The “Wow” factor

Wow wow wow wow wow.

That was the text message I received from my friend Billy at 2:59 p.m. Sunday about 10 seconds after AD (for those now in the know, that's Adrian "All Day" Peterson) broke off that gorgeous 46-yard run done the right sideline for his third touchdown of the game at the Metrodome.

I guess that about sums it up. Wow!

The Vikings rookie running back was so good against the San Diego Chargers Sunday, I'm prefacing what was maybe the biggest regular season game in NFL history with him. That alone says a bunch that he is going above Moss and the Patriots.

AD has been simply spectacular. I'm still having trouble with my jaw as much as it dropped Sunday. Two-hundred-ninety-six yards? Are you kidding me? THE NFL single-game record in his eighth game in the league? Are you flippin' kidding me? Nine-point-nine yards per carry against the Bolts and 6.6 per for the season? Are you freakin' kidding me?

AD has 1,036 yards at the midway point of the season. That projects to 2,072 yards over a full season. The record was set by Eric Dickerson (the back to whom he is most often compared) in 1984 with 2,105 yards. Now remember, AD is splitting time with Chester Taylor and was just named the Vikings starter THIS WEEK. Remember, there were two games this season in which he carried the ball just 12 times. For starters, Dickerson's rookie record of 1,800-some odd yards is toast. And if Bad (or Bald) Brad keeps his head out of someplace the rest of the season and feeds Adrian the ball 25-30 times a game (AD carried 30 times yesterday), that season record's gonna go, too.

His veteran teammate Darren Sharper said yesterday that forget 300 yards, AD could one day bust loose for 500 yards in a game. And he was being serious.

That's what kind of talent this kid has. Is drafting him going to let me forgive the Vikings for trading away Randy Moss for two cents on the dollar? NO. (Can you imagine both of them – the two biggest playmakers in the league – on this team together? I have goosebumps just thinking about it.)

I just hope he can stay healthy, because he is going to be an NFL legend before he's done. (And Jason Whitlock is going to have to add him to his list soon…more on that below.)

Super Bowl XL ½

The Patriots were down 20-10 with eight minutes to play against the defending Super Bowl champion Colts yesterday in that rightfully over-hyped battle of unbeatens.

Did they panic? No. Who did they turn to? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.

Of course it was Randy Moss. Six straight plays Tom Brady went to the receiver with the big one being a 55-yard momentum-reversing bomb that set up a short TD pass to Wes Welker. That wasn't his best catch though. That was the one-hander he made a quarter earlier, snatching the ball out of the sky with ridiculous ease. I'll bet Moss has three times as many career one-handed catches as the next closest guy in NFL history. (C'mon Elias. You need to start tracking that!) Moss drew double teams on the game-winning drive, opening up a long pass to Donta Stallworth and the go-ahead TD toss to Kevin Faulk. And his presence also opened up Welker for the game-sealing first down catch in the final minutes. Moss finished with 145 yards on nine catches and was a big reason the Patriots stayed unbeaten on a day in which they set a franchise record in penalty yardage (some pretty sketchy calls in there, I might add) and a game in which Brady looked merely mortal, doubling his interception total for the season.

Foxsports.com columnist Jason Whitlock wrote last weekend that Moss is the most powerful force in the NFL since Jim Brown. Powerful words, but I concur. Here's his explanation:

Let me elaborate on my point about Randy Moss being the most powerful football force since Jim Brown.

In the last 50 years of football, there have been five players whose physical gifts have stood head and shoulders above their peers to the point that their mere presence changed the game. It's kind of like being the Wilt Chamberlain or Shaquille O'Neal of football.

OK, Jim Brown is at the top of the list. The cliche "man among boys" was invented to describe Jim Brown on an athletic field. Also on the list are Reggie White, Deion Sanders and John Elway. You can now add Randy Moss to the list. All he needs is a championship to cement his place in the game.

Brown couldn't be tackled, White couldn't be blocked, Sanders couldn't be escaped, Elway couldn't be stopped and Moss can't be covered.

Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice and Walter Payton are not on this list. They weren't as physically imposing as Brown, White, Sanders, Elway and Moss. Taylor, Rice and Payton dominated with their passion and will to succeed.

Brown, White, Sanders, Elway and Moss were/are just better than everyone else.

Pretty good list to be on. AD has a good chance to be on it soon. And don't worry Jason. Moss will get his Super Bowl ring this year. That's right. Keep your champagne corked you 1972 Dolphins. 19-0 is coming. There's going to be another perfect team come February. Just maybe, the best team ever.

Best year ever

If yesterday was maybe the most enjoyable day I've ever had watching NFL football, then this season has to be close to the most enjoyable I've ever experienced as well. Between AD making the Vikings somewhat relevant in spite of their coaching and Moss and Brady and the Patriots courting perfection, it's been the most fun I've had watching the NFL since Moss was a rookie in 1997.

Great storylines all over. Colts-Patriots. Manning-Brady. The AD Show. The Moss Reincarnation. Even Brett Favre.

OK. I'll never be a Packer Backer. That's heresy. But you can't but feel kind of good about what Favre is doing this year as a 38-year-old. He has the Pack relevant again at 7-1 despite the lack of a running game. He won last Monday's game against the Broncos with a bomb in overtime and beat the Chiefs Sunday with another bomb in the closing minutes. He broke the all-time TD record. Goodness, I'd take him in purple-and-gold any day. Can you imagine how much room AD would have to run if Brett Fav-rah was with the Vikings? Peterson might run for 3,000 yards on the season.

And then there is the Lions, the other team of my youth, at 6-2. Remember Barry Sanders? Herman Moore? Moore was the No. 84 before Moss, my favorite football player ever until Moss –and the best interview I've ever had in my career. I don't hear anybody laughing now about Jon Kitna's prediction that the franchise formerly known as the Kitties would win 10 games this season. Looks pretty likely.

And the other good thing about the NFL this year? My fantasy teams. For the first time ever, I can honestly say "I dun good" at my drafts. Of my five teams, three are in first place – two of them running away with leagues – one is in the upper echelon and the third after scoring a league-record 117 points in Week 2 has since gone in the tank. But all-in-all, it's been a great year. I'll just shut up now, because everybody hates the guy who talks about his fantasy teams, and I definitely don't want to jinx them. It's just that normally I'm an idiot and draft with my heart every year, but with a broken one…

Random thoughts

Congrats to my good friends Super Dave and Michelle who are expecting a little one in three months or so. I should just point out that while Dave claims he was a standout football player growing up in Ohio, he does model underwear, so if it's a boy… Just kidding Dave. Much love.

Oh, and that lucky little leprechaun, I mean Irishman, J.J., got to watch Niski's first career goal live, just because he's based in Texas now. Miss ya, man. I'm still pissed at ya, but you did a great thing when you enlisted in the Army Airborne Rangers. Much love to you and my friends Tracy, Nick, Skee and so many others that have served and protected this great country in the armed forces.

And I'm proud of my little brother Michael for a great senior soccer season at college, even though his team came up one game shy of making the national tournament. Cherish the memories, Mike.

Until next time…