Adrian Peterson to Golden Tate on cheap-shot talk: 'Suck it up'
Adrian Peterson had some advice for Golden Tate regarding allegations made by the Detroit Lions wide receiver that the Minnesota Vikings were taking liberties with cheap shots during a game between the teams earlier this season: Get over it.
The Vikings and Lions play Sunday and when Peterson spoke with the Detroit media this week, he suggested Tate’s comments were more about bitterness than accuracy.
“Suck it up,” Peterson said, via the Pioneer Press. “I don’t know, I really didn’t see any cheap shots or anything like that that were taken. I was celebrating the victory. When you lose, you always try to point out little things like that, so it is what it is.”
Tate accused the Vikings of playing dirty and taking cheap shots during the Lions’ 26-16 loss in Minnesota on Sept. 20. The Lions wideout probably was specifically singling out how the Vikings battered Matthew Stafford throughout the game, punishing the Lions quarterback with eight hits.
“After watching the film there were several holds, late hits that I thought should have been called,” Tate said after the game. “A couple of them I wouldn’t be surprised if we turn them in [to the NFL] … There were a few plays out there that were clear violations of this game. There were a couple. Several. A bunch.”
The late hits Tate cited probably included at least Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr drawing a personal foul for a late hit out of bounds on Stafford. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer indicated during the week following the game that the NFL informed him that the personal foul on Barr shouldn’t have been called. He reiterated to the Detroit media Wednesday comments he made previously that he doesn’t coach dirty play.
“Honestly, (the comments) came back to us, but we were on to San Diego or whoever, so I don’t really worry about that,” Zimmer said. “I think we’re a very clean football team, we play by the rules. We try to do things exactly by the rules, so I don’t worry about it.”
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