When asked about Peterson, Coach Bill Snyder had
nothing but positive things to say about the back.
"He's just a fantastic running back," Snyder said.
"He's got size. He's got speed. He's got athletic
ability. He's a tough young guy."
So far this season, Peterson is averaging 113 yards
rushing per game, third in the Big 12. It's nothing
to scoff at, but it's far below his 148 yard per game
average last season. "He's a marked man right now,"
said junior running back Thomas Clayton. "Any defense
that goes against those guys is triggered obviously to
stop him."
His numbers may be down, but the level of respect
Snyder showed for his ability certainly wasn't. "He
runs laterally very well. He runs downhill extremely
well," Snyder said. "You can't arm-tackle him.
That's for sure. And it's hard to tackle him with
just one guy sometimes. He's just a very, very fine
player. Very talented."
Snyder compared Peterson's drop in production to
Darren Sproles' last year. "Everybody thought
something was wrong," Snyder said. "Nothing was
wrong. Darren was just as good as he always was. I'm
sure that's true with Peterson as well."
Wildcat players also voiced respect for Peterson's
ability. "He uses his size to his advantage; he uses
his speed to his advantage," junior linebacker Maurice Mack said. "Once he gets to that corner, he can let
the jets fly.
Mack said the defense had confidence in facing
Peterson. "You've got to have confidence, whether
you're going against Adrian Peterson or Darren Sproles
or any running back out there," Mack said. "You have
to have confidence that everyone is going to hit their
gaps, and everyone is going to shoot to the ball, and
make tackles. If you don't have confidence in your
team and yourself, you're not going to play well at
all."
Senior defensive end Tearrius George said the key to
stopping Peterson will be to affect the direction he's
going.
"Get him moving laterally," George said.
"From watching film, he's a north and south runner." Not that there is a magical bullet to stop the sooner star, but these Cats have clearly been watching film and have put a premium on stopping Peterson. Thus far in the season, many teams the sooners have faced this year have geared defenses towards stopping the run and then forcing Oklahoma into a one-dimensional attack.
Wildcat running back Parrish Fisher, who showed he knows a
little bit about running the football on Saturday,
also gave a vote of confidence for his defensive
teammates.
"If our team comes in there and plays like
they can- wraps up and if we get all 11 guys to the
ball, (Peterson's running) won't be an issue," Fisher
said. "It will show out there what our defense can
really do."
What must the Wildcats do to win?
Mack said the game
could be by whichever team defends the run best.
"It's going to be a good defensive game," Mack said.
The old adage goes if you cut of the head of the snake the rest dies and in this case stopping Adrian Peterson looks to be a priority. If the Cats are to go into Norman and win this game, limiting Peterson from the type of runs he made late in the game with the outcome in the balance against Tulsa will be pivotal. Peterson is the type of back that will get his yards regardless but limiting those yards and when he gets them are a key. The other factor is rhythm and attempting to keep Adrian from getting comfortable as he is the type of back who can change a game as it wears on.
So what is the key to winning? Well that is for the defensive coaches to answer and scheme but make no bones, stopping Peterson could be “the” key. Teams that have been able to force the sooners into trying to win games throwing the ball this year have met with success.
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