:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38039132/186716672.0.jpg)
As one of our series of sponsored posts throughout the season, we're going to be working with Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. The former Colts and Rams great is going to send out a question to the SB Nation blogs for each week of the regular season, and I'll be answering it to the best of my ability.
(Yes, we're working with Marshall Faulk. How awesome is that?)
So, as the first entry in this series, Faulk has asked the SB Nation NFL bloggers this:
Week 1 will bring surprises. But to be Professional Grade is to be consistent. @SBNation: Who will be consistent all season? #GMCPlaybook
— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) September 4, 2014
Man, I love questions with easy answers.
When you talk about consistent production and the Minnesota Vikings, the first. . .and, quite possibly, only. . .name that comes to mind is Adrian Peterson. Very few players have been as consistent as Peterson has been year in and year out during his career, and I expect nothing different from him this year, barring injury.
How consistent as Adrian Peterson been throughout his career? Well, here are his career rushing totals:
| Year | Games | Carries | Yards | Touchdowns |
| 2007 | 14 | 238 | 1341 | 12 |
| 2008 | 16 | 363 | 1760 | 10 |
| 2009 | 16 | 314 | 1383 | 18 |
| 2010 | 15 | 283 | 1298 | 12 |
| 2011 | 12 | 208 | 970 | 12 |
| 2012 | 16 | 348 | 2097 | 12 |
| 2013 | 14 | 279 | 1266 | 10 |
| Average | 14.7 | 290.4 | 1445 | 12.2 |
Basically, then, if Adrian Peterson is healthy, we can expect about 1,400 yards rushing and double-digit touchdowns. (The 2,000+ yard season skews his average, you say? Well, so does the 970-yard season he had the season before that.) The only season where Peterson has averaged less than 4.5 yards a carry was 2009. . .the year he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns. And if Matt Cassel can execute Norv Turner's offense well enough to keep defenses honest, those numbers might be on the low end of expectations. . .particularly if Peterson becomes as big a part of the passing game as Turner is envisioning.
Whether you're talking about real life or fantasy football, it really doesn't get any more consistent than Adrian Peterson. Cordarrelle Patterson may have taken over the role of the "sizzle" in the Minnesota Vikings' offense, but Adrian Peterson is still the proverbial "steak."
Join the #GMCPlaybook discussion at sbnation.com/sponsored-gmc-playbook and on Twitter by following @thisisgmc & @marshallfaulk.