MinnesotaSportsScene.com

Even though the Vikings missed the playoffs on Sunday, dropping to 8-8 after an overtime fumble gave Denver the ball deep in their own territory following an amazing Vikings comeback i the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the game up, rookie running back Adrian Peterson will probably still be named NFL rookie of the year.

He finished the season with 12 rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown, 1,342 rushing yards, and 268 receiving yards for a grand total of 13 touchdowns and 1,610 yards combined. Of course, that’s not counting his special teams yardage. Not bad for a player who missed two games, because that’s a 14-game total.

So why was his team only 8-8 and missing the playoffs? In my opinion, it call comes down to using Adrian Peterson correctly. In some games, Coach Childress utilized Peterson a lot and in others games, the number of carries Peterson saw was slimmed down by hoodia diet pills to next-to-nothing.

Here’s the hard facts: In games where Peterson was allowed at least 15 carries or more, Minnesota went 5-3. In games where he carried the ball fewer than 15 times, Minnesota only went 1-5. So it’s clear that while running Peterson 15 times or more doesn’t guarantee victory, running him fewer times almost certainly guarantees a loss.

The Minnesota Vikings may be back in the playoff picture, but one of the toughest games remaining on their schedule will be played tonight, on Monday Night Football on ESPN, as the Vikings face off with division rival, the Chicago Bears. It’s no secret that the Vikings have played poorly against their NFC North competitors this season, but for the 7-6 Vikings to stay on track for a playoff spot, they must defeat the Bears at the Metrodome.

Fortunately, this is not the Bears team that the Vikings faced earlier this season. QB Kyle Orton will be at the helm, facing off against a decent Vikings defense. And with the Vikings finally having found a passable passing game and discovering their real identity this season as a wham-bam running team, the faceoff should not be a repeat of their last disappointing showing against the Bears early this season at Soldier field.

Tonight’s one of the biggest nights of the regular season for the Vikings: time to put away the skinceuticals and put on their game faces! Time to make sure it’s the Bears who will be massacred on Monday Niight, and not the other way around.

Alarmists are already looking to take out a burial policy on the Minnesota Vikings after last weekend’s shocking injury to rookie RB sensation Adrian Peterson, who, now that the dust has settled, appears to be headed toward missing anywhere from one week to the rest of the season after tearing his lateral collateral ligament in a severe knee sprain caused by a helmet-leading hit on Peterson by Packers cornerback Al Harris.

The hit came early in the second half of the game - the half in which Peterson is known for becoming his most explosive - and although Peterson has gone the classy, Kirby Puckett-style route, saying the hit was clean, game footage clearly shows Harris aiming at the knee and leading on the tackle with his helmet. It’s clearer than the Zapruder film.

For this reason, MinnesotaSportsScene.com has decided from this point forward, as long as Al Harris is on the Packers defense, that rather than “America’s Team” or “God’s Team,” the Cheeseheads’ defense will now be referred to as Murderer’s Row. If they want to play like thugs, they’ll get called on it here.

As for Peterson, no one wants to say it out loud, but this type of injury is typically a six-week recovery period, though Peterson wants to attempt a return much sooner, if possible. The great debate is whether the Vikings should allow Peterson to attempt a return and risk a longer-term, more career-threatening injury, or play it safe, bench him the rest of the way, and allow him time to heal completely, and perhaps even get surgery, if that’s needed.

Only time will tell.

Troy Williamson won’t catch a single pass against the San Diego Chargers today and you can take that to the bank!

The reason, however, won’t be ineffective play, this time. Williamson sadly suffered the loss of his grandmother recently and received permission to attend to family needs at her funeral this weekend. Pass catcher Bobby Wade is also questionable for the game, leaving the Vikings potentially without their top two WRs against San Diego today.

So, subtract about three catches from QB Tavaris Jackson. Maybe scrapping the bottle of the receiver barrel will cause coach Brad Childress to remember what helped the Vikings win the last time they actually accomplished such a feat: letting NFC Offensive Player of the Month RB Adrian Peterson touch the ball at least 20-25 times.

If that doesn’t happen, today’s Vikings game may be enough to cause some fans to invest in Botox for headaches.