Vikes' run game stuck in first gear

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings would like to think the struggle of their rushing game Monday night was an aberration. Adrian Peterson won't often be held to an average of 1.5 yards per carry, and it certainly isn't typical for this team to finish with 44 rushing yards.

But even if this was a one-game blip, it was fair to ask just what the New Orleans Saints did to derail a normally efficient ground attack. While Bernard Berrian had the team's first 100-yard receiving effort in its past 35 games, the Vikings' rushing output was the lowest in Brad Childress' two-plus seasons as coach.

"We have to do a better job of opening up the holes and a better job of hitting the holes," center Matt Birk said. "We were just a little off. The good news was we were off in the running game, but we got the passing game working and got some big plays in that and obviously most importantly won the game."

The Vikings came away with a 30-27 victory that was decided by Ryan Longwell's 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining. Numerous big plays generated by both teams might have masked some issues, but a closer examination of the statistics revealed how ineffective the Vikings were in rushing the ball.

All Day denied

Peterson's 32 yards on 21 carries represented the third-lowest rushing total of his 19-game NFL career. His average of 1.52 yards per attempt was the lowest for an NFL player with at least 20 carries in six seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

This is not to say responsibility fell solely on the shoulders of the Pro Bowl running back. The Vikings signed Berrian to a six-year contract with $16 million guaranteed in hopes he could stretch the field and loosen up opposing defenses that began putting eight and nine men in the box against Peterson last season.

But defenses remain devoted to stopping Peterson and will need to see much more consistent production from the Vikings passing game before teams alter that approach.

The focus on Peterson has been evident in the past three games. After rushing for 103 and 160 yards in the first two games against Green Bay and Indianapolis, respectively, he has been held to 77, 80 and 32 yards by Carolina, Tennessee and New Orleans.

It doesn't help matters that Peterson was slowed by a hamstring injury suffered against the Colts. Still, Peterson remains third in the NFL with 452 yards rushing.

The Saints' success was a bit surprising considering their rushing defense was 20th (out of 32 teams) in the league entering Monday. The Vikings, meanwhile, dropped six places to 12th in rushing offense and are now averaging 121.8 yards per game.

"They committed to the run," quarterback Gus Frerotte said of the Saints. "We have to be able to throw. We had some bigger plays down the field, and we just have to still work on the coverages they're giving us when they're trying to commit to the run."

Winging it worked

The Vikings did get some big plays through the air Monday, including Frerotte's passes of 36 and 33 yards to Berrian in the fourth quarter. The latter went for a touchdown that tied the score 27-27.

Ideally, the Vikings would have liked to have established the vertical passing game earlier. Frerotte's longest completion at halftime was a 17-yarder to Bobby Wade.

"I'd like to see them hit, providing that they're giving you the coverage you're looking for," Childress said of throwing the deep ball early. "You'd be upset if we threw it up into coverage, and they did have deep coverage at that point in time. I think it's more important that we as an offense stay ahead of the down and distance. Our first downs were not very good (Monday)."

Another option for countering defenses that are set up to look for the run and often try and disguise their scheme would be to give Frerotte more freedom.

The 15-year veteran clearly has the savvy to see what opponents are trying to do and would be much more prepared to change things at the line of scrimmage than was his predecessor, Tarvaris Jackson.

"I think as we go along and we get used to each other and we get better at it, maybe we'll have more leeway to check out of runs that we know aren't going to work," Frerotte said. "I know Adrian is great, but when they got nine guys in the box it's hard to run it."

Up next

Who: Detroit at Minnesota.

When: Noon Sunday.

TV/radio: KBRR (GF Channel 10); The Fan (1440 AM).

Records: Detroit 0-4, Minnesota 2-3.