Adrian Peterson wants to break Emmitt Smith's rushing record

[WoodysGirl]

Peterson, with 8,849 yards, is approaching the halfway mark to Smith's 18,355-yard record. And last December, in our in-depth profile of Peterson as the Star Tribune Sportsman of the Year, we told A.D. that he was on pace to catch Smith in Week 4 of 2019. Peterson wouldn't accept the math, vowed to get the record sooner and promised to get back to us with his prognostication.

On Saturday, in an exclusive sitdown with the Star Tribune, we finally made Peterson do the math.

Here is the part of the exchange where Peterson, playing along in good spirits, finally delivered a projection on reaching Emmitt Smith.

Q: Forget about Eric Dickerson’s record for a minute. Last December, we talked about Emmitt Smith’s record and I told you you were on pace to get there in Week 4 of 2019. You said sooner and promised to come back with a timetable. Emmitt had 18,355 yards. You’re now 9,506 away. We need a week and a year. When do you get there?

A: Man. Oh boy. I have to do some calculations. I’ve been in the league seven years. I’m already right around [9,000]. Calculate it out … Let’s think. Maybe get a couple 2,000 yard seasons … I’ve got … Hmmm … 2017.

Read the rest: http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...ys-emmitt-smith-s-all-time-rushing-record.ece

 

[Big D]

Ha ha! Good luck!

 

[Zordon]

Better him than anyone else. AP grew up a die hard Cowboys fan.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

He can dream, can't he?

 

[Idgit]

AD could actually do it. The guy's amazing.
That said, I think, when he hits the wall, he's going to hit it really hard. Tough to say when that is, though, given how he played last year. I don't remember seeing anything like it from a RB, honestly.

 

[cowboys2233]

AD could actually do it. The guy's amazing.
That said, I think, when he hits the wall, he's going to hit it really hard. Tough to say when that is, though, given how he played last year. I don't remember seeing anything like it from a RB, honestly.

Yup, everyone thought LT had a real chance to do it -- how did that work out? When you hit the wall, you hit it hard. Already one blown out knee but hey, a guy can dream, can't he? Every running back wants to break Emmitt's record, that doesn't mean jack.

 

[FiveRings]

Imagine AD behind the lines Emmitt was behind as a Cowboy. Now that'd be scary

 

[Direwolf63]

Yup, everyone thought LT had a real chance to do it -- how did that work out? When you hit the wall, you hit it hard. Already one blown out knee but hey, a guy can dream, can't he? Every running back wants to break Emmitt's record, that doesn't mean jack.

I think he also blew out a knee at Oklahoma.

Theres no doubt the guy is amazing. But he will hit that wall at some point. Those knees will catch up to him at some point. If he falls short of the record (and I think he will) it will be because of that.

But as of today, he is a friggin' beast.

 

[Nova]

I doubt it will happen...

Remember when everyone thought Tomlinson would break Emmitt's record after his TD record 2006 season...?

That's exactly where Peterson is now. Same year in his career (6th), same age as LT was (28).

Tomlinson is only 34 now and has long since been forgotten.

If Peterson magically produces at the same level over the next 6 years (which would put him at age 34, too), he'd still be about 650 yards shy of the record.

Btw, Tomlinson was ahead of Peterson at this point in his career also.

 

[cowboys2233]

I think he also blew out a knee at Oklahoma.

Theres no doubt the guy is amazing. But he will hit that wall at some point. Those knees will catch up to him at some point. If he falls short of the record (and I think he will) it will be because of that.

But as of today, he is a friggin' beast.

Sure he is. But a) he is getting way to far ahead of himself, what happened to focusing on the here and now? and b) seems like he's really gotten into the personal achievement state of mind (not hard to do if you're playing for the Vikings), but all this noise about running for 2,500 yards and breaking Emmitt's record just sounds really dumb. I guess as a Cowboys fan, I'm really sensitive to talk and no action. LOL.

 

[Trueboysfan]

Better him than anyone else. AP grew up a die hard Cowboys fan.

Let's not forget that he's from the great state of Texas either! Huge AP fan

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

I want Emmitt's record to stand forever, but I can't deny I love watching that dude carry the football.

 

[perrykemp]

I doubt it will happen...

Remember when everyone thought Tomlinson would break Emmitt's record after his TD record 2006 season...?

That's exactly where Peterson is now. Same year in his career (6th), same age as LT was (28).

If Peterson magically produces at the same level over the next 6 years (which would put him at age 34, too), he'd still be about 650 yards shy of the record.

A lot of it has to do with longevity and teams willing to put up with average to below average performance well into a RB's twilight years.

Emmitt is a good example of this -- over his last 5 years (2000 - 2004) in the league he averaged:

878 yards rushing
5.6 TDs
3.8 ypc

Pretty terrible numbers for a half of decade.

Peterson will have to find a team that is willing to accept (like the Cardinals did for Emmitt) an aging veteran RB and be in a odd position that they can't field a competent backup.

 

[Galian Beast]

I doubt it will happen...

Remember when everyone thought Tomlinson would break Emmitt's record after his TD record 2006 season...?

That's exactly where Peterson is now. Same year in his career (6th), same age as LT was (28).

Tomlinson is only 34 now and has long since been forgotten.

If Peterson magically produces at the same level over the next 6 years (which would put him at age 34, too), he'd still be about 650 yards shy of the record.

Btw, Tomlinson was ahead of Peterson at this point in his career also.

I came here to say this...

 

[perrykemp]

I never thought Tomlinson had a chance.

I can, however, imagine a scenerio with Adrian Peterson pulls it off.

It's very unlikely, however -- heck I thought he wouldn't rush for 1000 yards this past season coming back from a pretty horrific ACL. I'm not willing to rule out the possibility.

 

[Direwolf63]

At some point, defenses will start doing a better job on him as well and make Ponder beat them through the air.

I know co-ordinators have tried already and failed miserably so far. But they will adapt eventually. They always do. Especially if Peterson loses half a step, which I think he will in the next couple of years because of past injuries.

 

[Direwolf63]

A lot of it has to do with longevity and teams willing to put up with average to below average performance well into a RB's twilight years.

Emmitt is a good example of this -- over his last 5 years (2000 - 2004) in the league he averaged:

878 yards rushing
5.6 TDs
3.8 ypc

Pretty terrible numbers for a half of decade.

Peterson will have to find a team that is willing to accept (like the Cardinals did for Emmitt) an aging veteran RB and be in a odd position that they can't field a competent backup.

Excellent point. RB's are much more disposable today than 10-15 years ago. Why would a team want that type of production paying big dollars to a veteran like Peterson when they can get similar production from a some kid on a rookie contract?

 

[Tabascocat]

If anyone could break his record in this decade, it is AP. He has the ability to do so but I think he doesn't stay healthy enough to reach that goal. When he breaks down, it will be a relatively quick process.

 

[Cowboys22]

He will need a couple of 1800-2000 yard seasons and cannot miss more than a game or two in any year. He will also need to remain the featured back his entire career. Tomlinson began sharing carries and then hit the wall. AP will have to avoid both which is unlikely but not impossible. His biggest obstacle is the leagues move away from featured backs getting all the carries. He is in his prime now and still getting all the carries but as he gets to age 30, Minn will probably look to lighten his load.

 

[koolaid]

Its possible, but if it does happen I think it would take him another year or two than what he projects.
Adrian is a beast, maybe the best pure RB ever IMO, but he has a lot of work to do before he will even be close to rushing record. Emmitt had many special qualities (most notably longevity and consistency) and a ton of talent around him which AP obviously doesn't have the benefit of.
Personally I don't think the record will be broken by AP (this is coming from a guy who would likely take AP over anyone with 1 year to win a SB). It just requires too many things going right for him in the next 5-7 years to make it happen.

I don't think Adrian should take any criticism for this projection. He was just being a good sport an answering the question.