Have you ever seen one of those incidents like a car accident where there are body part laying in the streets and fuel tanks rocketing flame into the air and some cop is standing there waving people away with the phrase “move along, nothing to see here…” It sounds stupid then, and it sounded equally stupid coming from the mouth of the fumbl-icious Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson about his obvious fumbling problem. At least that is the obvious paraphase coming from the following quote:

Peterson expressed confidence that he has discovered the answer to his issues. “I found out at times by studying myself that when I’m going down, I kind of brace myself with the hand that I’m carrying the ball in and that’s leaving opportunities for those guys that are in there scraping and punching for that ball, gives those guys opportunities to make big plays,” he said. “I’m a pretty tough guy, so I just [need to] keep the ball high and just fall down. It is instincts, but when that becomes a problem you’re able to sit there and say, Hey, I’ve got to eliminate doing this.”

I would offer him a trophy for winning the “No Shit” award, but I’m still not sold he can hang on to it.  It is sad we had to wait until  “Fumbl-icious” played the lead role in “Vikings Choke in the NFC Championship Game: Episode IX” before anybody wanted to admit a guy with such a short career already has been punctuated by 20 career fumbles (including 13 turnovers), including those memorable drops against the Saints.

Seriously, when Peterson can hang on to the ball, he is a man amongst boys in this game. But it goes to the delusion of Viking fans; after that loss to New Orleans in January, it was harder to find a Viking fan that owned up to the myriad of Viking turnovers being the cause of the loss in the NFC Championship game last year than finding Amelia Earhart, Judge Crater, Jimmy Hoffa, and an episode of “Maury” that didn’t involve at least three black guys being named “the father.”

This is why today’s tilt with the Saints may not even be the tell; Maury Povich won’t be on the sidelines to say “You are not the Fumbler,” rather, Peterson is going to have to show not only Vi-Queen fans that, but the rest of us as well.