Still got it: Peterson’s debut injects youthful life into Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As long as you’re living in one of the nation’s retirement capitals, you might as well embrace your identity.

When the 2017 season began, the Cardinals were the oldest team in the NFL by average age. They have an old coach in Bruce Arians (65), an older assistant head coach in Tom Moore (78), and in football terms, an old quarterback in Carson Palmer (37) and an old receiver in Larry Fitzgerald (34).

They tried to live things up in 2014 and 2015, knowing their window was short, but life grew stale in the bingo hall the last two years. Even retirement communities need a fresh infusion of blood.

Enter Adrian Peterson, whom NFL analysts handed an AARP card last season after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. NFL running backs display a well-documented decline after the age of 30, but Peterson, 32, believed he had more dancing left in his legs because of the parts of two seasons he missed due to surgeries (2011, 2016), and the 15-game suspension he served for disciplining his son with a switch in 2014 — a stain on his past that should not be forgotten regardless of his apology or what he accomplishes with the Cardinals.

Offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin said this week that Peterson’s arrival after a trade with New Orleans had injected new life into the Cardinals.

“I don’t think many guys that are in our room now thought they’d be blocking for a future Hall of Famer and a guy like that,” Goodwin said.

“The energy he’s going to bring to the table I would hope wakens everybody up a little bit and bring a little bit more life to the offense.”

Peterson’s debut did just that. He gained eight yards on his first carry, 54 yards on his first drive and capped that with a 27-yard touchdown run to get the Cardinals off and rolling in a 38-33 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday.

To watch Peterson dance in the holes, change direction in an instant and power his way through tackles was at once a best-case scenario, a viewing delight and a reminder of what the Cardinals lost when they infamously passed on him in the 2007 NFL Draft in favor of tackle Levi Brown.

“I wish he’d have been here 11 years, from the beginning,” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “I’d have a Super Bowl ring already.”

With Peterson impacting Tampa’s defensive strategy, the Cardinals (3-3) scored 14 first-quarter points against the Bucs after scoring 17 first-quarter points in the first five games of the season. They rushed for a season-high 160 yards. They had as many run plays of 10-plus yards in the first quarter (four) as they had in their prior five games, and Peterson finished with 26 carries for 134 yards and two TDs.

LAST HURRAHS

A look at the Cardinal debuts of three Pro Bowl running backs:

– Emmitt Smith: Sept. 9, 2004 vs. Detroit, 13 carries 64 yards, 0 TDs

– Edgerrin James: Sept. 10, 2006 vs. San Francisco, 26 carries, 73 yards, TD

– Adrian Peterson: Oct 14, 2017 vs. Tampa Bay, 26 carries, 134 yards, 2 TDs.

“I couldn’t help it sometimes,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “I’m supposed to be booting out and doing some stuff, but I just couldn’t help to turn and look.

“A couple times, he almost ripped my shoulder out of the joint. I was just handing the ball off. He’s just so powerful and you hear his feet. It was fun to watch. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, like a lot of people, and to have him on our side is great.”

Peterson’s presence also had a dramatic impact on the Cardinals’ overall offense, as did a healthy left side of the line with tackle DJ Humphries and guard Alex Boone. It was balanced, and that can only help as Arizona begins a stretch of three straight games against NFC West opponents. Palmer completed 18 of 22 passes for 283 yards and three TDs (one interception). Fitzgerald caught 10 passes of 138 yards and a TD, and Arians admitted the play calling was easier with the threat of Peterson in the Buccaneers’ minds.

“Once you have a running game and you can hand it off consistently, you get different coverages, you get linebackers playing up, so some playing-action passes are good but also your drop-back passes are simple,” Arians said. “When you can run the ball like that and you can stay basic like that, your quarterback can have one hell of a day.”

Peterson said the first drive served to open up his lungs and get him warmed up.

“This is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “Once I got that (trade) call on Tuesday, I was rejuvenated. My wife even saw it. She was just like, ‘it felt like a boulder was just lifted off your back.'”

He had another motivation, too.

“My son is playing flag football and he scored two touchdowns on Friday,” Peterson said. “Right now, I think his total is like six touchdowns and he was like, ‘hey dad, how many touchdowns you have?’ I’m like ‘I don’t got none, but I’m gonna catch up with you.'”

The Cardinals insisted all week that they could see a difference in the running game with Peterson, but it was hard to tell if that was just hyperbole.

“I sensed it watching him in the walk-through that there was a whole bunch there,” Humphries said. “I told him during the game, I said, ‘there’s no way that you’re 32, bro. I don’t believe that. I think you’re my age. The way you run this ball, you’ve got to be 23. I don’t care what your birth certificate says.’

“I think he’s been lying to all of us. I think he got into the league way earlier than he was supposed to and he tried to play it off like he was really old but it’s coming to light. There’s no way that he’s 32.”

Peterson was just happy this day finally arrived and he could show how much he still has left in the tank.

“You hear so much from outside sources, and I do a great job of blocking it, but I’m human and when you hear those things it kind of hits you a little bit,” he said. “I never lost focus. I’ve always understood what God has blessed me with so being able to come here and have an opportunity to display it was satisfying. It felt good.”

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