Vikings' Adrian Peterson over anger, ready for bigger contribution

Coach Mike Zimmer's message to the Vikings in their first team meeting after Monday's deflating 20-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was to move their focus to Detroit. But Adrian Peterson couldn't get his scowl to disappear Wednesday.

"When I'm mad, you can see the wrinkles up here," Peterson said Thursday, pointing to his forehead. "I had those wrinkles all day [Wednesday]. I was mad for no reason. Because we had 'moved on' but I just couldn't move on that quickly."

Peterson got only 10 carries against the 49ers, only four of them in a low-scoring first half. His 31 rushing yards gave him one of the lowest single-game totals of his career. And he lost snaps to fellow running backs Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon in the second half as the Vikings tried to dig themselves out of a hole.

That was not how Peterson envisioned his return to the field after a yearlong layoff. But Peterson appeared to be in much better spirits Thursday.

As a group of cameramen set up their tripods for his weekly locker-room podium session, Peterson approached the group with a smile and a riddle.

"Thirty cows in a pen and 28 chickens. How many didn't?"

Say that again, Adrian?

"Thirty cows in a pen and 28 chickens. How many didn't?"

A little slower please?

"It's a play on words, so listen to me closely. Thirty cows in a pen and 20 ate chickens. How many didn't?"

The answer was 10, which coincidentally was the number of carries he got Monday night. But if Peterson was irked with offensive coordinator Norv Turner for how he was used against the 49ers, he certainly wasn't letting on Thursday.

Peterson brushed aside a question about his workload and said he trusts Turner and believes that more opportunities to run out of the shotgun will lead to familiarity and then comfort within Turner's shotgun spread scheme.

Of course, Peterson also believes he is most effective when lined up directly behind the quarterback instead of at Teddy Bridgewater's side in the shotgun. After all, that's how Peterson has been utilized throughout most of his football life, from his pee-wee football days to his MVP season in 2012.

Peterson actually averaged 5.55 yards per carry on 42 rushing attempts from shotgun formations during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. But against the 49ers, he rushed for only 7 yards on four shotgun runs.

"We've been getting a lot of reps in the gun since OTAs, and I think we'll continue to get these looks in the game, in live action," Peterson said. "So we'll just be able to improve as a unit, being on the same page."

Turner, meanwhile, wouldn't say whether the Vikings plan to scale back on the shotgun usage to accommodate Peterson's aggressive downhill running style.

"We're trying to put a game plan together every week to give all of our guys a chance to contribute," Turner said. "And we really want to be a balanced team and be able to do the things that the defense makes available."

Turner added that Peterson "is a big part of what we do and we want him to be able to have an impact on the game."

Against the 49ers, Peterson's impact was minimal. The 30-year-old didn't touch the ball on the team's first possession, which started in San Francisco territory. He had runs of 9 and 7 yards, but six of his 10 carries went for 2 or fewer yards.

"I felt like it was just an OK job," Peterson said. "I only had like 10 carries and they were kind of spread out here and there. But watching the film, I think on a couple I wasn't patient enough. On some, I was patient. But I just look at those things and try to improve. That's what I've been doing this week."

And after sulking Wednesday and walking around Winter Park with a furrowed brow, Peterson espoused the company line Thursday and turned his focus to a Lions defense that gave the Vikings problems a year ago.

"Yes, the reset button has been pressed," he said.