Sep 18th 2008 10:50PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Vikings, NFC SouthGus Frerotte was facing a tough job on Sunday–come in as the new quarterback and spark an offense that is a big reason the Vikings are 0-2.

But it could end up being a whole lot worse. Adrian Peterson missed practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury, while wide receiver Sidney Rice hasn’t practiced all week because of a knee injury, and fellow wideouts Bernard Berrian and Aundrae Allison have been limited by injuries.

So Frerotte may be asked to beat the Panthers with a backup tailback (although a good one in Chester Taylor), a very limited receiver corps and a backup left tackle. If the Vikings were trying to make things tough for him, it’s hard to think of any more ways to up the degree of difficulty.

Peterson’s hamstring apparently tightened up late in the Colts game. It still seems pretty likely he’ll play this week, but if the hamstring injury lingers, Brad Childress’ path to a firing will just get a little bit clearer. And it would also leave fantasy football owners unexpectedly buried in the standings.