Written by Chris Schad
When Norv Turner was hired by the Minnesota Vikings, there were immediate expectations for the offensive side of the ball. After suffering through the “Wild” Bill Musgrave era, there was the excitement that would come with the addition of a coach that made Brian Hoyer relevant and oversaw the breakout seasons of Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Jordan Cameron (just to name a few).
However, the buzz wasn’t greater than in the direction of second-year receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. One year after Turner helped Josh Gordon lead the NFL in receiving, there were many who thought that Flash would be a force and lead the Viking offense to new heights. Besides, the legend says that once Turner was hired, he immediately drew up ten plays to get him the football.
Five games into the 2014 season, Patterson has been a disappearing act in the Vikings offense. Despite a Week 1 performance with 103 yards on the ground, he has just one carry (a loss for seven yards) since and is on pace for a disappointing 48/605/0 line. While there are many theories as to why the electric receiver hasn’t made the impact many was expecting, there is one thing that many can be certain of:
Something is wrong with Cordarrelle Patterson.
It’s a mystery that could be reserved for Sherlock Holmes as a talent so explosive and freakish can have a minimal effect on the offense. While the quarterback carousel part deux could be part of the problem, a lot of it could be happening behind the scenes.
Patterson could have been a top-ten pick in the 2013 draft, but fell over concern that he was too raw to adapt to the NFL game. There are little things that he needed to learn before becoming a big time receiver such as catching with his hands and developing better practice habits.
With Patterson only in his second season in the league, there could be issues with digesting his second playbook in two seasons. This would create issues such as remembering where to line up on the field, what routes to run and other things that would hamper his ability to contribute consistently on Sunday afternoons.
There’s also the issue of being the focal point of the offense. With Adrian Peterson gone for the foreseeable future, Patterson is the one guy that opposing defenses don’t want to get beaten by. This is further evidenced by having Peterson in the backfield for his dominating Week 1 performance and his struggles happening after the star running back was placed on the exempt list.
The Vikings want to correct what’s wrong with Patterson as soon as possible, but the reality is he might not be ready to make that contribution. Most receivers take three years to develop and with the change around the organization it may have prevented an earlier breakout from taking place.
Despite the Vikings’ desire to feed Patterson as much as possible, the time to rely on him to be an offensive weapon could be another season down the road. It’s a tough situation for a team that wants to compete right now that’s starving for offensive weapons.
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Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |