Peterson's 2,500

The media and twitter world kind of exploded when Minnesota Vikings running back stated his goal of rushing for 2,500 yards in a single season. I think that a little too much was made of Peterson's goal. Rushing for 2,500 yards might seem like an outrageous goal but Peterson is an outrageously talented back. He came within three yards of 2,100 yards less than a year after a devastating knee injury. He's reset the timeline for the return from major knee surgery. There seems to be less and less that he can't do. Why not 2,500 yards? I guess that Peterson's goal caused such discussion because of the incredible possibility that he could do it. Pretty much everyone dismissed his rushing for 2,500 as untouchable. I'm not so sure. 100 yards in a game is considered the benchmark for a nice game by a back. Peterson made 150 yards his benchmark and he often sailed past it. That over the length of a season gets him 2,400 yards. He gained over 1300 yards the last half of the 2012 season. That pace should get him over 2500 yards for a season. The people that are shocked over Peterson's outrageous goal of 2,500 yards in a single season don't really know him very well. He's incredibly self-motivated and he sets his bar very high. No doubt. If he wasn't like that, he likely wouldn't have stormed back from a serious knee injury. He just rushed for 2,097 yards. Is he going to shoot for 1,500 yards? Not a chance. He's going to raise that bar. 2,100? He nearly got that in a season that started slow and tentatively. 2,250? Not enough. He'd be selling himself short if he shot for anything lower that 2,500.

The hope in Minnesota is that Adrian Peterson won't have to carry the team. The hope is that quarterback Christian Ponder is going to take giant steps forward. The addition of receivers Greg Jennings in free agency and Cordarrelle Patterson in the draft should help the passing game considerably. Tight end Kyle Rudolph gets better each season. A healthy Jerome Simpson and a more experienced Jarius Wright further improves the receiver group. Ponder has weapons now and the passing game should be improved. Peterson won't have to be the entire offense. At the same time, an improved passing game should open up running lanes. It may be best for the team if Peterson has more modest rushing totals but I would never doubt any goal that he sets.