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When was the last time a dominant running back led his team to a Super Bowl title? You might have to go all the way back to Terrell Davis and the 1998 Denver Broncos for an example, and that might not be a fair one. Davis was playing alongside of a Hall of Fame quarterback in John Elway, after all. A more modern case such as Marshawn Lynch is misleading, because his 2013 Seahawks were successful thanks mostly to their defense, particularly their pass defense.The Vikings might want to keep that in mind when weighing the $18 million salary Adrian Peterson is due next season. Peterson, who is likely to miss the rest of 2016 with a knee injury and will turn 32 next season, has probably seen his best days as a runner. Its still possible for him to have some productive seasons ahead, but thats not the question for the Vikings. The question is whether he is worth $18 million. All of Petersons pay next season is in base salary and roster bonus, so Minnesota can cut him before 2017 without incurring any cap penalty.It has long been said that the NFL is a passing league, and for good reason. Its not just that passing has become more frequent and successful; it is more decisive in terms of scoring and winning. We know this thanks to Expected Points Added (EPA) and Win Probability Added (WPA). EPA is our best measure of overall scoring productivity, measuring an offenses ability to move the ball, limit turnovers, and even suppress opponents opportunities to score. WPA does the same thing, but also considers game situation factors like score, time, and timeouts remaining.In 2015, the spread among the 32 teams was 2.3 EPA when passing, measured in terms of standard deviation. When running, the spread among the 32 teams was 0.7 EPA, less than a third of the impact of passing. In terms of WPA, the difference was only slightly less stark. The standard deviation among teams for passing was 1.1 WPA, and for running it was 0.4 WPA. In other words, a team should greatly prefer being a top passing team than a top running team by a factor of 3 to 1. Another way to look at this disparity is that being the most dominant running offense in the league would equate to being a modestly above-average passing offense.So in a world where $18 million is more in line with the salary of a second-tier quarterback, is it plausible that any running back would be worth that amount? If any running back would be worth it, it would be Peterson (or Peterson in his prime, at least). His suspension for nearly all of the 2014 season offers a conveniently large natural experiment for testing how much of an impact he made on the Vikings fortunes in recent years.Lets look at the past four full regular seasons (2012-15), and compare how the Vikings offense performed with Peterson on the field compared with off the field. On rushing plays, the Vikings performed measurably better with Peterson. Without him on the field, they averaged minus-0.01 EPA/play. But with him on the field, they averaged 0.02 EPA. Roughly speaking, that difference equates to about half a point per game. Another way to look at it is that the difference of 0.03 EPA/play would make an otherwise average offense into the 13th-best offense. Thats good, just not $18 million good.But Peterson contributed more than just rushing to the Vikings offense. Smart people in football will tell you his mere presence has drawn extra defenders near the line of scrimmage and has helped open up his teams passing. Its a plausible assertion, but how true is it?Comparing Weeks 2 through 17 in 2014 and 2015 can give us an idea of Petersons influence on opposing defenses. Peterson played in Week 1 in 14 before missing the rest of the season, and without him, the Vikings saw an average of 6.7 defenders in the box. But with Peterson in 15, they saw an average of 7.1. And in those same games, the box was considered loaded, meaning there were more potential tacklers than potential blockers, only 17 times without Peterson in 14, but 117 times with Peterson in 15. So it looks like there was an effect, but what was the bottom line in terms of passing productivity?Lets look at the Vikings passing EPA rates with and without Peterson. On all pass plays, with Peterson on the field over the past four regular seasons, Minnesota averaged 0.12 EPA/play. Without him on the field? They averaged, yes, 0.12 EPA/play. A lot of other factors can affect those numbers, such as quarterback Teddy Bridgewaters development in the past two seasons, so lets break it out by year. The difference with and without Peterson on passing plays in the last four full seasons was minus-0.07, minus-0.04, minus-0.01, and 0.08 EPA/play, respectively. So although Peterson draws in the defense, it seems that the effect of an elite running back such as Peterson on the passing game is probably overstated at best, and non-existent at worst.So how can some free agent running backs be so overpaid? A few decades ago, the NFL was truly a running league and great RBs could make a much bigger impact on the game. Theres also the illusion from the fact that running backs happen to be the guys with the ball in their hands and the stats on the back of their trading cards. We all remember the days on the sandlot or on the varsity team where the running back is always the best athlete on the field. But running back has a high replacement level in the NFL in 2016, meaning there are a number of competent players available who arent much of a liability at the position, compared to relatively scarce positions like cornerback or offensive line. Lastly, theres the age-old causation/correlation fallacy in which running backs on winning teams get to pad their yardage totals by sealing wins in the fourth quarter, making them appear to be causing their teams success.Even Peterson in his prime would not be worth close to $18 million. Although such an athlete can be fascinating to watch and can win fantasy games for fans, the modern running game just barely moves the needle when it comes to competing for championships, and Minnesota is Exhibit A.After this season, the Vikings have 19 pending free agents currently earning a total of $34 million in per-year salaries over their contracts, including several starters. That $18 million in savings could go a long way toward shoring up other, more critical positions. Even a severe reduction in salary to half or even a third of what Peterson is due would be a mistake.There is some question whether Minnesota can cut him. Peterson has to be able to pass a physical to be cut, and his contract says his 2017 pay must be exercised before the end of the current season. But assuming the Vikings have a choice, sadly, there should be no choice. Site De Chaussure Pas Cher . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Soldes Chaussures Pas Cher . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.chaussuresfrancepascher.fr/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Site De Chaussure Pas Cher France . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Chaussures France Pas Cher . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Mike Norvell got off to a fast start in his debut as Memphis coach. Now, the schedule get a little tougher.After opening his tenure with a 35-17 win over Southeast Missouri State two weeks ago, Norvell and his Tigers host Kansas from the Big 12 -- a league that eliminated Memphis from expansion consideration earlier this month.Being a member of a Power Five conference hasnt helped Kansas on the field. After going winless last season, the Jayhawks (1-1) defeated Rhode Island 55-6 in the season opener before falling to Ohio University 37-21 last week.Memphis had its open date after Norvells opener, so the Tigers have had to be patient.We have no say in when our bye week shows up, so we have to maximize it whether it was late in the year or early like it occurred, Norvell said. With us being a first-year staff, we can definitely take the positives out of it because it gives us another opportunity to continue to get to know each other, to continue to evaluate where we are early in the season.Kansas lost to Memphis 55-23 last year in the only other meeting between these schools. Much has changed for the Tigers since then. Justin Fuente has moved on to coach Virginia Tech, while quarterback Paxton Lynch became the first-round NFL draft choice for the Denver Broncos. Other key players like tight end Alan Cross and wide receiver Mose Frazier also moved on to NFL careers.The thing that sticks out to me is just the contrast in styles between their new quarterback (Riley Ferguson) and obviously Paxton Lynch, Kansas coach Dave Beaty said. Paxton, that dude was a tremendously talented guy. Their new guy is also a talented guy. .He can throw the football.Ferguson threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the opener for Memphis.---Some things to watch as Memphis hosts Kansas on Saturday morning::NICE START: Norvell is the first Memphis coach to win his debut since Rey Dempsey in 1984.dddddddddddd. Only one other Tiger coach -- Lester Barnard in 1922 -- won his inaugural game. But Norvell has the opportunity to be the first Memphis coach to start his career 2-0.WHO ARE YOU? Beaty hasnt determined exactly what type of offensive team will emerge after the Jayhawks ran for only 26 yards against Ohio last week. Im trying to figure out who we are right now, because I know were a lot better than what we showed Saturday in the run game, Beaty said. Were probably somewhere in the middle . to be honest with you.THE ROAD UNKIND: Kansas has not fared well on the road in recent years and come to Memphis on a 38-game road losing streak. The last road win came Sept. 12, 2009, when the Jayhawks defeated Texas-El Paso 34-7. No current player on the Kansas roster has ever won a road game.START IS IMPORTANT: Beaty noted the Jayhawks need to start the game with more success. Kansas was down to Ohio 25-0 near the 6-minute mark of the second quarter. We have to start faster, Beaty said. We didnt start fast on either side of the ball. That doesnt bode well for Kansas. Against Southeast Missouri, Memphis was up 29-0 midway through the second quarter.GRAHAM DISCIPLES: Beaty and Norvell both have coaching ties as assistants to Arizona State coach Todd Graham with Beaty in 2006 at Rice and Norvell at a couple of stops, including serving as Grahams deputy head coach for the Sun Devils before taking the helm at Memphis. Beaty even once coached at Norvells old high school.---Online:AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '