In an interview with The Daily earlier this season, Minnesota Vikings running back Toby Gerhart ’10 did not shy away from discussing how playing behind reigning league MVP Adrian Peterson has limited his ability to get on the field.
Nevertheless, Gerhart, a free agent after this season, has continued to make the most of his limited playing time, knowing that every carry that comes his way could help him land a starting job with another franchise.
In the past two Sundays, with Peterson dealing with a nagging groin injury, Gerhart has made the most of his opportunity. After leading the Vikings with 67 yards rushing on seven carries against the Seahawks last week, Gerhart spurred the Vikings to a 26-26 tie against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, rushing for 33 yards on a single drive in overtime that ended in the equalizing field goal.
In total, Gerhart finished with a season high eight carries for 91 yards after not receiving a handoff until the third quarter.
“Adrian got a little fatigued, and [Gerhart] did a terrific job,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told ESPN. “He does a great job every time he gets in the ballgame. To get our running game going the way he did, it was big for our team.”
Frazier also mentioned that the Vikings will look to increase Gerhart’s role to take some pressure off of Peterson, whose injury is expected to linger for the rest of the season.
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Since the loss of wide receiver Reggie Wayne to an ACL injury, quarterback Andrew Luck ’12 and the Indianapolis Colts have had difficulty generating consistent output on offense. On Sunday, Luck and the Colts were throttled on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, losing 40-11. Luck finished 20 for 39 with 163 yards passing, an interception and a lone touchdown pass to tight end Coby Fleener ’12 in the fourth quarter with the game already out of reach.
“It stinks. It’s frustrating,” Luck said in his postgame press conference, “but the onus is on us to get it fixed … I’ve got to do my job much better if we’re going to have a chance to win. We know that and we’re going to go back and work at it.”
Luck also added that he doesn’t believe that the large number of injuries on the Colts roster played a role in the outcome of the game, calling football a “next man up” sport.
In the same game, Cardinals running back Stepfan Taylor ’13 rushed for 10 yards on five carries.
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Known for his incessant trash-talking, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman ’10 was notably silent while sharing a moment with Stanford head coach David Shaw on the sidelines during the 116th Big Game. Shaw told reporters after the game that Sherman tapped him on the shoulder in the third quarter and, without saying a word, showed him the score of the Arizona-Oregon game on his smartphone. Shaw added that he did not believe the score at first.
Sherman, who was enjoying his bye week by taking in the Big Game, was joined on the sidelines by Eagles tight end Zach Ertz ’13, also on a bye week, and tight end Levine Toilolo ’13, whose Atlanta Falcons lost 17-13 to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Former NFL safety Tank Williams ’02 served as the Cardinal’s honorary captain for the Big Game.
Contact Vihan Lakshman at vihan ‘at’ stanford.edu.