More On Adrian Peterson

Hector: There's a German word for an "evil twin" or identical double. It's doppelganger. It is said that such a person can plant ideas in his victim's mind and cause confusion. Such is not the life of Adrian Peterson. Had he that power, perhaps he'd have talked his way into the Bears' starting lineup by now. But he's not running the ball much, and isn't getting out of his namesake's shadow despite frequently catching the ball out of the backfield, most recently six times against the Lions. However, his fantasy point totals -- combined with Benson's mediocre-at-best output -- have persuaded everyone in the state of Illinois except Lovie Smith to give this AP the ball. He could be for real. He should be for real. But he's destined to remain the "other" Adrian Peterson.

Victor: I learned the word "doppelganger" from one of the last episodes, maybe the last episode, of "Twin Peaks." Just FYI. Here's why I'm designating Adrian Peterson of the Bears as For Real: Benson is due for an injury. I don't see Peterson taking his flag and sticking it into the moon that is the starting job; that's Benson's job, and he earned it. But Peterson has a chance to break through by way of a convenient Benson injury, which is becoming more and more of a possibility as he plays on that banged-up knee. It's true that this Adrian Peterson might never reach the heights of his namesake in Minnesota, but if Benson has to sit out a couple of weeks to rest his knee and the starting job gets handed to Peterson, there's no reason to believe his point totals won't scrape the 20s. He already is involved in the passing attack, so a feature role can only increase his value.