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The Minnesota Vikings defense has a response to Adrian Peterson’s “stick it the Vikings comment” and that is, they’re ready for him.
Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press spoke with a few of the Vikings players about how they’ll feel going against the man they protected for years. Xavier Rhodes said, “Before, when he was here, we couldn’t tackle him. But now, it’s a must to tackle him. It’s going to be pretty fun. … You have that extra adrenaline to the point where you want to stop him, so you can talk trash later in the day.”
The bounty for Peterson is at an all-time high with the Minnesota defense. Even in practice, they were not allowed to hit Adrian so this a must for them. Being able to tackle the elusive Peterson is top priority for everyone, especially Rhodes who is one of the top defenders for the Vikings. “I have to come down with the tackle. When he was here, we had a couple of conversations that I told him I’m not going to back down from him. And he told me we’re going to see how that ends. So we’re definitely going to see how that ends starting Monday night.”
Everson Griffen agrees that Monday night’s opening game is going to be a lot of fun for the defense. But the ultimate outcome for Minnesota is a win. “It’s going to be fun to go up against Adrian. I’ve known him for eight years now. But the biggest thing is going out and beating the New Orleans Saints. We’ve got to go out there and stop the run. … It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be electric.”
While we can all agree that starting the season 1-0 is what we all want, Peterson’s trash talking and the Vikings history with the New Orleans Saints has made this an even bigger game for everyone on the team and the fans alike. But there is one man who is seemingly indifferent to any talk of Adrian, his comments and what everyone thinks about it: Head Coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer said, “This game isn’t about Adrian Peterson. It’s about the Vikings and the Saints. They've got a lot of great offensive weapons. He's a great player, but this game isn't about Adrian Peterson."