Taylor’s contributions increasing

As the season wears on, Chester Taylor could become a bigger factor in the Vikings offense. When called upon, he has certainly delivered this year.

Running back Adrian Peterson did not play in the Vikings’ first two offensive series on Sunday because he and cornerback Cedric Griffin were late to a team meeting the day before the game.

Veteran Chester Taylor got the start and finished with 25 yards rushing on nine carries and a touchdown. Peterson had 17 carries for 80 yards and a score.

Even though Peterson is expected to return to his starting role Sunday night when the Vikings play host to Chicago, Taylor still might approach 10 carries.

Coach Brad Childress said Taylor’s workload stands to increase. Taylor also is used in almost all third-down and two-minute situations.

“He’s a good player,” Childress said of Taylor. “You can see what his ratio is when we put the ball in his hand and get first downs. You’re crazy not to play him. And as we go through the rest of the year, the next five (games), you’re going to see us change it up with Chester a good bit, coming down the homestretch.”

The Vikings obviously still want Peterson to get as many attempts as possible - at least on first and second downs — but as the season drags on it appears Childress also wants to keep his Pro Bowl running back fresh by using another very solid option.

NOTES

Coach Brad Childress was asked about his use of running back Chester Taylor in third-down situations after the Vikings’ 30-12 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday. Many have questioned why Childress does not try to work Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson into that mix more often. “Some people think that I’m crazy to use Chester on third down,” Childress said. “It’s kind of a week-to-week thing. I don’t know where you’re from, but where I’m from it gets questioned on a week-to-week basis. That’s my backhanded way to make guys think.”

QB Gus Frerotte was criticized by Childress for taking a few too many hits in Sunday’s game and not throwing the ball away more often. Frerotte, who was sacked three times, did not disagree with his coach. “That’s his job,” Frerotte said. “When you’ve got to throw the ball away, you’ve got to throw the ball away. You’re not going to make every play. I’m not going to be a guy that’s running around like crazy out there. So when I’m out of the pocket, we’ve just got to be able to throw the ball away. It’s one thing to say, it’s another thing to do. But that’s his job. That’s what he’s supposed to do. He’s the ultimate leader of this team and he’s got to tell me what to do.”

CB Antoine Winfield on why the Vikings played so much man-to-man coverage instead of zone against the Jaguars on Sunday: “We really didn’t feel like their receivers could separate from us. They are big, tall guys. If you watch film on them they rarely throw the ball down the field. So they were coming out there running a lot of under routes, using body position, catching some balls like that but it wasn’t really hurting us.”

LB Vinny Ciurciu did not play Sunday at Jacksonville because of a hand injury suffered a week earlier against Tampa Bay. He had his hand in a cast after the game, and it’s unclear when he will be able to return.

LB David Herron suffered a shoulder injury playing special teams Sunday and his status for next week’s game against Chicago is uncertain.

RT Artis Hicks, who replaced Ryan Cook as the starter Sunday, had to leave the game in the fourth quarter because of an arm injury. Cook filled in for Hicks for the remainder of the game. Hicks underwent an MRI on Monday.

RB Adrian Peterson is no longer leading the NFL in rushing after gaining 80 yards in the Vikings’ victory at Jacksonville. Washington’s Clinton Portis ran for 143 yards in a victory over Seattle and now has 1,206 yards to Peterson’s 1,180. Portis has 244 carries and Peterson has 242.

DT Kevin Williams had 1.5 sacks on Sunday and has a team-leading 8.5 on the season. DE Jared Allen, who had no sacks against the Jaguars, has eight this season.