National Football League

Patterson says he's 'not a drama queen,' won't demand getting the ball

Published Oct. 9, 2014 6:00 p.m. ET

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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- There was a time when Cordarrelle Patterson would have complained he wasn't getting the ball enough.

The diva tendencies that could come so easily to a receiver reliant on others to make an impact were a part of Patterson's past. Back when he was little, in his words, he would have thought more about his own production.

Patterson isn't in the same place in his role as one of the Minnesota Vikings' top offensive threats.

"I'm not a drama queen or anything," Patterson said Thursday. "I don't go to the offensive coordinator and try to demand the ball. One day when I get a couple more Pro Bowls and stuff like that, maybe I can do things like that. The timing is not right now. It's only my second year and he's a new offensive coordinator for this team."

Despite touching the ball on offense four times in the past two weeks, and 13 times over four weeks without star running back Adrian Peterson playing, Patterson is remaining patient.

Even while he's been more decoy than playmaker, Patterson remains upbeat and says he isn't frustrated.

"It's no front at all," Patterson said. "I'm a happy guy. It's no use to be mad or sad about balls. I trust everything that's going on with this offense and this organization. Less touches is just more opportunities for other people. It's no frustration at all."

Patterson never expected to be in this position. Entering his second NFL season, he was excited about the possibilities in coordinator Norv Turner's offense. Patterson's strong finish to his rookie season foreshadowed a breakout sophomore campaign.

He ran for a 67-yard touchdown, and had three catches and three rushing attempts for 128 yards in the season-opener. Since then, he's had one rushing attempt -- for minus-7 yards -- and 12 catches.

"Obviously after the first game, he got a lot of attention when we started moving him back into the backfield, and people really got wide and the runs he had on them were perimeter runs," Turner said.

Patterson is second on the team with 15 catches through five weeks and third with 189 receiving yards. As a threat to score every time he touches the ball, his usage has come into question for a second straight season, this time under a new coaching staff.

"You want to get all your guys involved," Turner said. "I look back to two weeks ago when Atlanta was very concerned and aware of Cordarrelle and they were concentrating on him a great deal, and Jarius (Wright) had his best day. Obviously Teddy (Bridgewater) had a great day. To me those come around. There's things we've got in every week for Cordarrelle and we're anxious to get him more involved. We keep trying to."

The inability to follow through with the plan is perplexing. Patterson's touchdown run in the opening game was on a toss out of the backfield. Last season he provided a multi-dimensional threat by scoring on runs, receptions and kickoff returns. He scored six touchdowns in the final five weeks, three rushing and three receiving.

One of those touchdowns, on a toss when he was lined up in the backfield, came against Mike Zimmer, who was Cincinnati's defensive coordinator.

"A lot of it is determining what defensively they're doing, those kind of formations," Zimmer said. "It's like if we ran the same play every week they're going to figure it out. So you have to adjust and do different things."

Part of Patterson's adjustment is continued development as a receiver. Known as a raw route-runner when Minnesota drafted him in the first round last year, Patterson's showed improvement during the offseason but is still a work in progress.

Even while he had just two catches for eight yards last week against Green Bay, while dealing with a second half hip injury, Zimmer felt Patterson made strides as a receiver.

"I think the things coach is looking at is the depth of his routes, way he ran," Turner said. "There's times you get open and the ball doesn't come to you. No one sees that. We do. There was some times that, we had a lot of pressure in that game, the ball didn't come out the way we'd like it to or didn't have an opportunity to get it out."

Patterson said he has received treatment on his hip and he's practiced the past three days. While he waits for more chances in games, he's going about his work.

"I feel like I'm performing good," Patterson said. "I'm not nowhere where I need to be. One day I will be. It's always a hump in the road for everyone. Each week I just try to get better. Things happen and just learn from them."

It wasn't too long ago Patterson would have been clamoring for the ball. He's holding his words, for now.

"In junior college, I was a drama queen," Patterson said. "I demanded the ball and it paid off for me. So if things keep going like this, I may have to be that drama queen one time."

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