We have to admit, we're having a hard time figuring out exactly what to make of how serious Adrian Peterson's 109 mph speeding ticket was. Our first instinct was to wonder exactly how he could go that fast on the Crosstown (Hwy 62), which is so clogged and construction-laden in many parts right now that it's hard to go 55, let alone 109. We had some fun with a few jokes (Chester Taylor will now be busted going a solid but unspectacular 72 in a 55 zone ... and so on). We even think it's light enough to post the Sammy Hagar video at the top here.

But we are also a little ... well ... outraged isn't the word, but disappointed maybe? That's a ridiculous speed. It's dangerous. At 8:30 on a Saturday night, there's bound to be traffic. Weird things can happen. Bad drivers can merge poorly. A car can be much harder to handle at that speed. If you've ever been rocketed past by someone going that speed, it scares the [redacted] out of you. If you've ever done that speed -- we're not bragging, and we're not proud, but we touched 110 a couple times back in the day, though certainly not on a major metro highway -- you probably look back on it now and wonder exactly what was being accomplished via a feat with a reward of being a little early and a risk of winding up dead. Is it more dangerous than driving drunk, as Dan Barreiro wondered on the radio last night? Fair question.

We tend to think Peterson's handling of the situation is on par with his handling of the fumbling problem: he's up-front and contrite, but at the same time he might not quite understand the entirety of the thing in either case (in very different senses, obviously, when it comes to either life/death and football). We're certainly not condemning Peterson, who by all accounts is a genuinely good person. If this is the worst thing he ever does off the field while playing for the Vikings, then we'll all be OK.

All that said, we still can't get a firm hold on whether our reaction underplays or overplays the incident. Same goes for the various reactions we've heard from others. We're interested in your takes in the comments.