The best trash talkers in sports, from Muhammad Ali to Joe Namath to the Fab Five to Deion Sanders, have always had two qualities:
1. They’re funny.
2. They can back it up on the field.
By those two standards, it appears that Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson may be developing into a great trash talker.
This week he was asked to name the toughest defense he had faced, and he answered, the San Diego Chargers. And then he added, “That was a joke.”
Peterson, of course, ran for an NFL record 296 yards against the Chargers, and he drew a laugh with that comment.