Vikings Message Board.Com

dead_poet wrote:Vid of Patterson: http://telly.com/K1T5TF

The video seems to have changed!

80 PurplePride 84 wrote: I clicked that and it was Reese Witherspoon getting arrested. Did you just "Reese" Roll everyone?

Gotcha! Ha!

Try this one: http://t.co/1NU4hS8GIf

80 PurplePride 84 wrote: I clicked that and it was Reese Witherspoon getting arrested. Did you just "Reese" Roll everyone?

mrc44 wrote:I am not going to be able to wait until the preseason to see this kid in purple. When are we going to see videos popping up of practice highlights and shizz? So my question is, since it is rookie mini camp does that mean that the QB that is throwing to him is a rookie and not Ponder?

Correct. You can see the mini-camp roster here;
http://vikingsmessageboard.com/viewtopi ... =1&t=25813

Does anyone else find it ironic that Patterson's ability to learn is being questioned despite the fact that in a single season playing for an SEC team he became his team's best offensive weapon?

No doubt he still has a lot to learn, but come on, doesn't that history suggest he's not only capable of learning, he's capable of learning quickly? I guess I could be looking at this the wrong way - maybe he is just so physically gifted that he managed to do it all by just getting the ball in his hands, but...

- He returned both punts and kickoffs as well as anyone in the country last year
- As a receiver, I saw him run and catch on flys, posts, outs, ins, slants, etc. I saw him run a lot of routes where he didn't use his body to catch the ball at all. In fact, he made some very tough catches in traffic using just his hands and looked pretty darn effortless doing it
- He also ran the ball, both off reverses coming from a WR spot and as a plain runner in the backfield.

Um, maybe I'm the one that isn't getting it, but one would think Patterson has to have some ability to learn and develop rather quickly to be able to do all those things as well as he did in the relatively short time he did them.

Raw, yes, he is. Slow to learn, it doesn't appear so, at least not when it comes to football. I think those scouts being quoted will live to eat every single word they uttered. I predict the bigger question in a few years will not be how fast Patterson learns, but what those sources might have scored on the old Wonderlic if they ever got the chance to take it.

VikingLord wrote:
Raw, yes, he is. Slow to learn, it doesn't appear so, at least not when it comes to football. I think those scouts being quoted will live to eat every single word they uttered. I predict the bigger question in a few years will not be how fast Patterson learns, but what those sources might have scored on the old Wonderlic if they ever got the chance to take it.

We discussed that a lot in the WR thread in the draft section of this board. There I think Losperros mentioned how he's a quick study and learns fast, for many of the reasons you mentioned. I think overall, sure he's behind because he only spent 1 year there, but for that one year it appears he made some decent strides. I'm sure he'll struggle in year 1, we'll see some good things from him, and some bad, but I agree with you in year2-3 he might just be ridiculous.

dead_poet wrote:The column on Patterson: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Peli ... _now050213

Nervous about his football IQ (among things). I hope he really loves the game and desires to get better. Then becomes Jennings' shadow and watches/absorbs and produces similarly.

Who he is as a person is kind of interesting. One NFL exec, per the reading, called him a "weird dude" and he's depicted as an airhead. I saw his presser where he explains how he experienced the draft and I thought he seemed charismatic and funny. His outfit for the draft also suggests a pretty colorful personality. By "Weird dude" are we to expect like a Dennis Rodman? or what's this kid going to be like?

Anyone follow Tennessee FB? What's the skinny on CP2?

we interviewed and met with him 4 times before the draft, we obviously see something good about him. between leslie, jennings, our wr coach and atmosphere, i think he will be just fine and molded into a solid player/teammate. i dont think there is much to worry about

mrc44 wrote: The guy that called him a weird dude probably has no personality and never shows any character just sticks withe mainstream and doesn't dare to look unique or act unique.

I thought the same thing; one guy's "weird dude" could be the next guy's "truly original personality". I'm certainly not concerned with this issue, just something that caught my attention.

I love the idea of "weird dude". I can just imagine him after practice:

- going home on a unicycle
- putting on a Black Sabbath on the record player
- takes a hit of salvia
- meets friends for happy hour at a local bar where he dominates pub trivia
- skypes with random girl fron internet
- watches "arrested development" on netflix
- falls asleep

Texas Vike wrote:Who he is as a person is kind of interesting. One NFL exec, per the reading, called him a "weird dude" and he's depicted as an airhead. I saw his presser where he explains how he experienced the draft and I thought he seemed charismatic and funny. His outfit for the draft also suggests a pretty colorful personality. By "Weird dude" are we to expect like a Dennis Rodman? or what's this kid going to be like?

Anyone follow Tennessee FB? What's the skinny on CP2?

I don't really follow Tennessee football but I do watch a lot of SEC games. All I've seen of Patterson is what he's done on the field, which is make at least a couple plays (and usually more) that end up on the highlight reels.

"Weird dude" or not, that works for me.

Good read on Patterson, Shariff, and our plan at MLB:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 03421.html

Apropos of vetting Patterson's character and unconventional college career (more at link):

On what he and his coaches wanted to zero in on with Patterson as they evaluated him in the pre-draft process …
“You always want to know how important football is to a guy when you’re thinking about taking him early in the draft like we were with CP. Once you find out he loves the game and has a passion for it, then you want to find out how much his capacity for learning is. Because that’s going to be a big part of a receiver’s transition to the NFL. The talent was obvious on tape and then of course he has to be the right character guy as well. So, combine the talent, having the character and then the passion for the game and the learning, and it was obvious for us, if we had a chance to get him, he’d fit into what we’re trying to get done.”

On how detailed the Vikings’ research on Patterson was …
“Between [General Manager] Rick Spielman and our scouts and what our coaches did in the offseason when we began to learn more about him, I felt like we really vetted him well. We had a good understanding of who he was and understood his background, how he had gotten to Tennessee. We didn’t feel like we left any stones unturned. We went all the way back to high school and talked to a lot of different people, and we felt pretty good about making the choice.”

smoothoperator wrote:we interviewed and met with him 4 times before the draft, we obviously see something good about him. between leslie, jennings, our wr coach and atmosphere, i think he will be just fine and molded into a solid player/teammate. i dont think there is much to worry about

i'm excited about these wr's. its been awhile since randy moss, sidney rice. lets see what ponder can do now with weapons. Vikings real need now is mlb and maybe another pass rusher imo. wish this season was here now.

losperros wrote:
I don't really follow Tennessee football but I do watch a lot of SEC games. All I've seen of Patterson is what he's done on the field, which is make at least a couple plays (and usually more) that end up on the highlight reels.

"Weird dude" or not, that works for me.

And the highlight of his QB throwing an INT and instead of trying to tackle the guy he just throws his hands up? That weird enough and work for you! Did you happen to see that highlight reel? No?

Hopefully the first time he does it in the NFL is his last...and AD clocks him on the sideline.

Demi wrote: And the highlight of his QB throwing an INT and instead of trying to tackle the guy he just throws his hands up? That weird enough and work for you! Did you happen to see that highlight reel? No?

Hopefully the first time he does it in the NFL is his last...and AD clocks him on the sideline.

And did you watch anything but highlights of Tennessee or Patterson last season? No? Did you happen to watch any full games of Tennessee or Patterson? No?

Thankfully, the first time Patterson makes a big play in the NFL won't be his last...and it will help AD all the more.