Greg Jennings takes Cordarrelle Patterson under wing

[Purple bruise]

Nothing personal PB, but take a GJ and a CPX2 and you don't have half a CC, on the field or off. Sorry, my opinion would never be waivered there. I don't ever remember seeing GJ lay out for passes the way CC did on a regular basis. I know you only said reminded you of CC but, eeesh. I really never thought of GJ that way. If he was a good mentor, he should of done this at the start of this past season. I know you cant make the horse drink the water so now that CP is at least now at the watering hole, let's see how much he drinks in.
I am skeptical, on both ends. I would definitely like to see it happen, mainly because I am tired of these draft busts.

Yeah, again I said that he reminds me of CC, never said that he was as good but he has great hands and his career is filled with highlight catches. He has made some pretty amazing catches even with the Vikes. As far as mentoring CP last year, I think that he now sees a huge talent being "wasted" and is stepping up to the plate and offering his mentorship. Again reminicent of CC andf Moss (yeah, I know not exactly). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyLHvJ0h4l4

[jackal]

Johnson cost us nothing .. Patterson could have been 10-15 other great players

[Purple bruise]

Johnson cost us nothing .. Patterson could have been 10-15 other great players

Oh that 20/20 hindsight. Looked like a great pick last year when he was tearing it up. Try and be patient this kid has tremendous upside.

[losperros]

Excellent post

Thanks. As Kapp said, if CP can cut it, he'll be a big time weapon for the Vikings.

We just have to be willing to let his play out. I'm hoping for Patterson to succeed.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Thanks. As Kapp said, if CP can cut it, he'll be a big time weapon for the Vikings.

We just have to be willing to let his play out. I'm hoping for Patterson to succeed.

The problem with this is, some people thought the same thing about #7. Give him enough time, he could be perfect for the Vikings. It never happened.

[saint33]

The problem with this is, some people thought the same thing about #7. Give him enough time, he could be perfect for the Vikings. It never happened.

I'm sorry but this is just frustrating.....

first of all, why are we equating patience for Ponder to patience for Patterson..... Different position, different situation, DIFFERENT PLAYER. I hate this argument that people make, "we were patient for *insert bust here* so why should we be patient for *insert young player here*". As if every player is supposed to progress at the same level as any other player. Fact is... they don't. Different positions develop differently. Players in different situations develop differently. Different players simply develop differently.

second of all, the comparison is apples to oranges. Ponder may have shown the odd flash of competency here or there, but he never flashed any where near the talent at his position as Patterson has at his. What Patterson did at the end of last season was something you simply cannot get from 99% of other players in the league. Patterson's talent is why he deserves more time, because if and when he develops as a route runner, his potential is off the charts. That's something you don't just give up on based off of one poor season in a new system in his second year.

3rd of all, he's not even that far "behind the curve" as far as production is concerned. Lets compare Patterson to Demaryius Thomas for example, a player who is probably the most similar comparison to Patterson coming out of college (raw route runner, physically gifted, great after the catch, etc)

Cordarrelle Patterson's first 2 seasons:

78 Rec, 853 yards, 5 tds (along with 4 rushing TDs)

Demaryius Thomas' first 2 seasons

54 Rec, 834 yards, 6 tds (0 rushing TDs)


Now am I saying Patterson is or will be Thomas? No. Is the comparison perfect? No. But he has the ability to break out, just like Thomas did, and that's why he's worth being patient for.

[J. Kapp 11]

Isn't it interesting ... even though CP was benched as a wide receiver, every team in the NFL absolutely refused to kick off to him. Nobody wanted the ball in his hands.

Jeez, I hope Jennings can help this guy get it together. He's a generational talent when he gets that ball in his hands.

[PurpleMustReign]

Isn't it interesting ... even though CP was benched as a wide receiver, every team in the NFL absolutely refused to kick off to him. Nobody wanted the ball in his hands.

Jeez, I hope Jennings can help this guy get it together. He's a generational talent when he gets that ball in his hands.

Good point, that was frustrating. Even him at his "worst" teams still were scared of him.

[Mothman]

Isn't it interesting ... even though CP was benched as a wide receiver, every team in the NFL absolutely refused to kick off to him. Nobody wanted the ball in his hands.

Jeez, I hope Jennings can help this guy get it together. He's a generational talent when he gets that ball in his hands.

I hope so too but my biggest complaint about the coaching staff this year was the way they handled Patterson. We're obviously not privy to everything that happened behind the scenes but it sure seems to me like he was shuffled off into Norv's doghouse. I realize he had some issues with route-running and being where he was supposed to be but there were also some plays earlier in the season where he got open and was missed. He was instrumental in helping the team drive into field field goal position on the final drive of regulation in Tampa Bay. He came in late against Detroit and made a few key catches. Even on Sunday, on the one attempt I recall bring thrown his way, he was in position to make the catch, he used his body properly to shield the defender from the ball and he couldn't handle a throw that was a little behind him. It was catchable so he should have handled it but the point is, that's a route he can run and a catch he's made at other times.

I didn't feel Norv was creative with Patterson and I think the Vikes did as much to squander his talent this season as Patterson himself may have done to squander his opportunity. Last year, the coaching staff was mercilessly criticized for keeping him on the bench too long. This year, he was basically banished to the bench and nearly all of the criticism is being directed toward him. Norv and Mike are basically getting a pass for not being able to figure out to make better use of a player who is truly explosive.

As Kapp said above, "nobody wanted the ball in his hands". Unfortunately, by the end of the season that even seemed to apply to Patterson's coaches but as the way teams avoided him on kickoffs and keyed on him when he was a potential runner shows, opponents were worried about what he could do with the ball in his hands. Again, I understand that his game needs work but are we supposed to believe Patterson can't run a bubble screen, a quick slant or a go route? How about sending him down the middle on a flea flicker? The Vikes didn't exactly work to get the ball to him. If they had, maybe their offense would have scored some more points this year.

Sorry about the rant.

[maembe]

The problem with this is, some people thought the same thing about #7. Give him enough time, he could be perfect for the Vikings. It never happened.

The difference is that you can afford to let it play out with a wide receiver. Not so much with a QB.

[PurpleKoolaid]

One of the things I had mentioned about CP was Norv. I personally, am not sold on Norv. I don't think he knows what to do with CP. I also am not to big on giving a first Round pick, kid gloves. He didn't play that much in college. Rick knew that risk and took it anyways.

But yeah, Norv could have done something. It just makes me sick everytime we are supposed to have a #1 WR, he flops. Twill, flop. BB, flop. Jenning maybe not so much of a flop as not earning his gigantic paycheck. I Teddy doesn't have an honest to goodness # 1 WR (like a Cooper or Parker), or we swing so kind of deal for a FA WR (I don't even know if there are many on the right side of 20), Teddy is in for a long year. But think, if we get AD back, and get a great WR, we make a run to beat the packers. With a little defensive help ofc.

[Texas Vike]

I hope so too but my biggest complaint about the coaching staff this year was the way they handled Patterson. We're obviously not privy to everything that happened behind the scenes but it sure seems to me like he was shuffled off into Norv's doghouse. I realize he had some issues with route-running and being where he was supposed to be but there were also some plays earlier in the season where he got open and was missed. He was instrumental in helping the team drive into field field goal position on the final drive of regulation in Tampa Bay. He came in late against Detroit and made a few key catches. Even on Sunday, on the one attempt I recall bring thrown his way, he was in position to make the catch, he used his body properly to shield the defender from the ball and he couldn't handle a throw that was a little behind him. It was catchable so he should have handled it but the point is, that's a route he can run and a catch he's made at other times.

I didn't feel Norv was creative with Patterson and I think the Vikes did as much to squander his talent this season as Patterson himself may have done to squander his opportunity. Last year, the coaching staff was mercilessly criticized for keeping him on the bench too long. This year, he was basically banished to the bench and nearly all of the criticism is being directed toward him. Norv and Mike are basically getting a pass for not being able to figure out to make better use of a player who is truly explosive.

As Kapp said above, "nobody wanted the ball in his hands". Unfortunately, by the end of the season that even seemed to apply to Patterson's coaches but as the way teams avoided him on kickoffs and keyed on him when he was a potential runner shows, opponents were worried about what he could do with the ball in his hands. Again, I understand that his game needs work but are we supposed to believe Patterson can't run a bubble screen, a quick slant or a go route? How about sending him down the middle on a flea flicker? The Vikes didn't exactly work to get the ball to him. If they had, maybe their offense would have scored some more points this year.

Sorry about the rant.

Well, it was a warranted rant. Norv seemed a bit obstinate about not making any concessions to CP84 to help make use of his talent. On the other hand, even when Patterson did get the ball this season, he just didn't seem to have much burst or wiggle to him.

[Ardenn]

I hope so too but my biggest complaint about the coaching staff this year was the way they handled Patterson. We're obviously not privy to everything that happened behind the scenes but it sure seems to me like he was shuffled off into Norv's doghouse. I realize he had some issues with route-running and being where he was supposed to be but there were also some plays earlier in the season where he got open and was missed. He was instrumental in helping the team drive into field field goal position on the final drive of regulation in Tampa Bay. He came in late against Detroit and made a few key catches. Even on Sunday, on the one attempt I recall bring thrown his way, he was in position to make the catch, he used his body properly to shield the defender from the ball and he couldn't handle a throw that was a little behind him. It was catchable so he should have handled it but the point is, that's a route he can run and a catch he's made at other times.

I didn't feel Norv was creative with Patterson and I think the Vikes did as much to squander his talent this season as Patterson himself may have done to squander his opportunity. Last year, the coaching staff was mercilessly criticized for keeping him on the bench too long. This year, he was basically banished to the bench and nearly all of the criticism is being directed toward him. Norv and Mike are basically getting a pass for not being able to figure out to make better use of a player who is truly explosive.

As Kapp said above, "nobody wanted the ball in his hands". Unfortunately, by the end of the season that even seemed to apply to Patterson's coaches but as the way teams avoided him on kickoffs and keyed on him when he was a potential runner shows, opponents were worried about what he could do with the ball in his hands. Again, I understand that his game needs work but are we supposed to believe Patterson can't run a bubble screen, a quick slant or a go route? How about sending him down the middle on a flea flicker? The Vikes didn't exactly work to get the ball to him. If they had, maybe their offense would have scored some more points this year.

Sorry about the rant.

I think there is a distinct possibility that he is being kept on the bench to try to motivate him to work harder. If they manufacture ways to give him the ball even though he can't run routes, he may (or they may believe that he may) not see the necessity of working on his craft. I think its a more long term plan.

[dead_poet]

I'm willing to give Norv a bit of a break here. This is now two offensive coordinators that seem to have difficulty trusting Patterson, and one that has been in this business a long time. I think if we looked at his snap percentage throughout the year, it'll show a steady decline. And unfortunately there's nothing that Patterson really has done to make me think he deserved to be out there any more. Put it another way, what if McKinnon was abysmal at blitz pickup? Would we want him still out there getting reps?

Is it a coincidence that the less Patterson was out there the better Teddy performed? Or was that just the natural maturation of our rookie QB? Yes, Norv could've used Patterson on more bubble screens, but it's not like we weren't getting solid production from Wright or CJ on those (we were). And that really isn't much of a staple of Norv's traditional vertical offense anyway. What I will say is that it's interesting that on one hand Zimmer said that getting game experience for Teddy was a positive, yet he chose the bench for second-year Patterson. Really the only thing I can conclude is that Patterson played himself out of the lineup. I'm sure if we watched film with the receivers coach, he'd probably give us several reasons why Patterson just wasn't getting it done. Hopefully he can reverse course and be the guy we all want him to be. But what I've seen thus far is a guy that is dynamic with the ball in his hands but a stiff, inconsistent route-runner that has a hard time for some reason beating man coverage and hasn't proven he can contest/win at the catch point. There just are more negatives right now than positives.

I commend Jennings for his dedication to wanting to see Patterson succeed, though part of me thinks he's saying these things to help make a case for keeping him (Jennings) on another season. I will say this for Jennings, he did seem to play fairly well down the stretch. Though at this point I'd really prefer him to be Teddy's #3 and reliable third-down/red zone guy that having #1 or #2 WR expectations.

I will say this about our receivers right now, I can't recall another season when we've had so many middling/decent WRs. If we sign Carter's son it gets even more muddied. I mean they're not "bad" necessarily, but certainly no Dez, OBJ to help make Teddy's life easier. If one of those guys doesn't step up and become "that guy", hopefully Teddy's pre-snap and progression-reading becomes even better because I see him "spreading the wealth" a lot again in 2015 with many receivers catching 40-50 balls. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but I do think it makes a QB's job that much harder. I mean, look at Eli Manning pre and post-OBJ.

We can say that they Vikings didn't work to get the ball to him, but we also don't know how many plays were designed to go to him (traditional routes) that he simply wasn't open to warrant a target. I think it was also pretty clear he was battling some nagging injuries off and all this season, which certainly didn't help matters.

[Mothman]

I'm willing to give Norv a bit of a break here. This is now two offensive coordinators that seem to have difficulty trusting Patterson, and one that has been in this business a long time. I think if we looked at his snap percentage throughout the year, it'll show a steady decline. And unfortunately there's nothing that Patterson really has done to make me think he deserved to be out there any more. Put it another way, what if McKinnon was abysmal at blitz pickup? Would we want him still out there getting reps?

I don't see it quite the same way. In fact, the way Musgrave handled things is one of the reasons I'm being critical of Norv. Patterson was a raw prospect. Musgrave's solution appeared to be to work with him to develop his role in the offense and once he felt Patterson was comfortable enough with that limited role, he got great production out of him. Norv's approach seemed to be to plug him into his system and when he he proved to be too raw to thrive in it, bench him. Norv has been in the business a long time and has the better resumé but I think Musgrave may be the more flexible, adaptable coordinator. He wasn't a very instinctive playcaller, but he showed more than once that he could tweak his offense to get the most out of unique talent. Harvin's best production came under Musgrave. Peterson had his best season under Musgrave and Patterson certainly had a better rookie season than he did this year.

Is it a coincidence that the less Patterson was out there the better Teddy performed? Or was that just the natural maturation of our rookie QB?

Frankly, I think it was the latter and the emergence of Johnson, who admittedly fit the system better and provided more production than Patterson was providing.

Yes, Norv could've used Patterson on more bubble screens, but it's not like we weren't getting solid production from Wright or CJ on those (we were). And that really isn't much of a staple of Norv's traditional vertical offense anyway. What I will say is that it's interesting that on one hand Zimmer said that getting game experience for Teddy was a positive, yet he chose the bench for second-year Patterson. Really the only thing I can conclude is that Patterson played himself out of the lineup. I'm sure if we watched film with the receivers coach, he'd probably give us several reasons why Patterson just wasn't getting it done. Hopefully he can reverse course and be the guy we all want him to be. But what I've seen thus far is a guy that is dynamic with the ball in his hands but a stiff, inconsistent route-runner that has a hard time for some reason beating man coverage and hasn't proven he can contest/win at the catch point. There just are more negatives right now than positives.

There are but I wonder: where's the adaptability? The previous staff was blasted for keeping this explosive talent on the bench too long and this staff has been all but lauded for benching him. As I see it, the primary job of an offense is to score points and the primary job of an offensive coordinator is to make the best use of the talent available to him to help that happen. I think Norv failed to do that with Patterson and all we have to do is look at what the Vikes were able to do with the same player toward the end of last season to see how badly he failed. I'm not giving Patterson a pass here. He clearly has to work hard on his game but the guy is a natural, instinctive threat in the open field, and Norv couldn't figure out a way to get the ball to him in space a little more often? That's frustrating.

We can say that they Vikings didn't work to get the ball to him, but we also don't know how many plays were designed to go to him (traditional routes) that he simply wasn't open to warrant a target. I think it was also pretty clear he was battling some nagging injuries off and all this season, which certainly didn't help matters.

Those are both excellent points. I just didn't see much effort to do anything to help Patterson be more productive.