa game, I'm fast-forwarding through halftime when I see Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson. So I rewind to hear what May and Lou Holtz are saying, and May says something I can hardly believe.
May is very smart, and as a college football hall of famer and NFL veteran, he certainly knows football. But I find myself disagreeing with him more and more. Sometimes I think he says things for shock value.
But this?
May said he played with the Chicago Bears in the '80s, and said Peterson reminds him of Walter Payton for the way he punishes defenders at the end of runs.
I can't believe it.
I finally found someone who agrees with me on this point.
Two years ago, it was trendy to try to find someone from the past to compare to Peterson. I'm largely of the Bob Stoops school of thought here in that Peterson's style and combination of speed and power are truly unique.
The public first compared Peterson to Eric Dickerson because both run somewhat upright. Wrong. As a lifelong Rams fan who worshipped Dickerson as a teenager, I can honestly say you'd do just as well to compare Peterson to Barry Sanders. Dickerson was big and fast, and although he had some juke to him, he was smooth as glass. He was big, but he wasn't as powerful or explosive as Peterson. Dickerson never punished anyone. If running backs were action heroes, Dickerson would be James Bond. Peterson is John Rambo, in and out quick and leaving bodies everywhere.
(Remember that line Rambo says over the radio to the C.O. who hung him out to dry? The guy says to give them his position and "we'll come and get you." Rambo's reply: "Murdock...I'm comin' to get you!" That look on Murdock's face is the same look you see on the face of defensive backs when Peterson has the football.)
Some wanted to compare Peterson to Marcus Allen. This isn't bad. Allen was also a big guy and always knew how to finish a run. But even in his prime, Allen couldn't have come close to Peterson's speed or explosion.
While in New York for Peterson and Jason White's Heisman Trophy ceremony in December 2004, I was on a national radio talk show and came up with George Rogers. Rogers won the '80 Heisman as a 230-pound senior at South Carolina. Rogers' upper body strength was amazing, and he loved to punish defenders. But Rogers at times ran like a fullback, lacking that initial burst to reach top speed and that one juke to get defenders off balance.
Jim Brown? Never saw him live, but a fair comparison. Brown was a fullback at Cleveland, 235 pounds of attitude. But it's too hard to compare runners from four decades apart because – well, just look at the tapes. Defenders then were not what they are now, or even 20 years ago.
What about Herschel Walker? Hmm. Walker is arguably the greatest running back in college history, doing in three years what takes most superstars at least four. Walker was faster than Peterson, and one of the few in history who can match Peterson's chiseled physique. But Peterson is taller, slimmer and has a better wiggle. And while Walker was a mountain of power, he didn't make a habit out of running over folks, and he seldom sought out the defender.
Bo Jackson? Now we're getting real, real close. Bo was faster than Peterson. He's certainly one of a handful of guys who can match Peterson's sheer burst and power running with the ball. Could he finish like Peterson? Ask Brian Bosworth. But Peterson is a bit better side-to-side than Jackson was.
Which brings us to my favorite running back of all time, my vote as the best ballcarrier in the history of the game: Walter Payton.
Wait, you say. Payton was 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds. That's not in Peterson's class. True, but proportionately, they're similar.
Peterson, you say, is a north-south runner, while Payton never met a direction he didn't like. I'll give you that, although Peterson's one-on-one spin move is as wicked as there is, and his first-move cut on the second level of defenders can break ankles.
My comparison of A.D. to Sweetness is based on the same as May's: how they finish a run. No running back – this side of the fullbackish Larry Csonka, John Riggins and Jim Brown, that is – could make a defender afraid like Payton. And no one's brought that kind of fear with him into a football game since then quite like Peterson has.
-- John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
