Peterson: Vikings more aggressive

MANKATO, Minn. -- Now that offensive coordinator Norv Turner has arrived, bringing what should be a more aggressive scheme to the Minnesota Vikings, running back Adrian Peterson said he's playing in the offense he's "been looking for for the past seven years."

And in the process of talking about Turner, Peterson admitted just how staid he thought the Vikings had become.

"Let's call it what it is: I thought in the past, we've been predictable," Peterson said. "I'm sure you guys wrote stories about us being predictable the past seven years. You won't be able to write that story this year. That's pretty much all I'm saying. You won't be able to do that, because this offense is so versatile."

During the first seven years of his career, Peterson played in offenses that were generally accused of being predictable or overly conservative. That charge got particularly loud the last three seasons, with Bill Musgrave running the offense under head coach Leslie Frazier, but Peterson largely held his tongue while he was playing for those coaches.

The Vikings plan to get Peterson more involved in their passing game, something he's said he wanted for a long time, and they've been giving him plenty of chances to work on that part of his game early in training camp.

He said he hasn't talked yet with coaches about whether he'll need to play in preseason games to get a better feel for the offense, but coach Mike Zimmer said Peterson won't get "many" carries in the preseason.

Asked if he thought he needed the preseason work in the Vikings' new offense, Peterson said, "I wouldn't necessarily say that. That's why you come out here and you practice. There's nothing like live, but as you know I practice like it's live. So I don't know. When that time comes around, we'll talk, and, hey, if they want me to go out there and play, you know, just like year one, when they sent me out, I was on the sideline ready to go. And I'll be ready to go."