Eric Dickerson

Adrian Peterson is closing in on Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, which has stood for nearly 30 years. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards for the L.A. Rams in 1984. Peterson has a career-high 1,812 already this year for the Minnesota Vikings with two games remaining. Can Peterson pull it off? To do so, Peterson will need to average 147 yards a game. While his season average of 129.4 yards a game won't cut it, that number is a bit misleading because he spent the first several weeks working his way back after suffering two torn ligaments last Christmas Eve. Peterson ran for just 83.2 yards a game the first six weeks of the season but has averaged 164.1 yards per outing since.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson finished the season nine yards short of the NFL season rushing record, and he had one person on his mind afterward: Eric Dickerson, the man who still has the record. “I know Eric Dickerson is feeling so good right now,” Peterson said with a chuckle. “But God willing, I'll get it next year.” Peterson's run for the record was even more remarkable when you consider he tore ligaments in his left knee last season, an injury that is difficult for a running back to return from.

Eric Dickerson is pulling for Adrian Peterson to become the seventh NFL running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season. The former Los Angeles Rams great who owns the single-season rushing record also wants to see Peterson named both the league's most valuable player and comeback player of the year. But Dickerson is a realist, too, and concedes both those awards will probably wind up in Denver with Peyton Manning, who has come back from a serious neck injury to lead the Broncos to an AFC West title.

This week's Monday edition of our NFL Google+ hangout -- "NFL Slam with Mark and Sam," starring Times NFL columnist Sam Farmer and Mark Thompson of "Mark and Brian" radio fame -- covered many topics, one being Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson has a chance at breaking Eric Dickerson's record for most rushing yards in a season. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards for the L.A. Rams in 1984. Peterson has 1,812 yards with two games remaining, against the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.

Eric Dickerson has fired his agent and there will be a pause while waiting for the other shoe to drop. That could signal the start of an attempt by the Ram running back's new representatives from the Ken Norton Co. to renegotiate his contract before next season. It could be a long, hot summer. Jack Mills, the Boulder, Colo., lawyer who got a $2.2 million, 4-year agreement for Eric Dickerson when the Rams drafted him in 1983, confirmed Sunday that his client had severed their relationship.

Eric Dickerson netted 170 yards last Sunday, but Chicago linebacker Otis Wilson can't wait to take his shots at the NFL's leading rusher when the Bears meet the Rams next Monday night. "Eric doesn't like to play against us 'cause we tattoo him," Wilson said. "He doesn't like to get hit. We pounded him in the playoffs, held him to 49 yards, remember? "We plan on stopping him again this year."

The thing Eric Dickerson may do best, besides run the football with unique brilliance, is take care of Eric Dickerson. He definitely is a member of the Look Out Generation: If you don't look out for yourself, no one will. The recent debacle with his team, the Indianapolis Colts, demonstrates the duality of Dickerson, the most gifted running back in the game today. He seems to be a blessing and a curse all wrapped up in a 224-pound frame. But foremost is the talent, the unbelievable talent.

Wes Hopkins, Philadelphia Eagles strong safety, is counting down to September 15. He's hoping Eric Dickerson will hold out until after the Rams play the Eagles in the second week of the regular season. Hopkins, a three-year starter with the Eagles, does not relish the idea of having to stop his former Southern Methodist teammate. "It wouldn't hurt me any if he's not there when we play them," he said. "He can always come back in about three weeks and a couple days.

In Eric Dickerson's world, there is openness. Always openness. "I am very open about how I feel about something," he said. "I don't pull any punches about something that's on my mind. "I have no qualms about letting eveyone know I think I'm good, and there's just no doubt about it. When there comes a point in time when I can't make that statement, I'll say that. But right now-and I say this not boastfully or bragging -- I feel like I'm the best at my game." It is difficult to argue.

At his current rate of 38 carries a game, Ram running back Eric Dickerson will finish the season with 608 rushes. Assume, also, that he'll finish with a few other things, like a ruptured spleen or some cracked ribs. A bad case of migraines, maybe. The Rams, of course, are fools to treat their most valuable player with such utter disregard for his kidneys. Running Dickerson ragged is kind of like beating a precious diamond against concrete, over and over.

Adrian Peterson is closing in on Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, which has stood for nearly 30 years. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards for the L.A. Rams in 1984. Peterson has a career-high 1,812 already this year for the Minnesota Vikings with two games remaining. Can Peterson pull it off? To do so, Peterson will need to average 147 yards a game. While his season average of 129.4 yards a game won't cut it, that number is a bit misleading because he spent the first several weeks working his way back after suffering two torn ligaments last Christmas Eve. Peterson ran for just 83.2 yards a game the first six weeks of the season but has averaged 164.1 yards per outing since.

Eric Dickerson is pulling for Adrian Peterson to become the seventh NFL running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season. The former Los Angeles Rams great who owns the single-season rushing record also wants to see Peterson named both the league's most valuable player and comeback player of the year. But Dickerson is a realist, too, and concedes both those awards will probably wind up in Denver with Peyton Manning, who has come back from a serious neck injury to lead the Broncos to an AFC West title.

2,000 club Chris Johnson became the sixth member of the 2,000-yard rushing club. All played 16 games except O.J. Simpson, who reached the milestone in 14 games: YEAR PLAYER, TEAM YARDS AVG TD 1973 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo 2,003 6.0 12 1984 Eric Dickerson, L.A. Rams 2,105 5.6 14 1997 Barry Sanders, Detroit 2,053 6.1 11 ...

Being the fastest player in the NFL is a little like being the biggest guy in the bar. There's always someone who wants to tangle. So Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson had to chuckle when he heard Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo wants to challenge him to a race. "He must be stupid or something," said Johnson, adding he could beat Rondo in a game of one-on-one to boot. Johnson, you see, measures his speed against the best of the best. He said he'd love to race Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in a 40-yard dash, suggesting that would be prime pay-for-view fodder.

The number comes to Adrian Peterson in his sleep, whispering to him with promises of prestige that few other achievements in the NFL can provide. It is the most eye-catching figure in football -- 2,000. In a game that is not known for landmark statistics as much as it is for its violence and speed, 2,000 might be the one number that everyone instantly identifies with greatness. Try and remember the record for yards rushing in a career. How about touchdown passes? Receptions?

Thirty-something tailbacks Jerome Bettis (32) of Pittsburgh and Curtis Martin (31) of the New York Jets are closing in on Tony Dorsett and Eric Dickerson on the NFL's all-time rushing list: active players shaded *--* Player Yards EMMITT SMITH 18,050 WALTER PAYTON 16,726 BARRY SANDERS 15,269 ERIC DICKERSON 13,259 TONY DORSETT 12,739 JEROME BETTIS 12,734 CURTIS MARTIN 12,653 JIM BROWN 12,312 MARCUS ALLEN 12,243 FRANCO HARRIS 12,120 THURMAN THOMAS 12,074 MARSHALL FAULK 11,883 JOHN RIGGINS 11,352 O.

Running back Gerald Riggs had a burden lifted from his massive shoulders Friday when he finally agreed to a new contract after months of negotiations with the Atlanta Falcons. But not to worry, Atlanta fans. The chip is still firmly in place. Riggs, who led the NFC in rushing last year, doesn't feel he gets his due . . . from the fans, the media or the Atlanta ownership. And that drives him to run with a vengeance.

So just who is this Raider running back with the No. 29 on his back and the goggles on his face? Eric Dickerson? Not the Eric Dickerson who burst into the NFL with the Rams and later played for the Indianapolis Colts, taking on both tacklers and controversy with a ferocity that guaranteed him the high regard of those he played against, but sometimes low regard from those he played for and with. That Eric Dickerson demanded to be traded by the Rams because he wanted more money.

Jamal Lewis blew past O.J. Simpson and Terrell Davis in the first quarter, glided by Barry Sanders in the third. But as the Baltimore Raven running back moved ever closer to Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record Sunday, the once-easy yards seemed to stretch for miles. Pittsburgh's defense simply wouldn't budge. "They weren't going to let it happen," said Lewis, who ran for 114 yards to finish the regular season with 2,066 yards, 40 short of breaking the record of 2,105 set by the Los Angeles Rams' Dickerson in 1984.