Football

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Run-first approach working for Vikes

By: Dave Campbell

Posted: 10/5/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Jim Mone / the associated press archives Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson is close to his pre-knee injury form. (CP)

MINNEAPOLIS -- The pass-happy NFL is a trend the Minnesota Vikings have mostly ignored. Their style is Adrian Peterson, and they're sticking with him.

"Every team is different. Some guys are going to win throwing the ball, but right now running the ball is working well for us so we're going to stick with it until things change," quarterback Christian Ponder said. "We have the best running back in the NFL so we're just going to keep giving him the rock."

Minnesota's insistence on moulding offensive strategy around the running game while teams all over the league have posted record passing numbers in recent years has appeared at times outdated and desperate. The Vikings, though, have evidence this plan can still be effective. They're 3-1, one of the early surprises of the season in part because of their commitment to balance when they have the ball.

The Tennessee Titans, who visit the Vikings on Sunday, believe in the same approach but haven't had much of a chance to make it work yet this year at 1-3.

There are several reasons the Vikings are a run-first team, the main one being Peterson.

Close to his pre-knee-injury form, Peterson is 10th in the league with 332 yards rushing. Most importantly, his tough running inside the tackles has loosened up the defence for Ponder to connect with his receivers when and where he needs to. He's the only starter left in the NFL who hasn't thrown an interception.

Lacklustre passing is another factor in the direction the Vikings have tilted. Until Ponder's emergence this month, the Vikings haven't had the players with which to build a dangerous throwing game. Even during Brett Favre's age-defying 2009 season, Peterson finished fourth in the league with 314 carries.

"You've seen a lot of teams abandon the running game and just go straight passing," Ponder said. "That's not what we're doing. Good thing is when you're getting two, three, four yards, you're always staying ahead of the sticks and that's important for us."

Keeping the ball on the ground becomes foolish, of course, when a team falls behind in the fourth quarter. The Vikings have been able to keep their tactic intact with a defence that's tied for seventh in the NFL in fewest average points allowed and special teams that produced two touchdowns last week at Detroit.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 5, 2012 C2

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