Adrian Peterson appears in court looking dapper, says he's "200 percent innocent"

Sherry Williams' Twitter

Hardin and AP chat in court this morning.

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Adrian Peterson's day in a Texas courtroom was inconclusive -- his court date on a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge was pushed back to August 5 -- but his high-profile defense attorney, Rusty Hardin, is hoping his client won't have to make another appearance.

Hardin told 1500 ESPN he'll be meeting with prosecutors this afternoon to discuss evidence that Hardin believes shows AP was the victim in the Saturday morning altercation at Houston's Live! at Bayou Place club, not the aggressor. If Hardin persuades them that there isn't enough evidence to convict Peterson, the charge could be dropped without AP having to return to court.

Outside the courtroom after the hearing, AP told reporters he's "200 percent innocent" and didn't "push, shove, or touch anyone that night, especially an officer."

The star running back's courtroom appearance was quite the spectacle. Sherry Williams was covering the story for Houston's KHOU news. She reported that AP "has an abrasion on his nose" -- Hardin has said during the altercation, AP was roughed up to the point where he needed a doctor to check out facial injuries. She added that some folks who were at the courthouse for unrelated business couldn't resist hitting AP up for an autograph:

Guy in crt,thrilled to get Adrian Peterson's autograph! Dude, shouldn't you be focused on your own case? #khou11news twitter.com/SherryKHOU/sta...

-- Sherry Williams(@SherryKHOU) July 13, 2012

Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle posted a photo of AP looking dapper as he strolled into the courtroom.

Hardin, who is anything but shy in dealing with the media, has said "the hardest thing that anybody is going to have to explain is, 'What the hell was the guy being arrested for?' And the answer is, 'nothing.'"

The 'resisting arrest without being arrested for anything' issue doesn't make sense to us, and it doesn't make sense to NBC sportswriter Patrick Daugherty either, who offered up the following critique of the Houston PD's prospect of defeating AP and his accomplished attorney:

Rusty Hardin against the Houston PD seems like Adrian Peterson vs. the Bucs' 2011 Run D.

-- Patrick Daugherty(@RotoPat) July 13, 2012

In case you don't follow the NFL closely, Tampa Bay had the worst run defense in the league last season. So yeah, smart money says the charge will ultimately be dropped.