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Ask him about Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, though, and the architect of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense is tempted to let go.
“He’s big, he’s fast, he’s powerful, he’s can stop on a dime, he’s quick, he loves football, he plays hard,” Kiffin said before pausing to take a breath. “If you hear anything bad about this guy that he can’t do, let me know. I can’t find anything on tape. He’s a premier back.”
Kiffin and his proud defense get their first close look at the NFL’s leading rusher when the Bucs host the Vikings today, with Peterson aiming for his fifth consecutive 100-yard game.
Since entering the NFL in 2007, the 23-year-old blend of speed and power has averaged a league-best 102.4 yards per game. He’s coming off a 192-yard performance against Green Bay and feels like he’s getting stronger as the season progresses.
“I never (talk up) backs ... out of respect for your Walter Paytons, your Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smiths of the world, and people like that. But he has the potential,” Kiffin said. “In a year and a half, you can tell he’s a special guy. There’s no doubt about it.”
The Bucs are impressed as a team, too. From offensive lineman Davin Joseph, who blocked for Peterson at Oklahoma, to linebacker Barrett Ruud and cornerback Aquib Talib, who played against the running back in college, to veterans Derrick Brooks and Chris Hovan, who’ve studied film, the sentiment is the same.
“He’s done a lot in two years. But again, this is our first time seeing him,” Brooks said. “We’re going to give him his respect. But at the same time, we’re going to give ourselves a little credit, too. We have a job to do, and we’re going to do our best to go out there and do our job.”
Tampa Bay’s defense has been among the best in the NFL for much of Kiffin’s 13-season tenure with the Bucs. The unit has limited opponents to 3.8 yards per carry this year and hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher until Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles topped the mark two weeks ago.
After stewing over the sub-par outing during last week’s bye, the Bucs D has a chance to redeem itself against one of the best.
“You’re going to see a guy that is an incredible finisher and an incredible competitor. He’s going to fight you for a yard, physically fight you for every yard,” Bucs coach Jon Gruden said.
“It’s not just on seven of the 27 carries. It’s 27 carries, if that’s how many times, he’s got to be physically brought down. He’s as physical a man as I’ve seen play the position.”
That said, Gruden expects the Bucs to respond to the challenge.
“We’re confident in our defense. I’m not going to underestimate that we will be there. ... It’s not like we haven’t seen some great backs,” Gruden said.
“We always want to be the best at what at what we do,” Hovan added. “But we know that to be the best you have to take down the best, and the best is coming here on Sunday.”
With Peterson surging over 1,000 yards for the season, the Vikings have won three of four to claim a share of first place with Chicago in the NFC North.
“My body is holding up well. Actually, I feel like I am getting stronger, I am actually getting bigger,” said Peterson, who’s listed at 6-foot-1, 217 pounds.
“There are things that I am noticing about myself. I am putting on a little more weight as the season goes. It just comes with staying true to what I do, staying in the weight room, just having the mind-set that I am going in there to get extra reps and do extra squats and just keep my body fresh.”
