Vikings Message Board.Com

Cliff wrote: They are both players that were drafted more for their athletic ability rather than their football specific skills. In other words, both players were drafted for what they might be rather than what they already are.

True. But maybe the larger similarity is that they were both drafted to replace a player of very unique talents. The Troy Williamson debacle was born out of losing Randy Moss. Cordarrelle Patterson was not drafted to immediately shore up the WR corps and add a solid receiving target, but in the hopes of finding a big playmaker to replace what was lost in Percy Harvin.

I wouldn't have predicted T.will to be a bust. In fact I think he was really close to being something special. I remember Tjack threw a bomb and he was wide open by like 10 yards and the ball just bounces off his body. For whatever reason, the guy just couldn't figure out how to catch with his hands and it even seemingly got worse from college as he tried to improve from trapping the ball to using his hands. I've never seen someone who could get wide open so well but then just not be able to catch, it's like unheard of.

Our guy Patterson has been known to be a body catcher too, will he suffer like T.will? I highly doubt it, I really do think T.will's case is really unique, there is just no way to really explain how bad he was at catching the football or why he was never able to improve. It probably wasn't even something physical, but more mental, the guy just melted under any kind of pressure at all it seems like.

mondry wrote:I wouldn't have predicted T.will to be a bust. In fact I think he was really close to being something special. I remember Tjack threw a bomb and he was wide open by like 10 yards and the ball just bounces off his body.

Yeah, I remember that junk too. It's this play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZNyYouzuk

Then these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HyEemjm_7E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PInDbfGP5Ac

For whatever reason, the guy just couldn't figure out how to catch with his hands and it even seemingly got worse from college as he tried to improve from trapping the ball to using his hands. I've never seen someone who could get wide open so well but then just not be able to catch, it's like unheard of.

Our guy Patterson has been known to be a body catcher too, will he suffer like T.will? I highly doubt it, I really do think T.will's case is really unique, there is just no way to really explain how bad he was at catching the football or why he was never able to improve. It probably wasn't even something physical, but more mental, the guy just melted under any kind of pressure at all it seems like.

Just a mental lapse. Like a golfer with a chronic case of the yips. Thinking about it probably made it worse. Dude could fly though. And get open consistently against one-on-one coverage. Just that pesky last part that vexed him.

Cliff wrote: They are both players that were drafted more for their athletic ability rather than their football specific skills. In other words, both players were drafted for what they might be rather than what they already are.

I disagree to some extent. Patterson made great football plays during his five months in the Tennessee program, including circus catches to keep drives going or even for TDs. I think he proved he's a player but it's his inexperience that justifiably causes some concern. So I get the part about "what he might be" but I'm not buying that he didn't show specific skills. In fact, I think Patterson was an impact player during his brief time playing for the Tennessee team.

I thought Troy Williamson was going to be a good but not great football player with extraordinary speed to stretch the field. When T-Will played for the Gamecocks, it was always his speed that made him dangerous. I'm not sure that he was an actual *impact* player in college or at least I wouldn't call him one, despite being taken so early in the draft. Even then, what everyone was talking about was his dazzling 4.30/40 speed.

Anyway, I see a lot more upside in Patterson than there ever was in Williamson, plus I think he showed more range and better football skills than T-Will ever did in college ball as well.

The Troy Williamson and Cordarrelle Patterson comparison is asinine. Williamson only had straight line speed. He did not have near the agility and shiftiness that Patterson has. Also, Patterson can be a dangerous return man. When Williamson tried to return the ball all he did was run straight into the opposing gunners.

People need to stop acting like we gave up the moon for the guy. FFS, it was a second, third, and fourth round pick. Considering the draft class, it was highly unlikely that we could have drafted another player with any of those picks that had the same type of explosiveness that Patterson has.

The only thing I feel like we really lost was the 3rd rounder.

mrc44 wrote:Patterson CAN catch with his hands, he just happens to also catch with his body once in a while. Its not like he catches every ball like a T-rex, he makes some beautiful one handed grabs stretched out and shows he has all the ability in the world, just needs to practice.

i'm sure chris carter was raw after one year of college also.

dead_poet wrote: Yeah, I remember that junk too. It's this play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZNyYouzuk

Yep. That was bad. I remember it, too. Ridiculous.

That's why I have love for my man, Tarvaris. Clearly it wasn't all his fault. The "talent" around him was lacking as well. lol.

Regardless, can we wait until we see what this kid is made of before we start putting him in the same sentence as Mr. Dropsies?

Don't get me wrong ... I don't think they will have similar problems, I just see a similar ideology behind drafting them. I think Patterson is a better prospect than Williamson was just watching their tape ... but I'm not expecting Randy Moss either.

This management seems to also be better at drafting.

Cliff wrote:Don't get me wrong ... I don't think they will have similar problems, I just see a similar ideology behind drafting them. I think Patterson is a better prospect than Williamson was just watching their tape ... but I'm not expecting Randy Moss either.

This management seems to also be better at drafting.

I don't expect a Moss either. He has the speed of Moss and the moves of AD

Cordarrelle Patterson said it best himself via Twitter, "I CAN NOT be randy moss!!! or will not be him! I am CP." I think player comparisons are silly. I don't think players come to the NFL and expect to play like an NFL legend. Im sure they would want to play in such a way that no player could compare to them.

Yeah Moss was elite outside threat #1 receiver.

Patterson is glorified scat back / slot guy.

And might take a lot of work to be more than that. Let's hope he's up to it.

i think you are wrong demi, patterson will be a beast (depending on ponder). he actually reminds me of moss some watching his highlights. of course moss was taller, but when this kid gets the ball he's a burner.

My hopes are that Ponder, 24yoa and only 1.5 years of NFL experience, can develop and grow along with CP as he seemingly is doing now with Rudolph. My take is that CP has a very high ceiling of tallent and the sky is the limit for him. I predict that he will be the answer to the vertical threat and that receiver that can "go up" and make those types of catches that the Vikings have not had since the "good Moss" era.
Things are certainly headed in the right direction

Patterson has too much speed to be just a scatback/slot guy. Patterson is a legitimate vertical threat who can get separation from a defender. I hope the Vikings dont limit his ability to just that. Harvin had no choice because he's not really built to be an outside WR. Patterson, in my opinion, is the total package. He can run, throw, catch, and return. We need to exploit all of those talents.