Norv Turner’s admission that Cordarrelle Patterson has been demoted and Charles Johnson is now the starting split end comes as a surprise to absolute no one.
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Denying the switch would have been utter madness in the wake of Sunday’s game where Johnson started and was in on nearly every offensive snap, while Patterson sat the entire first half and received only 3 offensive snaps total in the game.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
So, we know Johnson is the starter. We have no doubt that Johnson has played well enough to deserve to be the starter.
With Johnson in the game instead of Patterson against the Panthers, the Vikings’ passing game produced in a way it hasn’t done since the Atlanta game early in the season.
It wasn’t that Johnson received an inordinate number of targets or caught a huge number of balls – he didn’t – but even in a small sampling of plays, it became clear once again that Teddy Bridgewater trusts Johnson in a way he doesn’t trust Patterson.
That trust first became evident during the latter stages of the Bears game when the Vikings were scrambling to make a comeback. The comeback never materialized, but Johnson made a huge impression with his play during those last possessions.
The chemistry between Bridgewater and Johnson was so obvious that Minnesota almost had no choice but to elevate Johnson and demote Patterson. That reality would not fully sink in until the Carolina game, and has only now been publicly acknowledged.
Now that we know where Patterson stands, the question turns to causes. Why is Patterson struggling so much this year? Is he simply not picking up the offense? Is there something not gelling between him and Bridgewater?
It could be Patterson is just a slow learner who will take time to be comfortable in Norv’s system. But there’s another possibility with much more serious implications for Patterson and the Vikings.
It could be Cordarrelle Patterson just isn’t very good.
Patterson came into the league as a raw player with explosive talent. He showed some of that talent last year and again early this year. But the caveat on Patterson was always his lack of polish as a receiver.
Many took it as a foregone conclusion that Patterson, given a little time and a little mentorship, would develop and grow as a receiver. The Vikings certainly hoped that Patterson would have a chance this year to work with Matt Cassel and get better at running routes and perfecting the subtle nuances of his position.
But when Matt Cassel went down and Teddy Bridgewater came in, the Vikings’ priorities necessarily shifted. The needs of the rookie QB took precedence over the needs of Patterson.
As the weeks wore on and Patterson’s lingering issues became more problematic, the Vikings were faced with a choice: Leave the non-functional Patterson out there, forcing Bridgewater to throw the ball his way regardless of whether he was open, or yank Patterson and give Bridgewater a chance to develop his own game by throwing to receivers who could actually give him some help.
That was not a hard choice for the Vikings. As Bridgewater’s chemistry with Charles Johnson, Greg Jennings and Jarius Wright has improved, it’s become a no-brainer for Minnesota to reduce Patterson’s role.
Patterson is at least partially a victim of certain realities that go beyond his own play. If the Vikes had a veteran QB, maybe they would be more willing to be patient with Patterson and leave him out there.
But with Bridgewater needing all the help he can get in his rookie year, the Vikes simply can’t afford to have Patterson struggling on the field. Whatever Patterson’s issues may be, they will have to get worked out in practice and in whatever limited snaps Norv Turner can find for him.
It seems a little unfair perhaps, but it’s just the way it is. The plan shifted when Teddy Bridgewater became the quarterback and it’s possible that Patterson will never again fit into the jigsaw puzzle in Minnesota.
If the Vikings determine that Patterson doesn’t fit, then they’ll have to make a decision about his future. Though we’re a long way from making a final determination on such a radical move, trading him in the offseason may be on the table.