In his first game with the Washington Redskins, Adrian Peterson flashed shades of his glory days, such as making a jump cut in the hole and finding lanes with his vision against the Arizona Cardinals.

In his second game, Peterson didn’t do much of anything. Against the Indianapolis Colts, jump cuts to avoid danger only led to more danger. And the holes were hard to see. Other times he was too impatient, running into clogged alleys.

Some of it is a function of Peterson still adjusting to the Redskins, not to mention running more out of a shotgun formation, which has been an area of criticism with his running style in the past.cheap nike nfl jerseys paypal

In Week 1, Peterson rushed for 96 yards on 26 carries. But in Week 2 against the Colts, Peterson finished with 20 yards on 11 rushes. Peterson managed only 0.64 yards before contact, according to ESPN Stats & Information research — a sign of how much penetration his blockers allowed, but also a little nod toward his impatience.

Sunday’s opponent, the Green Bay Packers, rank 24th in the league in rushing yards per carry, allowing an average of 4.6 yards. They are 18th in rushing yards allowed. Green Bay struggled against the run in the opener against Chicago (139 yards) but was better in Week 2 vs. Minnesota (68 yards).

“It’s just getting a rhythm,” Peterson said. “The defense we played last week had some big guys, but they were extremely athletic. The guys we face this week, they’re athletic as well, but not as athletic as the Colts.”

Green Bay also uses a front similar to what Peterson sees in practice with the Redskins. The Colts beat the Redskins by confusing them along the front, but the Packers likely won’t. That could help.

But Peterson is still adapting to the Redskins after being here for only one month. However, it’s not as if every failed run stems from his newness to the team. Too often against the Colts there were plays on which he had little chance for success because the defense had too much penetration into the backfield.nfl nike jerseys cheap china

Peterson admits he must be more patient, especially out of the shotgun. On his first carry out of the shotgun Sunday, he sprinted immediately on his path, following pulling guard Shawn Lauvao. But he was tight on Lauvao’s heels, and because he went so fast, nothing had yet opened up and the linebackers didn’t have to commit one way or another. No room meant no yards.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and defensive end Everson Griffen have officially been ruled out for Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills, coach Mike Zimmer announced Friday.nfl nike jerseys cheap china

Cook, who sustained a hamstring injury during overtime of Minnesota’s 29-29 tie in Green Bay, did not practice this week. Latavius Murray, who rushed for 42 yards on 11 carries against the Packers last week, is expected to start in place of Cook.

Behind Murray, the Vikings will turn to either Mike Boone or Roc Thomas — two undrafted free agents who were inactive during the first two games. Boone, who was a full participant in practice Friday, was added to the injury report with a groin injury and is listed as questionable.

While Cook rehabbed throughout the spring offseason, Boone split reps with Murray. Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo tapped into Boone’s background as a receiver by utilizing him in the slot and lined up outside throughout the preseason where he caught 10 passes for 88 yards.

Minnesota is averaging 92 yards per game from its running backs and has yet to score a rushing touchdown. A promising sign this week? Buffalo’s defense has given up 138 yards and two rushing touchdowns to backup running backs in its first two losses.

The Vikings also ruled Pro Bowl defensive end Everson Griffen (knee), tight end David Morgan (knee) and cornerback Marcus Sherels (ribs) out for Week 3. Griffen was not present at practice throughout the week, although Zimmer said “I don’t think so” when asked if there was any concern.cheap nike nfl jerseys paypal

Third-year pass-rusher Stephen Weatherly is eyeing his first career start Sunday, which may come on the left side with the expected move of Danielle Hunter over to right defensive end to fill in for Griffen. Weatherly noted the two DEs are able to make the decision to switch sides while on the field depending upon what they’re expecting the offense to do.

“Whenever I’m out there with D, whatever side he feels like he needs to be on to best execute, or if he feels like he’s in a groove at one particular tackle during the game, he’ll just say he’s going to that side, and I’ll just play the opposite side,” Weatherly said.

The clock started ticking at 4:06 p.m. Sunday. As he walked off the field after losing to the Miami Dolphins, Sam Darnold digested the game and quickly turned his focus to the Cleveland Browns, knowing he’d have to cram on a short week.

A 100-hour week, to be exact — from final gun in New Jersey to opening kickoff Thursday night in Cleveland. That’s not a lot of time to prepare for the most un-vanilla defense in the NFL — a blur of blitzing, stunting and deceiving madness, hatched from the diabolical mind of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

As the Education of Sam Darnold continues, this chapter is known as, “The Rush Job for The Rush Job.” On Sunday evening, after some family time, Darnold joined backup quarterback Josh McCown at the Jets’ facility to start breaking down Cleveland video. They worked well into the night.cheap nike nfl jerseys free shipping

“Yeah, it’s a different challenge, something that I haven’t necessarily dealt with,” Darnold said of the quick turnaround. “But it’s awesome.”

In the first two weeks, Williams wasn’t shy about unleashing his band of blitzers at a pair of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees, so you can bet he will delight in dialing up the pressure against a rookie. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Browns blitzed 40 times out of 84 dropbacks, a league-high 47.6 percentage — and that number figures to climb against Darnold.

“I’d blitz him, too. I’d blitz our young guy,” wide receiver Terrelle Pryor said. “But our young guy plays like a veteran.”

Darnold displayed his high-ceiling potential in his first two starts, but this week is different because of the opponent’s complex scheme and the time constraint. A quarterback typically gets 160 hours between starts, Sunday to Sunday. Darnold is getting only 63 percent of that allotment, easily the biggest challenge of his young career.nfl cheap jerseys nike

“They got to the quarterback last week against a guy like Drew Brees, a Hall of Famer — on a long week,” McCown said of the Browns. “They’ve proven they can get to the guy, regardless of the circumstances.”

Brees’s brain is like a computer and yet there were times where he seemed confused by Cleveland’s pressure schemes. On a third-and-8, he called a protection that slid to his right, leaving his blind side exposed. In came linebacker Jamie Collins and safety Jabrill Peppers, both of whom were unblocked. They flushed the Saints’ quarterback out of the pocket for an incomplete pass.

But Wentz is setting the bar high. While his coaches and teammates will try to provide necessary support as he makes his return from a multi-ligament knee injury against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Wentz believes he and the offense can operate like it did late last season before he went down with a torn ACL and LCL in Week 13.nfl nike jerseys for cheap

“We expect to go out and start fast, play fast, be clicking, and so I truly believe that’s a realistic expectation,” Wentz said before Wednesday’s practice. “Now, [it’s] football, it’s not always like that, so those things come and you have to learn how to balance the ebbs and flows of the game and everything, but I think we all hold ourselves to high expectations around here.”

Wentz will heed the doctors’ advice and continue to wear a brace on his surgically repaired left knee as he has this offseason, and he says he is now at a point where he’s gotten used to it. A large black sleeve covered that brace during practice Wednesday. Otherwise, there were no other signs that pointed to his injury. Now nine-plus months removed from surgery, he is moving fluidly and planting with confidence.

While it may be a little while until he pulls off escapes at the level he did when at the top of his game last season, Wentz intends to play the position as he always has and use his legs to his advantage.

“I feel extremely confident moving around, on the run,” he said. “Even last year I never said I’m a running quarterback — I never want to be — but I’ll find ways to extend time in the pocket and make plays down the field, and I don’t think that’s going anywhere.”

Similarly, coach Doug Pederson said that he is not going to “coach scared.” He’ll max protect when there are opportunities, but he does not plan to be timid in his playcalling.

That’s not to say that Wentz’s health is not being prioritized. There have been conversations about Wentz better protecting himself dating back well before the injury, something the quarterback has had plenty of time to think about and continued to work on.cheap nike nfl jerseys free shipping

Wentz says that he is looking forward to taking that first hit — “always a good wake-up call to remind yourself you’re playing a man’s game out there” — and believes he’ll feel at home despite the long layoff.