Photo By Brian Curski
Written By Sam Ekstrom
Most people with a fantasy football vice are aware of Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and his abysmal season. And just as those same fantasy football junkies have likely relegated Patterson to their virtual bench, so has Patterson been assigned to a real-life bench; a kind that actual gives splinters. The evidence? A grand total of three snaps against the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.
Fans of the team have witnessed the atrophying of a budding star this season. First it was ineffectiveness accompanied by sustained confidence (the ol’ R-E-L-A-X routine), then it was ineffectiveness accompanied by frustration (Why isn’t Cordarrelle getting more touches?), then it was ineffectiveness accompanied by frustration and reduced playing time (a non-starter against Green Bay in Week 12), and finally it was ineffectiveness accompanied by frustration, apathy and virtually no playing time. The young man with the nickname “Flash” is seeing the definition of his alias change before his very eyes. Instead of “Flash” representing his electric speed and elusiveness that left defenders flailing in Patterson’s wake last year – when he scored four receiving, three rushing and two return touchdowns – “Flash” now means something less flattering: A flash in the pan.
Patterson has just two touchdowns this season; one through the air and one on the ground. He’s found little to no success in the kick return game. He’s dealt with nagging injuries. And in the week leading up to the Vikings’ 31-13 win over Carolina, Patterson missed two days of practice for a personal matter and was essentially replaced by Charles Johnson, a former seventh round pick who was taken in the same draft as Patterson.
As usual, there are several likely causes that have made Patterson a ghost in Minnesota’s offense. Some are internal and strictly in Patterson’s control. Some are external and out of his hands. Here’s an attempt at identifying C.P.’s sophomore slump.
Defenses could be focusing on him more. This comes with the territory for players who come onto the scene as rookies. Coaches get ahold of game tape, word spreads and gameplans get altered to account for the up-and-comer on the opposing team. That would be Patterson in this case. When asked before the season how he felt about his larger role, he voiced some apprehension. “I thought about it two days ago, man. It kind of made me a little nervous,” said Patterson. “I’m starring now. I know a lot of pressure is gonna build on me.”
It’s possible that teams focused on him early on, especially after his Week 1 performance in St. Louis where he rushed for 102 yards. Even as late as October, Patterson claimed he faced extra pressure from defenses. “I can’t do everything by myself, and I’m not a selfish guy, so when they do things like that it just opens up for other guys and give them opportunities,” said Patterson. The stats refute this, however, as the Vikings are still third-worst in the league in passing yardage, meaning that everybody, not just Patterson, is struggling. Head coach Mike Zimmer has deflected any notion that Patterson is receiving unusual attention from defenses, bluntly saying after a 42-10 loss at Green Bay, “If he wants the ball, tell him to get open.”
Patterson may not be taking things very seriously, including his own failures. The second-year player out of Tennessee is a fun-loving kid from South Carolina. He usually is smiling and enjoys experimenting with different hairstyles using his long dreadlocks. “You can't take it too serious,” said Patterson of life in the NFL. “You gotta enjoy it. It don't last forever, so just enjoy it while you can.” Unfortunately, Patterson’s desire to have fun in his National Football League career seems to overwhelm his desire to work for it. Things have come easily to Patterson his entire life. Now that they’re not, it wears on him.
“Like last year, I was having a lot of fun last year,” said Patterson. “This year it seems like I'm not having as much fun as I was last year, so I just need to find that little missing piece and have some fun.”
Maybe the missing piece is an extra ounce of work ethic. Patterson can no longer coast on raw athletic ability. Satisfaction comes when a person sees results after putting in maximum effort. The only way Patterson can start having fun again is to put in the time and work his way back to relevance in Norv Turner’s offense.
Patterson gets energized by getting the ball in his hands and making big plays, which he hasn’t done much of. “Kick return, that’s my game,” said Patterson. “That’s where I made my money, on kickoff returns.” Patterson isn’t totally incorrect. He made his name at the University of Tennessee by demonstrating incredible shiftiness on kickoff and punt returns. Last season, Patterson scored two of the league’s seven kickoff-return touchdowns and helped the Vikings lead the league in kick-return yards. This year, it’s been completely different. Patterson has been stifled and frustrated as a return man, dropping to 17th in return average with zero returns across the midfield stripe. Could it be playing into his effort-level on plays from scrimmage?
“It's been a struggle the whole year for kickoff returns,” said Patterson. “We make a good play and then somebody’s holding; little things like that. We just can't be holding.” He could be referring to a nullified 56-yard return that he had against Green Bay in Week 5, but most return attempts haven’t opened up the necessary holes; either that, or Patterson hasn’t found them.
Again, this comes back to Patterson’s ability to be a self-starter. If things aren’t coming naturally in the kick return game, he needs make them happen from the line of scrimmage. This might mean worrying less about kick returns, worrying more about pass-catching and getting more physical to create separation from defenders. “We’re making progress,” said offensive coordinator Norv Turner. “It’s just slow-coming in terms of the production.”
Patterson is learning his third offense in three years. Speaking of Turner, the veteran coach runs an awfully complex offense for a young player like Patterson to learn, especially since he only played one year of Division-I college football. Patterson learned a new offense under Bill Musgrave last year and didn’t become comfortable with it until the mid-way point of the season, and let’s face it, Musgrave’s offense was to Turner’s what Dr. Seuss was to Shakespeare – simplistic. Patterson’s learning process under Turner, who instituted a ‘numbered route tree’ offense, has been slow. The system, sometimes referred to as 'Air Coryell' in honor of its founder Don Coryell, even prompted savvy veteran Greg Jennings to say his “head is spinning.”
Patterson spoke about taking on his third playbook in three years. “It's difficult, but like I said, it's my job,” said Patterson, who has stated he feels like he’s let Turner down. “This is my main job now. I just need to focus in.”
Patterson has never been a very good route-runner. Even in his Tennessee days, Patterson was not one to gain accolades for his ability to find seams in the defense. The Volunteers geared their offense around getting the ball in Patterson’s hands with easy throws that rarely took Patterson far beyond the line of scrimmage. The Score, a scouting website, profiled Patterson’s route-running before the 2013 draft.
“Patterson wasn’t asked to run many complicated routes at Tennessee, mostly sticking to smoke, hitch, slant and shallow routes. They were used to get the ball into his hands as quickly as possible because of his deadly vision after the catch. He simply made most of his plays by weaving through defenses and making hard, ankle-breaking cuts. However, he’ll have less of a chance to do that in the NFL, so his route-running has to be better. A lot better.”
The article went on to criticize Patterson’s fade route, which is something we’ve barely seen him run in Minnesota. It would be a perfect tool for him to add to his repertoire, considering his lanky 6-foot-2 frame, and would aid him in red-zone situations.
When you think back to Patterson’s nine touchdowns in 2013, you realize that exactly zero of them were a result of Patterson running a quality down-field route. Only four of the nine TDs came through the air. Two of them were carbon copies: One, an 8-yard, back-shoulder, comeback route against Detroit and the second, a 5-yard grab against Philadelphia. The third touchdown catch was a bubble screen in Baltimore that turned into a 79-yard TD sprint. And finally, his best-run route that resulted in a touchdown, a 2-yard drag against Washington.
This year, Patterson’s lone touchdown catch was a quick screen to the left side. To see him actually beat a defensive back down the field, you’d have to relive this preseason pass from Matt Cassel in Kansas City.
Patterson’s rawness in route-running may have finally caught up to him.
There are still several other possibilities for why Patterson is scuffling: Adrian Peterson’s absence from the offense, a rookie quarterback that is learning on the fly and an outdoor home stadium with chillier conditions. But in all likelihood, Patterson needs to solve Patterson before the other things sort themselves out.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket and a play-by-play broadcaster in Burnsville, Minn. Hear him on 105 The Ticket weekdays from 2-3 p.m. on “The Michael Knight Show” or Sunday mornings from 8-10 a.m. on “The Wake Up Call.” Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.