pyonir
Lifer
- Dec 18, 2001
- 40,856
- 321
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I don't think AP can duplicate his year last year. I don't know how he did it with that offense there in Minn but at least he had Percy Harvin at the beginning of the year as the only other offensive threat. Defenses in the NFC north will have learned and punish AP this year
AD had 957 yards in games 1-9 in which Harvin played. 1140 yards game 10 and later, with no Harvin. Teams already started putting 8, 9, 10 guys in the box, and it still didn't matter. 944 of his yards came in the 6 games against NFC North defenses.
The Vikings had zero quality receivers last year (save Harvin, but he only played 9 games). This year they have Jennings, Patterson (who, I admit is still raw so who knows) and they start the year with Jerome Simpson who was suspended for 4 games last year and now has an extra off season to work with the offense.
Of course all that depends on Ponder. Add into all of that, that defenses are set up now to stop the pass...not the run.
My point being to say that defenses were trying to punish AD last year, and he got stronger. If you think he'll rush for less than 1500 yards, you're crazy.
