Just a thought...

By now you've surely seen the newest Nike football commercial featuring Adrian Peterson. You know, the one where he runs around the field, baffling the opposition and perplexing its coaching staff, in the driving sleet, in black and white, before retiring into the locker room to undress and display his hexagon-scaled skin, all in an effort to promote the Nike Pro Combat line of compression-wear football equipment that features strategic hexagonal padding??

You've seen it, it's highly theatric, in keeping with Nike's recent marketing practices, which makes me wonder if that is actually Peterson hurdling, sidestepping and causing oxygen deficiency in defenders, or if a stuntman is filling in and we are deceived by some professional camera work.

Think about it. That field is sloppy (presumably to demonstrate the Nike frontman's capacity to endure the elements and succeed, while his inferiorly-clad opponents resign to sit on their helmets and suck oxygen from O2 tanks). But would the Vikings, who are investing $2.85 million a year (plus massive incentives) into their workhorse, allow Peterson to trot around, even making pre-conceived cuts on that playing surface, among twenty-one other padded actors, all of whom could potentially take a mis-step and roll up on his leg? Doesn't seem very likely.

So that begs the question... what are we seeing in the commercial? Is it a stunt-Peterson? Or is the director exploiting slow-motion technology that somehow lets Adrian Peterson run in complete safety? Or is it some other Hollywood movie trick? I guess none of it really matters, because he came away healthy, but the commercial does make you wonder how much control teams have over their players, especially face-of-the-franchise type guys like A.P.

(Take a look at the video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xQF2XDsswg)