Peterson's Dad: Give My Son Some Help

Back when Tarvaris Jackson was assumed to be the long-term quarterback of the Vikings, his teammates talked around any question of whether Jackson was the right man for the job.

But now that we're just waiting for Brett Favre to make it official that he's going to be a Viking, and Sage Rosenfels is set to be the backup, it's pretty much open season for players (or player's dads) to explain what it's been like in recent years.
When asked about the possibility of Favre becoming a Viking, Adrian Peterson's father let it rip.

"Anybody who can keep nine guys out of the box would be greatly appreciated," Nelson Peterson said. "I don't care if it's Tarvaris (Jackson), Sage (Rosenfels), Brett Favre or anybody else."

He may say he doesn't care who is at quarterback, but he's also pointing out that defenses haven't worried about Jackson.

Notice he said nine in the box. Against most running teams, a defense may bring the strong safety up to the line to help out. Peterson isn't exagerating when he says that against the Vikings, teams sometimes brought both the strong safety and the free safety up into run support. Such a defense should leave massive gaps in the secondary for a passing attack, but with Jackson (especially in 2007) that wasn't nearly as scary as the thought of Peterson getting free with room to run.

That's where Favre could make his biggest impact. Peterson has rushed for 3,101 yards in his first two seasons against defense that are stacked almost entirely to stop him. If Favre can make opponents respect the passing game, who knows how many yards Peterson could gain.