Is Adrian Peterson...

[crimsonbama]

the best player in the country hands down? I know he is only a freshman and he plays on Oklahoma, but it seems to me like he has been the best player in the country by a large margin since Week 3. He breaks more big runs for a back his size than I have seen in a long time. Comments?

 

[POWERLINEMAN42]

i know for sure he's the best runningback in the nation right now. everyone says he isnt cuz he runs behind ou's line but they didnt have this type of running game last year. plus ou's line doesnt break peterson's tackles for him. he has the best balance ive seen in a runningback in a long time.

 

[deliveryman35]

Agreed. He was absolutely awesome against Okie State yesterday. The Cowboys would have won that game had it not been for AP.

 

[Bama Torch in Pcola]

He's the best freshman runningback I've seen since #34 at Georgia back in 1980. He doesn't have the power that Walker had because he runs straight up, but he has balance and speed and vision and heart. You can tell that he yearns for the end zone every time he touches the ball. To answer your question, yes. He is the best.

 

[deliveryman35]

Kind of strange that Stoops, who's fully committed to the spread offense, landed the best running back to come down the pike in a long time in AP. To me, this is testament to what kind of a recruiter Coach Stoops is.

 

[Mamacalled]

Guys, just to let you know, I was informed by a few Sooners that Adrian Peterson goes by AD not AP. AD is for All Day, his nickname.

 

[NickZepp]

Bob has never been committed to the spread offense. He wants a balanced offense. OU started running it more the end of the 2002 season. But they just didn't have a good QB to run it till last year. Last year the problem was OU didn't have a running back as good as Peterson. If OU had Quentin Griffin last year they win the NC last year. But Peterson has made this offense so balanced and so complete it's hard to stop OU's offense this year.

 

[RollTideNAlbertville]

I sure wish we could find one of these or one like Williams or Brown , we need them big time.

 

[talisitider]

He is an outstanding RB. The kind that can take it to the house on any play. I like this guy, he would have to be considered for the Heisman even as a freshman. The run he broke against OK St, spinning off would be tacklers and breaking free, a thing of beauty.... nothing else you can say.

 

[ashleync]

Only thing keeping him from going pro at the end of the year

Is the darn NCAA rules. With a solid NFL offensive line (like he has now!) Peterson will become one of the most dominant backs in the NFL. He has the balance and looks like Walter Payton out there. I watched him Saturday, and that man is sweetness all over again. I love to watch Peterson play. For that matter, since Darby got to Bama, I have loved to watch him play too. Runs with a purpose, and doesn't go down easy.

I always griped about Su. Alexander and how on some plays he just didn't seem to go all out. But he is a different kind of runner. Great vision. Whereas Darby, well, like Carnell Williams, he just cuts, hits you, goes around you, and makes you miss.

Running backs are what the game is all about to me.