Could Adrian Peterson be an alien from outer space?

Monday’s edition of our NFL Google+ hangout -- “NFL Slam with Mark and Sam,” with Times NFL columnist Sam Farmer and Mark Thompson of “Mark and Brian” radio fame -- covered a host of topics.

One was Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who has come back from an injured knee to put together another amazing season.

Thompson: “You know, I don’t know anything about an ACL injury. I don’t know what it is, but I heard that most of the people who suffered the injury, it takes them two years to come back. Here we are talking about a guy who in his first season is even better than he was before. He is an alien, not from here!

Farmer: “That is exactly right. Statistics show that players take two years to get back to about 80% of what they were before an ACL injury. Like you said, he’s a freak. And Vikings QB Christian Ponder said as much yesterday when he said, ‘We’re not sure he’s human.’”

Peterson has 1,600 yards rushing with three games left to play a season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee. But his goal isn’t 2,000 yards; he wants 2,106, one more than the NFL record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.

He would need to gain about 169 yards a game the rest of the way to accomplish the feat. That seems unlikely, but one thing is for sure: Don’t ever bet against Adrian Peterson.

“NFL Slam with Mark and Sam” usually takes place every Monday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. If you have questions for Mark and Sam, email them to sportshangout@latimes.com and we will try to get them answered live during the chat.

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