Factoid
Much has been made of Adrian Peterson’s fumbling issues, particularly recently. He contributed to a late-season loss to the Bears by fumbling in overtime, then he fumbled three times in the NFC Championship game at New Orleans.
Over the last 32 regular-season games, Peterson has fumbled 16 times – 6 more than any other running back. And Brad Childress concedes that he’s worried about Peterson’s ball security. He says he intends to contact Tom Coughlin and Tiki Barber for pointers on how to reduce the number of times Peterson puts the ball on the ground.
How serious is this problem? Is there a chance the Vikings will spell Peterson more often if he continues to fumble? Maybe stick in another back in goal-line situations?
I imagine Peterson will continue to be Minnesota’s primary option when its inside the 5-yard line. That they’ll just live with the issue. He’s simply too talented to leave on the bench. His good plays and upside far outweighs his ball security issues.
FUMBLES BY RUNNING BACKS, 2008-2009
Ranked by frequency the player fumbles the ball. “Att” includes rushing attempts, receptions and kick returns. Only running backs with at least 300 touches are shown.
Att F Avg
453 2 226.5 Jamal Lewis
450 2 225.0 Joseph Addai
408 2 204.0 Ronnie Brown
587 3 195.7 LaDainian Tomlinson
373 2 186.5 Brian Westbrook
552 3 184.0 Cedric Benson
540 3 180.0 DeAngelo Williams
358 2 179.0 Derrick Ward
702 4 175.5 Chris Johnson
667 4 166.8 Thomas Jones
317 2 158.5 Willie Parker
309 2 154.5 Cadillac Williams
637 5 127.4 Ryan Grant
378 3 126.0 Pierre Thomas
503 4 125.8 Clinton Portis
479 4 119.8 Ray Rice
535 5 107.0 Kevin Smith
694 7 99.1 Matt Forte
384 4 96.0 Julius Jones
668 7 95.4 Steven Jackson
374 4 93.5 Justin Fargas
467 5 93.4 Brandon Jacobs
448 5 89.6 Jonathan Stewart
445 5 89.0 Marshawn Lynch
565 7 80.7 Michael Turner
643 8 80.4 Maurice Jones-Drew
319 4 79.8 LeRon McClain
318 4 79.5 Willis McGahee
305 4 76.3 Leon Washington
516 7 73.7 Fred Jackson
383 6 63.8 Darren Sproles
375 6 62.5 Jamaal Charles
530 9 58.9 Marion Barber
398 7 56.9 Larry Johnson
564 10 56.4 Frank Gore
383 7 54.7 Tim Hightower
302 6 50.3 Ahmad Bradshaw
493 10 49.3 Steve Slaton
465 10 46.5 Ricky Williams
741 16 46.3 Adrian Peterson
322 7 46.0 Reggie Bush
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