Whether you are a Jaguars fan or a member of the 12th man, the start of the NFL regular season is supposed to be a time of cautious optimism. September can take many forms for football-starved fans.
It can be a clean slate, a shot at redemption, a chance to take that next step or go back-to-back.
Unfortunately, for some teams and their fans the first few weeks of the season can be brutal.
Even the most devoted Raiders, Jags or Buccaneers fan wouldn’t have been able to look you in the eye and honestly predict a Super Bowl birth come February, but they would have at least been hoping for better than an 0-3 start.
Poor management and bad play aside, there is not much that stings a fan worse than when their team’s potential is thwarted by something completely out of their control.
Minnesota Vikings fans would have been quietly confident ahead of this season. Despite many NFL analysts tipping them to finish fourth in the ever tight NFC North, Vikings fans knew their franchise had been quietly building to something. The team had drafted well for a second straight year after stock-piling first round picks.
UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater were both outstanding college prospects with huge upsides. Flashy wide-receiver Cordarelle Patterson had proved in 2013 to be the offensive weapon that could fill Percy Harvin’s shoes.
A few veteran members of the defensive line had moved on, but the Vikings had picked up cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and defensive tackle Linval Joseph in free agency to strengthen the resolve on the other side of the ball.
And, of course, there was Adrian Peterson. The Vikings’ best player since he entered the league in 2007. The man named the 2012 NFL MVP after he rushed for 2097 yards following off-season MCL and ACL surgery.
Peterson is an elite back, a perennial pro-bowler. He is the Vikings’ offense, the player defences spend most time preparing for. If he plays well, breaks tackles, beats defenders, moves the chains and scores touchdowns, then the Vikings are a chance in every game.
Peterson played in Week 1 – a 34-6 win over the Rams in St Louis – and was steady, but far from his outstanding best. Patterson stole much of the limelight with a jinking 67-yard touchdown run.
Then, the Vikings were preparing to face the Patriots at home, Peterson was indicted on charges of child abuse and deactivated by the team. Following the 30-7 loss against New England, the Vikings reinstated Peterson, stating their belief that he was just “disciplining a child”.
He was expected to play Week 3 against New Orleans, but subsequent public pressure prompted the Vikings to place Peterson on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list, removing him from team activities until his legal situation was sorted out.
And there Peterson remains, his NFL career hanging in the balance.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s season is on life-support. A dour performance in a loss against the Saints has left them at 1-2 and without starting quarterback Matt Cassel and tight-end Kyle Rudolph for a large chunk of the season. The team has been handed over to rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who will attempt to lead a stagnant offense.
Meanwhile, Vikings fans want answers. What does the future hold for their team? What part, if any, will Peterson play?
The Oklahoma Sooners product is said to be pushing for an accelerated trial, in the hope it would increase his chances of returning to action as soon as possible, and do so with the Vikings.
The quandary for the Vikings is whether or not they should cut Peterson, trade him or bide their time and hope he comes through the trial unscathed and able to play.
Peterson is the highest paid running back in the NFL and is due $11.75 million this season regardless of whether he plays again or not. According to reports, he is three years into a $96 million contract extension with the Vikings and the team has already paid out $36 million in guaranteed money.
But the remainder of his deal – all $56 million of it owed between now and 2017 – is not guaranteed, meaning the Vikings can cut him at the end of the season without paying him another dime. Other factors in favour of letting him go include his age – Peterson could be 30 before he plays another down – the gross undervalue of the running back in the NFL and the fact he faces either jail time or a lengthy league imposed suspension.
The most likely option is the team will keep him on the exempt list, wait for the legal situation to play out and then trade him and his exorbitant contract at season’s end, freeing up the cap space to beef up the offensive line or add to the secondary.
The Vikings – like all franchises – are concerned firstly with the bottom line. They could use the legal situation and their perceived moral obligations to cut Peterson and his hefty contract. It’s not to say Peterson is easily replaceable, but it is tough to justify giving that much money to a guy in the twilight of his career.
Either way, frustrated Vikings fans who wish to see this situation resolved quickly are unlikely to get their wish. Their cautious optimism has all but disappeared, replaced by despair.
Sam Rigney
Expert
Agreed Joe. If he is traded or released expect Dallas and Jerry Jones to come calling. The emergence of DeMarco Murray as a genuine star running back may influence that, but Peterson has made it clear he wants to retire in Texas.
mushi
Guest
You'd call cheering someone for whipping their child's scrotum sane?
mushi
Guest
“There is a much bigger problem with kids who get no discipline in post-modern “Western” society than vice versa.” No discipline sure, but is the threshold for discipline the repeated striking of a child with enough force to cut them? There are numerous studies that show children respond more to the removal of approval than they do to physical pain. Even if you are a decorated academic with reams of evidence to the contrary of that position I would struggle to see the benefit in continuing to administer corporal punishment long after severe pain has been inflicted. At that point you are doing it for your own sick satisfaction and not to teach anyone any lessons. There is also evidence that abuse tends to beget abuse as you continually reinforce that physical violence is an appropriate consequence.
mushi
Guest
“Yet, we micromanage parents disciplining kids?” It isn’t micromanaging. He did something that we are no longer allowed to do to prison inmates. The rules on administering a whipping that goes on after blood has been drawn seems reasonably all encompassing for most members of society. He didn’t give the kid an open hand smack, he didn’t go too far once, draw blood then stop, he continued to administer a whipping long after pain had been inflicted.
mushi
Guest
"That’s the argument when it comes to all the crazy sexual lifestyles these days." Freedom for crazy sexual lifestyles? Now whilst it wouldn’t surprise me given you advocate child abuse and domestic violence against women that you aren’t particularly fond of homosexuals but is it that “crazy” for people to have sex with whom when there is a mutual attraction. The key part you are missing there is “consenting adults” We aren’t allowed to engage in a crazy sexual lifestyle with a consenting 4 year old. Your comments suggesting that is a legitimate parenting technique as long as you groom the child first? Likewise we aren't allowed to engage in crazy sexual activity where the other person has asked the behaviour to stop or been denied the opportunity to give consent. And yet you somehow extrapolate that out as your go to defence for how we should govern a non consensual interaction with a 4 year old?
mushi
Guest
“I thought we were supposed to allow maximal individual freedom in the home.” Yes we are. But doesn't that freedom also apply to children having a reasonable assumption that they won’t be assaulted. I would have thought the freedom to live a life without being beaten is probably higher up on the list that the freedom to beat people?
mushi
Guest
“Why is it your business to tell people how to raise their kids?” Because there are laws and rules in societies and I hope we live in one that in particular offers protection to the most vulnerable. Assault is assault. If Peterson had done this to a person in the street he would be in trouble, hence doing it to a child he was entrusted with the care of is exponentially more troublesome.
mushi
Guest
Serious question - do you whip your children?
Brian M
Guest
Why is it your business to tell people how to raise their kids? I thought we were supposed to allow maximal individual freedom in the home. That's the argument when it comes to all the crazy sexual lifestyles these days. Yet, we micromanage parents disciplining kids? There is a much bigger problem with kids who get no discipline in post-modern "Western" society than vice versa.
Brian M
Guest
In all sane societies, parents are cheered for actually having the sense of responsibility to discipline their children. Part of what is wrong with "western" society in the past 50 years is the cowardice of parents in the face of unruly children and a crazy government that punishes parents for doing their job to teach and instill right from wrong in their kids.
mushi
Guest
sorry the second para is the barkley position - to quickly summarise: boys are stupid to the point only parents of boys will understand. They will push you beyond the point you didn't believe you could get to, you will curse them, spank them and generally behave in many in completely inappropriate ways towards them but... as parent if you've ever heard your child cry out in genuine pain no decent human being could continue to inflict that pain upon them. no one.
mushi
Guest
I like the Charles Barkley summary. I think we should let every player from the opposition give AP the same treatment before every game. After all he's a man and it was just childhood discipline right?
Joe
Guest
Whether he plays or not he is getting paid for the remainder of the season. The Vikes may reluctantly cut him at seasons end due to outside pressure but Peterson will be the hottest commodity on the free agent market if that happens.
HarryT
Guest
In all modern societies, what Peterson did is called child abuse. He should be in prison but he, the NFL and the Vikings will spend a fortune on spin doctors and lawyers to turn it into a cultural and race issue. Peterson's lack of remorse is frightening.