I have been surprised at the number of times questions about Adrian Peterson's consistency and durability have come up in casual conversation. Of course, being a lifelong Vikings fan, I defended the star running back against any and all criticism, citing that his yard's per carry were among the best in the league (2nd) and the fact that he did break the NFL single game rushing record, which was no small feat.

But what's the reality? Any team would love to have an explosive back who is a major playmaker, but without consistent production it becomes awfully hard to to create a winning game plan. Even though he produced more big runs than every other RB in the nation last season, these highlight plays are still rare even for Peterson.

So here's the Catch-22 , a coach can't expect to win games on big plays alone and needs a consistent performer to get a winning record. However, if an inconsistent playmaking back does not get any touches, then the coach does not get the benefit of those long runs which can change the momentum of a tight game or lead to easy victories. Ideally, the back needs to be a consistent performer and a playmaker, but they need to be first and foremost a reliable performer.

With that in mind, let's look at some stats*:

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