Going from being a long-time featured back to sharing the workload is going to take some getting used to for future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson.
The Saints opened up their 2017 season against the Vikings in a matchup that screamed “revenge game” for Peterson, who signed with New Orleans during the offseason. That, however, did not materialize. Peterson carried the ball just six times for 18 yards.
The Saints evenly distributed the rushing attempts as Mark Ingram also had six carries and rookie Alvin Kamara led the team with seven. Whether this is what it looks like throughout the season remains to be seen, but Peterson does not appear to be please with this sort of workload.
“I didn’t sign up for nine snaps, though,” Peterson said, via USA Today. “But unfortunately that’s the way the game played out. In my mind, personally, I knew it was gonna take some adjusting. You know, me and Mark (Ingram) played in the last preseason game, and AK (rookie running back Alvin Kamara) didn’t even play that game. So with all three of us being out there, I knew it would take a game or so to kind of get adjusted.”
During Drew Brees’ tenure in New Orleans, the Saints have been a predominantly pass-oriented team and that’s with good reason because Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. And, the Saints have a veteran running back who is equally adept and running and receiving in addition to a a rookie who has shown promise in both areas as well.
That doesn’t leave many opportunities for Peterson. Peterson downplayed the stare towards Sean Payton, but there may be more later in the season if the carry distribution among the running backs stays close to an even split.
