EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Each week he is asked about his lack of touches in the Minnesota Vikings' offense, second-year receiver Cordarrelle Patterson continues a variation on the same theme -- that he's not going to coaches and demanding the ball, and that he hasn't earned the right to raise a fuss yet.
On Thursday, Patterson said he's "not a drama queen;" he recalled how he successfully lobbied for the ball at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and joked he might have to open his mouth more if things don't change. Still, he remained largely deferential to the coaching staff, saying he "trusts everything that's going on in this offense and this organization."
The problem for Patterson is that while the end result since Week 1 has been consistent, the means to fix the problem aren't so simple. Since his dynamic regular-season debut, in which he carried three times for 102 yards and caught another three passes for 26 yards, Patterson has played with three different starting quarterbacks, seen defenses shift more attention toward him with Adrian Peterson gone and watched teams take his running opportunities away with extra defenders on the perimeter. The end result has been meager; 12 catches for 163 yards in the last four games, and only one rushing attempt that went for a loss of seven yards.
The Vikings continue to look for ways to involve Patterson, offensive coordinator Norv Turner said, though it isn't the chief goal of their offense.
"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. They were concentrating on him a great deal. Jarius (Wright) had his best day, and obviously Teddy (Bridgewater) had a great day. To me, those things come around. There's things we've got in every week for Cordarrelle, and we're anxious to get him more involved."
One factor that could help Patterson is the return of Bridgewater at quarterback. There were several plays in last Thursday's loss to the Green Bay Packers where Patterson was open, but quarterback Christian Ponder didn't get him the ball. Perhaps the most notable was on a second-quarter play where Patterson had plenty of room on a crossing route underneath the Packers' zone coverage, but Ponder let Patterson run by, pulled the ball down and took off, despite the fact the closest defender to him was double-teamed.
Ponder targeted receivers more than 10 yards downfield just 10 times last Thursday night, according to ESPN Stats and Information, and eight of those throws came in the second half, when the game was out of reach. Bridgewater, on the other hand, is 9 of 13 on such throws to receivers this season and hit Patterson for 14, 16 and 22 yards in the win over Atlanta.
"He made a big play in the drive we were down by 1," Turner said. "He got single coverage, he beat the corner and he got us down (near) the red zone. I think you have to take advantage of the opportunities you have, when you get singled up or the play that's developed comes to you."
Vikings coaches have been pleased with Patterson's work habits, and coach Mike Zimmer said after last week's game he saw some progress in Patterson as a receiver, even when the opportunities didn't come to him. The task for Patterson will be producing, and staying patient, when teams are rolling defenders his way.
"After the first game, he got a lot of attention," Turner said. "When we started moving him back in the backfield, people really got wide, and the runs he had are perimeter runs. But like I said, those things tend to come back around."