EAGAN, Minn. — How does Adrian Peterson describe himself as a football player?

"Resilient. Determined. Passionate. Physical," he told Vikings Entertainment Network.

Minnesota's No. 1 rusher, who ranks fifth all-time in rushing yards, is going into the Vikings Ring of Honor at halftime Monday, a precursor to him being eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027.

Peterson’s football journey was epic. Some of his stats, like his 40 carries for 15-plus yards in 2012 and his 15 career rushing scores from 60-plus feel irreplicable. Barry Sanders had 37 runs of 15-plus in 1997 for the second most in a season dating to '77, and probably much longer, and Peterson's ledger of 60-yard home runs is six more than Jim Brown, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry for the most since 1925.

He shared four more words after rattling off the first four adjectives: "Just relentless. Just fearless."

Now, what about the guys who played against Peterson; how do they describe him? What sticks with them about the fabled running back whose "All Day" nickname was prophetic and poetic to his nature?

Ten enlightened competitors from Peterson's era reached the same verdict: He was different.

Jared Allen | DE

2004 fourth-round pick; five-time Pro Bowl selection; four-time First-Team All-Pro; 2022 Vikings Ring of Honor inductee; 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee

Career (2004-15): 187 games; 648 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: one

Adrian's totals: 25 rushes, 102 yards (4.1 avg.) and a TD; three catches, 48 yards (16.0 avg.)

Enshrinee No. 380 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and No. 27 in the Vikings Ring of Honor played six seasons alongside Peterson (2008-13). At first, they were adversaries, though. Allen opposed Peterson as a Chief in the running back's third career game, Sept. 23, 2007. Allen recalled it sharply because it was his first appearance back from a two-game suspension, and he played like he belonged in Canton, with eight tackles, three QB hits, two sacks and two passes defended. Peterson played fantastic, as well, and made a serious impression on his future teammate. Allen, however, gained bragging rights as Kansas City won 13-10, and he jostled the ball out of Adrian's grasp twice … on back-to-back snaps. The first fumble ruling was overturned by replay, but the second was awarded to Allen and recovered by Patrick Surtain. Allen and Peterson became great friends, and the calf-roping sackster enjoyed bringing up their first encounter.

"Adrian, he had this ability, his running style — we knew he was downhill and hard-headed, but he had that unique ability to bounce it. I was playing in a division where we faced LaDainian Tomlinson a lot, you know, 'Marty [Schottenheimer] Ball,' early in my career. They ran between the tackles a lot, but L.T. could bounce that ball to the edge. He could take an inside run and stretch it and make you look foolish. Adrian was kind of that first back, though, that, I mean, could just pound it between the tackles, you know, coming inside, and still had the uncanny ability to outrun people to the corner. We knew he was a threat, obviously, a high draft pick. But, I always teased him about that game, 'Hey, remember when I made you fumble twice?' "

Allen viewed Peterson as one of the rookies who matched the hype connected to him, which is rare — even for high draft picks. (The Raiders, for instance, drafted players in the Top 10, including at Nos. 1 and 2, during three of the four seasons that Allen competed in the AFC West division.) The Chiefs were well-aware of Peterson's college/pro exploits and didn't want a rookie to go off; A.D. still totaled 150 yards.

"Someone once told me, they were watching him do a drill — it was a trainer but I can't remember where it was, like one of these combine trainers or somebody that I knew when I was in Arizona — and he said, 'Most guys, when you tell guys where to put their feet there's a little bit of variance here and there.' They said, 'Adrian was one of the few guys that would put his feet exactly where he needed to be at full speed.' Like, just his ability to put his foot where it needed to be — know his body, know his stride. And he would gallop. He just had this head bob. I can't recall another player I've seen run the ball like that. It looks like it's a gallop and you're like, 'This dude's gone.' And then if anybody needs reminding of what it's like to try to tackle him, just ask Al Harris when he got completely bulldozed. Oh, gosh. Oh, man."

Lance Briggs | LB

2003 third-round pick; seven-time Pro Bowl selection; one-time First-Team All-Pro

Career (2003-14): 173 games; 1,181 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: 11

Adrian's totals: 243 rushes, 1,185 yards (4.9 avg.); 24 catches, 172 yards (7.2 avg.); 14 touchdowns

One of the greatest linebackers in the history of a franchise that has a heap of them, Briggs ranked second in the NFL in tackles during his playing years, trailing London Fletcher, and he accounted for 86 in games versus Minnesota (second most to A.J. Hawk) that overlapped with Peterson's career. In 2005, Briggs placed sixth in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting while his partner in hitsticks, Brian Urlacher, clinched it. They were at the top of their games when the Vikings presented a problem named Peterson.

"Really, I was honored. I knew it was going to raise our level of play. It certainly was going to raise mine. This is not going to be an easy guy to take down. But what a challenge. You know, not everybody gets to do this — not everybody gets an opportunity to try to tackle Adrian Peterson."

Briggs remembered speaking with Vikings receiver Bobby Wade, whom he teamed with at the University of Arizona and during Wade's first few seasons on the Bears, before the Oct. 14, 2007, game at Soldier Field.

"I told Bobby, 'Listen, I see you coming in and trying to block the linebackers. If you come in and try to block me, I'm going to stuff [you] in the dirt. And so there's a play early on where I hit Bobby and I drive him right into Adrian and I tackle both of them. And then there's a play — one that Bobby brags about — where he's blocking me; the play's kind of over so I let up, and I'm letting go, but you talk to him now and he's like, 'I was blocking my tail off. That's the play I got you!' That was kind of at the beginning of that game, and Adrian ended up having a monster game."

"It was actually the only game in my life I ever had two loafs (not giving maximum effort/executing an assignment) in one play. They had a pitch to Adrian, and their offensive tackle or guard got up to the second level and threw me to the ground. I'm on the ground and I see Adrian going, and he's turning, coming back my way, so I get up. I get up and I try to chase him down. 'Peanut' (Charles Tillman) is right next to me and I'm like, 'Well, hell, Peanut, if you can't catch him, I can't catch him either.' We get into the meeting room … and Coach [Lovie Smith] is like, 'Lance has two loafs on this play' — first time ever."

Peterson played like he had wings in his first trip to Soldier Field. He averaged 11.2 yards per carry. He scored three touchdowns. He rushed for the most yards on those hallowed grounds by a visiting player (224). And he sprinted the final kickoff into the heart of the Windy City for 53, which positioned Ryan Longwell for the game-winning field goal. Briggs loathed the outcome but loved what it meant going forward. He savored the opportunity to square off with the best running back in football twice a year. His goal entering each game was simple: hold Peterson under the century mark. In the end, the running back scored the upperhand, breaking that threshold in six of 11 ops versus Briggs. The linebacker remembers. His son is a senior in high school — a running back — and he references Peterson as an example of a "defensive-minded offensive ball carrier."

"One of the funnest parts was watching the tape from the week before. A lot of times you'd see Adrian run over three guys, or a guy thinks he's going to run him over, and he shakes him and goes right by him. I mean, his highlights are insane, and they were really fun to watch when we were getting ready to prepare for him. … I love how he became such a problem for so many tacklers. They were all trying to figure out 'How the hell do we get this guy down? We know what hole you're going to — why is it that you're still getting 10, 15, 20 yards?' … He'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. There's no doubt in my mind."

Thomas Davis | LB

2005 first-round pick; three-time Pro Bowl selection; one-time First-Team All-Pro

Career (2005-20): 199 games; 1,216 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: four

Adrian's totals: 53 rushes, 269 yards (5.1 avg.); five catches, 25 yards (5.0 avg.)

Ferocious is an apt word to describe Davis, who posted seven tackles in Super Bowl 50 with 40 stitches, 11 screws and a metal plate in his broken right forearm, and who compiled five consecutive seasons with 100-plus tackles after famously becoming the first player to return to the field following three torn ACLs on the same knee (his comeback coincided with Adrian's — and Peyton Manning's — heroics in 2012; he wished the NFL was able to honor each of them as Comeback Players of the Year). Ferocious also is the word Davis used to portray Peterson, whom he got to know beyond tackling when they were teammates in Washington for about six months in 2020. Davis admired A.D. as a family man and, of course, a player.

"The way that he approached the game of football and the way he ran the football, man, there was never a single time where he took a handoff where he didn't take it as if he was going to score with it. That's one of the things that I respect so much about him. You never saw him take a play off. You never saw him take the game for granted or go into a situation where he wasn't prepared. That's who A.D. is."

Davis vividly harkened back to facing Peterson in Week 3 of the 2008 slate. The 0-2 Vikings defeated the 2-0 Panthers 20-10 behind a scoop-and-score by Antoine Winfield, a passing touchdown from Gus Frerotte to Visanthe Shiancoe and a couple Longwell boots. The field goals were letdowns, considering they capped 15- and 19-play marches, the latter of which lasted 11:34 and is tied for the longest Vikings drive in terms of plays since at least 2001. Drafted as a safety and still green at linebacker, Davis had his hands full trying to stymie Jim Kleinsasser blocks and Peterson scampers. "Not a fun day for me," he said.

"When you watched the film, you almost thought that the way he runs, he runs up high, so you're thinking that you're going to be able to get a good shot on him. But I've never seen a guy that runs up high like that but still be able to pack so much power. And that's what A.D. did, man. He took the ball and he took things to another level with his speed, his versatility, and his ability to make one cut and get right downhill. That's what made it so tough with him because obviously he has some of the moves that you would expect from a special back like him, but he didn't utilize them a lot. He really relied on his speed and his power to accomplish most of the things that he was able to do over the course of his career."

Davis was taken with Peterson's strict-about-his-business approach. There was no fluff to the running back or trash talk that Davis experienced. In his memory, Peterson toted it extremely hard and went back to the huddle to do it, again. The linebacker greatly appreciated the way Peterson conducted himself and what he brought to the game. Davis is decorated in his own right (2014 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year; 2015 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award; and one of nine players since 2000 with 1,200 tackles, 50 passes defensed and 25 sacks in his career) and played alongside Gold Jackets Julius Peppers and Luke Kuechly, and said without a speck of uncertainty that Peterson is due to enter the HOF on the first ballot.

"I'll never, ever forget that time watching him on film. It was the Pittsburgh Steelers that they were playing against, and he had the William Gay truck stick. And I'm like, 'Man, that should not be allowed. It should be outlawed.' But that's just one of the plays that if somebody asks me to really describe what it was like trying to tackle Adrian Peterson … that would be the play that I would pull up."

Michael Griffin | S

2007 first-round pick; two-time Pro Bowl selection; one-time Second-Team All-Pro

Career (2007-16): 154 games; 813 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: two

Adrian's totals: 35 rushes, 168 yards (4.8 avg.); seven catches, 36 yards (5.1 avg.); two touchdowns

Griffin was selected 19^th overall in the NFL Draft after working out with Peterson in Arizona during the leadup to the event. He was deeply impressed by his former Red River rival "pushing to be perfect," and how he juxtaposed another big-time runner in their training cohort, Marshawn Lynch — A.D. 's personality was so different (he preferred his actions to speak the loudest). Griffin and Peterson met as pros in 2008 and 2012, as well as at the Pro Bowl, and were Vikings teammates, briefly, in 2016. Griffin recalled jotting down notes of the punishment that Peterson imposed whenever he touched the football.

"Adrian's game was just so old school. It was, 'I'm going to hit the hole.' When you played against Le'Veon Bell or LeSean McCoy, you're like, 'I'm trying to figure out if he's going to make me miss.' And then when you played against Adrian Peterson it was like 'Hey, make sure you bring your big boy pads — whatever you need to do.' You just knew what type of football game it was going to be. It was going to be an old-school football game. There wasn't going to be any fare dodging. It was going to be if he saw himself and a safety or a defensive back, like, 'I'm not trying to make you miss. I'm going to make you earn every tackle that you try to make.' That was just his game."

Even A.D.'s swagger is memorable to Griffin and resembled a bygone era. His uniform was "exactly the way they put it on the mannequin." White socks at calf level. Pacifier mouthpiece. Open facemask (no visor) so he could feel the wind pick up as he ran. Elbow pads that softened the blow for defenders. There was no glitz or glamour; it was all business. Peterson was known for his respectfulness, too, often shaking opponents' hands and handing balls to referees after singeing defenses. From the back's freshman college season to his final NFL game, Griffin spotted a guy who was a rush away from going the distance.

"For a long period of time, when you were like, 'Who's the best running back in the NFL?' for a longggggg time, he carried that title. I put him in the same category of Ed Reed playing the safety position. 'Who was the best safety in the league?' Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu carried those titles for a long period of time. 'Who was the best tackle?' Joe Thomas and Trent Williams carried that title for a long period of time. 'Who's the most dominant defensive player?' J.J. Watt carried that title and then on to Aaron Donald. And then 'Who was the best linebacker?' Ray Lewis carried that title. So I would put Adrian Peterson in that category; each and every year when you ask the question, like, who's the most dominant? Or who's the best running back? I would say his running style, his style of play was just dominant because he did it for a long period of time, from when he first walked into the National Football League to when he finished. … You may think he was older, but the way he was taking care of business — the way he played — he was still a dominant running back in the National Football League."

Clint Ingram | LB

2006 third-round pick

Career (2006-09): 56 games; 193 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: one

Adrian's totals: 17 rushes, 80 yards (4.7 avg.); one touchdown

Ingram was one of Peterson's closest friends at Oklahoma and faced him in a 2008 contest that Minnesota won handily. Years later, Ingram was present when Peterson was cleared by doctors for light activity while he was rehabbing to make his epic comeback. Never one to ease into something, Peterson hopped on a treadmill and ran a mile in less than six minutes. Ingram was in good shape but couldn't fathom a mile that quick. He likened Peterson to Paul Bunyan because of his supremacy and unbelievable exploits.

"My defensive coordinator at the time, Gregg Williams, wanted me to give the scouting report of Adrian to the team. They felt that I knew him and I would be able to give them some nuggets that would help us in that game. And all I told them basically was 'Don't end up being in the highlight film.' And a lot of guys were [doubting me] like, 'Yeah, he runs high, blah, blah, this and that.' I was like, 'Well, I'm just going to let you guys know if y'all believe anything that I say or trust my insight or my perspective, he's not the one to play with. So, if you guys do decide that you want to tackle him, make sure that you bring whatever it is that you got. Otherwise, you're going to be on TV for a long time watching yourself get stepped on.'"

Derrick Johnson | LB

2005 first-round pick; four-time Pro Bowl selection; one-time First-Team All-Pro

Career (2005-18): 188 games; 1,171 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: three

Adrian's totals: 74 rushes, 242 yards (3.3 avg.) and one TD; five catches, 48 yards (9.6 avg.)

"DJ" extended the highest form of praise, saying A.D. lived up to the hype. It means more coming from a player who won a slew of defensive awards and was considered one of the nation's best defenders during the running back's historic NCAA entrance, and who played against him in his fifth college game — Peterson toasted the burnt orange with 225 rushing yards — and third in the NFL, plus a couple other occasions. In those professional meetings, Johnson couldn't help but see a Sooners helmet crowning Peterson's stride. He was "the Texas guy that got away; the one that went to OU," Johnson sighed. But it was all love all the time between the two, even though people expected them to be enemies because of their rivalry roots. Johnson became the 55^th member in the Chiefs Hall of Honor earlier this season and is one of nine players in the past 30 years to tally at least 1,100 tackles, 75 passes defended and 25 sacks in their careers. He called Peterson the only athlete he's ever opposed who could have skipped college and gone straight to the NFL. "The reason he went to college was because that's the protocol," Johnson said in a matter-of-fact tone. Competing with Peterson was an honor for Johnson.

"I played against the younger guys and the older guys. I mean, from Curtis Martin to LaDainian Tomlinson to Shady (LeSean McCoy) to Beast Mode (Marshawn Lynch). I mean, just everybody. He's at the top of that list — and that's saying a lot. When I say top of the list, I'm mentioning him with LaDainian Tomlinson or I'm mentioning him with — shoot, it's hard. Adrian was so good. I can't just name a really good back. You know, I got to say, like, LaDainian Tomlinson. That kind of sets the mark to tell you, 'OK, he's up there.' "

"If you want to be really good, if you want to call yourself one of the better players, you've got to go against the best players. And Adrian Peterson is ranked up there on anybody's list. It doesn't matter if you're an older guy or a younger guy — Adrian Peterson, you know the name. And it speaks volumes."

Curtis Lofton | LB

2008 second-round pick

Career (2008-15): 128 games; 948 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: two

Adrian's totals: 48 rushes, 279 yards (5.8 avg.) and one TD; four catches, 29 yards (7.3 avg.)

Lofton has a horseshoe scar underneath his chin that Peterson gave him 21 years ago when he rocked the linebacker into a backwards somersault during a practice in Norman, Oklahoma. It was the wrath of being in Peterson's path, and the consequences of Lofton, a freshman, abiding by team rules and laying off the sophomore phenom, who was in a blue non-contact jersey like a quarterback, as he exploded through the hole. Lofton got his payback in Week 16 in 2008 when he helped make sledding just tough enough for Peterson that the Falcons were able to win 24-17 over the Vikings and get into the playoffs. Lofton obtained his personal vengeance (he and Peterson are good friends, so there's no ill will), too, but admitted that he probably missed 10 tackles in the game as a result of Peterson being able to do everything: bounce, jump cut, run you over, outrun you, beat you with footwork, speed, grit, strength, etc.

"I remember I was telling my coach, I said, 'Coach, send me on a blitz on the first play of the game. I got to get it out of my system. Send me on a blitz!' He wouldn't send me, so I sent myself, and I got through and they're handing it off to A.D. and I hit him. I picked him up and I slammed him down. I'm like, 'Yeah, you ain't got your blue jersey on now!' Later on in the game, it was like third-and-1 and everybody in the building knew who was getting the ball and, man, he knocked my shoulder so hard. He gave me a stinger and he got the first down. He was yelling, 'Trainer!' It was definitely iron sharpening iron."

Ernie Sims | LB

2006 first-round pick

Career (2006-13): 109 games; 623 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: seven

Adrian's totals: 144 rushes, 748 yards (5.2 avg.) and five TDs; 15 catches, 144 yards (9.6 avg.)

Sims and Peterson were rated the No. 1 high school prospects in the 2003 and 2004 recruiting classes, and they were Top 10 draft picks in consecutive years. Although Sims played four seasons on the Lions, he had more of an affinity than an aversion for Peterson and his play style because Sims was a running back by trade (prior to becoming an All-American linebacker at Florida State) and said he was biased to similarly built ball carriers who were big and powerful but also could make plays with speed and elusivity. Sims recalled game-planning for Peterson revolved around swarming him at the point of attack and forcing him to get off a downhill track. The issue with that is A.D. was savvy enough to eliminate tackling angles and make players whiff on the perimeter. Sims eventually left the division, but he couldn't get away from Peterson, who totaled 177 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in a 2013 matchup against Sims and the Cowboys.

"We had some battles. I will say that he definitely got the best of me, you know, some times that I'm not very excited about. But there were also times where I got a chance to get a good lick on him. And I'll say this: I tell people all the time, the best running back I ever played against was Adrian Peterson. Hands down. And I played against a good list of guys. But the combination of skill sets that he brought to the game was second to none. Most importantly, the intensity and the violence and the passion that he ran with — that was something I'll never forget. That's why I still, to this day, say he's the best running back."

Sims echoed what many others have pointed out about Peterson's panache in the open field. If his head started to bob, it likely was going to take a superhuman effort or a congregation of hats to halt the back.

"Everybody has their thoughts on how he ran. I looked at it as a wild horse. He's bucking, he's kicking, and some people say he's galloping. It was impressive. I mean, not only to see it on film, but to actually go against it because it's hard as a tackler. Because back in the day we were taught to put our head across the ball and wrap and lift and, you know, get him on the ground. But the way he runs was kind of intuitive because the moment you put your head across the ball, he was going to spin, he was going to kick, he was going to juke you. He had very good contact balance, and the ability to get those extra yards after contact. And that's, again, that just kind of falls into that gallop and that head bopping — what I liked to call it is that wild horse mentality. He was just bucking and kicking. He was just a fierce runner."

Harrison Smith | S

2012 first-round pick; six-time Pro Bowl selection; one-time First-Team All-Pro

Career (2012-active): 214 games; 1,195 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: four

Adrian's totals: 35 rushes, 186 yards (5.3 avg.) and one TD; five catches, 41 yards (8.2 avg.)

Smith quipped he was thankful to avoid a true 1-on-1 scenario with Peterson — where he looks you up and down and decides to go right through your face despite having the space to make you miss — but he had to tackle his former teammate a few times post-2016. The first instance I found on film was in the first half of a 2019 clash against Washington when Peterson bounced a run to the left and "The Hitman" lassoed him around the ankles. Later in that game, Smith pursued A.D. along the sideline and they sort of stiff-armed each other out of bounds. Smith also played Peterson twice in 2020 when he was a Lion, but he suggested another game as his come-to-Peterson moment, citing the first snap of the season opener in 2017 between Minnesota and New Orleans. It was Peterson's first play on a new team, and he carried his old one on his back for about 5 yards after first contact. Smith described it, and we verified it. (The tackle was awarded to Linval Joseph, but Peterson's legs churned until Smith wiggled into the scrum.)

"He was moving the pile. I think it was a 9-yard gain or something, and the pile was not going to stop. I was in the back of it, and I kind of dropped down and just like let everybody run over me and then kind of grabbed his legs. I don't know if I got credited with that tackle — but that was probably the first time."

Smith is second in tackles among defensive backs since 2000 (Antoine Bethea had 1,333) and is one of three members of the 40/20 club for interceptions and sacks recorded in the Super Bowl era, so he can speak to a player's caliber about as well as anyone. He said his favorite, most-bizarre Peterson stat came to be when he was a rookie and Peterson was dismantling defenses en route to the MVP: Peterson's average yards per carry with eight men in the box (6.45 yards) trounced his season stamp of 6.0 yards.

"He's arguably the best running back — definitely in the discussion — the best running back of all time. And I think when you think of the great running backs, they're different styles. I know he was chasing Eric Dickerson's record, and you see some similarities there. Earl Campbell, maybe. But he's an all-time great."

Stephen Tulloch | LB

2006 fourth-round pick

Career (2006-16): 159 games; 959 tackles | Matchups vs. Adrian: seven

Adrian's totals: 149 rushes, 756 yards (5.1 avg.) and 7 TDs; 24 catches, 153 yards (6.4 avg.)

Tulloch first encountered Peterson in the flesh in 2008 as a member of the Titans and met him on the gridiron six more times from 2011-15 while pacing the Lions franchise in tackles. From his vantage point, Peterson paved the way for the present-day's top home-run hitters — Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson — where if you gave him a crease on any play, Peterson was going yard. Tulloch summed him up as "tricky to gauge" because in the event he got loose — more a matter of when than if — Peterson forced defensive players to make business decisions for their futures. Really, the only way to prevent him from wreaking havoc was to get hands on him before he clicked into his second gear. Like others, Tulloch did not pause or debate Peterson's legacy; he said he was glad to play against a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer.

"On Wednesdays, when we come in for team meetings before the coach even puts it on the big board, 'You know who our challenge is this week, right?' And it's a big 28 up there. 'We got to stop him. He's good on short yardage plays. He's good on first, second, third down. He's a heavy hitter. Everybody stay in your gap. Don't do too much because if you're out of your gap, he's going to expose you and take it to the house.' That's just who he was. He saw the field so well on stretch plays and on counter plays. His vision was just impeccable. And you can tell he trained hard in the offseason because during the season he was just a machine. When people ask me who's the hardest running back to play against, I always go back to Adrian and Marshawn Lynch. They ran violently. They ran like they're trying to run through you."

Tulloch paid special attention to his sleep cycle ahead of games against Peterson because he knew his body needed maximal rest. He proudly remembered one of his "wins" against the running back — an indelible tackle near the line of scrimmage that caused A.D. to tip his cap: "Man, hell of a play, Tulloch. Hell of a play," he responded. Tulloch admitted it was the "very rare" highlight that didn't favor Peterson.

"You're not going to stop him. Nobody ever stops him, but you just slow him down to force someone else to beat you. Coach knew in game-planning, 'We're not going to stop him, but we got to slow him down. He's going to get his, but we can't make sure he gets out of control with getting his.' That's what it was. You couldn't stop him. And that's the definition of a rare, once-in-a-lifetime type player. For his entire career, he played consistently. He never wavered throughout the season. He was always that guy."

Tulloch vehemently concurred with a popular analogy for Peterson's running style.

"It was like a horse. He was trying to get to the finish line. He saw the light and he was chasing it. I only can imagine how he trained in the offseason, man, because nobody else ran like that, with that much power with every step. He was digging in that turf. I'm telling you, there's no one else I can compare him to right now watching football on Sundays that runs like him. Bijan is a smooth runner; Gibbs is a smooth runner. But him and Marshawn were just violent runners. If you're in their way, you're going to get it play after play after play after play after play. Me or you are going to tap out, but most of the time — nine times out of 10 — Adrian's not tapping out. So when you get home Sunday and you're watching Sunday Night Football, you're going to feel it. He's one of those players that is not just respected by me but respected by anybody who knows him or had an opportunity to watch him."

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