Peterson could fall short of expectations in NFL A.D. could fall short of NFL expectations
By John Rohde
Published: April 24, 2007
Adrian Peterson might be a great pro. But if Oklahoma's history holds true, he'll fall well short of expectations in the NFL.
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The Sooners have had some terrific running backs through the years.
But only Greg Pruitt (5,672) and Billy Sims (5,106) surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards as a pro, with Joe Washington finishing at 4,839.
Local diehards have Peterson headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame before this weekend's draft even commences, but the odds are much more likely Peterson won't reach 5,000 yards.
Not because of his history of injuries, and not because a curse surrounds OU running backs.
The sheer violence of the sport makes it a crap shoot to predict greatness, especially at such a physically demanding position.
Peterson will be a marked man in the NFL, both in name and stature — more specifically, the upright stature in which he runs.
Backs able to elude opponents tend to have much longer pro careers than those who do not.
"I think Adrian is a target,” former Sooners coach Barry Switzer said. "He runs upright, is powerful, has great speed, catches the ball well. But is he a make-you-miss guy? Yes, he's a big back and should do well in the NFL, if he doesn't get hurt.”
Steve Owens won the 1969 Heisman Trophy by plowing over people.
Owens never missed a game and missed very few practices at OU.
By comparison, Peterson missed eight games with the Sooners due to injury. (By the way, they won every contest without him.)
The seemingly indestructible Owens didn't even make it out of his first exhibition schedule in the NFL, suffering a shoulder injury in the final preseason game.
That was followed by muscle pulls and a serious knee injury.
Owens wound up playing 53 games for the Detroit Lions and finished with 2,451 yards rushing.
"It's tough to run over folks up there,” Owens said with a laugh. "It doesn't pay too many dividends.”
The 228-pound Owens was powerful. The 217-pound Peterson is fast and powerful.
"He's great physically. He has all the right stuff,” Owens said of Peterson. "But so much of it is being lucky. Just plain lucky. NFL careers are short, especially for running backs.”
Owens said the average lifespan of a running back when he arrived at Detroit was 3.2 years.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
The trick is being successful at both.
Sims won the 1978 Heisman by evading, bulldozing and hurdling defenders, but he never was the same following knee surgery in the pros.
A healthy Sims could have rushed for more than 12,000 yards in the NFL. Instead, he played just 60 games for the Lions.
"The NFL is a different game,” Owens said. "I don't care how great you were in college. It doesn't guarantee success in pro football.”
Naturally, Owens wishes Peterson nothing but success in the NFL.
But Owens also wants Peterson to heed all warnings, such as the time Sims shared this piece of advice with Peterson: "Try not to run over people all the time when you don't have to. You can only take so many licks, especially at running back.”
Peterson might reach 5,000 rushing yards in three seasons.
Or he might not reach it in a lifetime.
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