Vikings again suggest that Cordarrelle Patterson will see more playing time
By Bryan Rose
Just days after hinting that rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson would see more playing time going forward, Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier again reiterated the point this afternoon, speaking with the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
"Speaking of major oversights, the most glaring might be not using Patterson in the red zone, where his size, speed and run-after-the-catch ability could be utilized best. In the red zone, the Vikings have two touchdowns in eight attempts. They were 0-for-3 in the late third quarter and fourth quarter in Sunday’s 31-30 loss in Chicago.In that game, the Vikings ran 10 plays for minus-2 yards in the red zone. Peterson had six runs for minus-2 yards and Christian Ponder was 0-for-4 passing with one dropped ball by receiver Jarius Wright.“We have a way of making sure we correct the problem,” Frazier said. “No matter what we have to do, we need to get Cordarrelle on the field.”"
The Vikings traded away a small army of draft picks to move up and draft Patterson, so his limited snap counts during the first two weeks of the NFL season (especially considering his impressive 105 yard kick return) are a bit odd. That looks to be changing though, which should be music to the ears of Vikings fans. Opposing defenders, not so much.