Manuel, Patterson excited for fresh start
Training camp is in the rearview mirror now, just like the first stops on their NFL careers. But when the Raiders were in Napa earlier this month, quarterback EJ Manuel and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson would stay up after practice and just talk.
Not about how the roommates were first-round picks and what did or didn’t happen on their first NFL teams, but “about life and non-football stuff,” Patterson said. And about how Manuel, unlike in Buffalo, was letting it fly in practice and how Patterson was running underneath or leaping
in the end zone to catch the passes.
“We’re just going out there and having fun,” Patterson said. “God gave you eyes in the front of your head to see where you’re going, so we’re not looking back. Keeping our head up, keep striving for it. …
“EJ told me it’s a different vibe around here, and I feel the same way. Everybody here is hungry to win and happy.”
Manuel, the favorite to win the Raiders’ backup job, lasted four seasons — he played 28 games total — in Buffalo after the Bills made him the 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft. There was a rift between the front office that picked him and the coaching staff that didn’t want to play him, and his pass attempts dropped each year, from 306 to 131 to 84 to 26.
Patterson was selected 13 spots later that year by the Vikings, and had dizzying flashes — but as a kick returner more than a receiver. He topped 1,000 yards and scored two touchdowns in both 2013 and 2015 and was named All-Pro as a kick returner in ’13 and last season. He ranks second alltime — to Gale Sayers — with a 30.4 kickoff return average. But the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Patterson never topped the 469 yards receiving he had his rookie year.
He should get more deep passes thrown his way as Oakland’s No. 4 receiver.
“I want to go out and make plays, whether it’s a deep ball, crossing route or a screen,” Patterson said. “I just want to showcase myself and help the team win. In the past it hasn’t been as good as I wanted it to be, but I am in a real good situation right now.”
Manuel, at 6-5 and 237 pounds, looks the part of the franchise quarterback he was expected to be in Buffalo. There is no such pressure in Oakland, and a big part of that is the relationship he has with former Bills quarterbacks coach and new Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing.
“When he did call once free agency began and told me that they were interested, for me it was a no-brainer,” Manuel said. “That’s a situation you want. Especially as a quarterback and in my situation, trying to really change the perception of whatever I’ve gone through in Buffalo and all that kind of stuff. I know the player I can be, and so does coach Downing. That’s what I’m excited about.”
Starting quarterback Derek Carr is excited to have both Manuel and Patterson around and said they have fit in well.
“I think EJ being here, it looks like he’s having fun again,” Carr said. “It looks like he’s enjoying football. I don’t know how his situation was at his prior stop, but I can tell you he’s having fun and he was a first-round pick for a reason. We look at the guy and it’s like, my goodness, he’s huge. He can run. He can throw it a mile. What’s the problem? The guy is awesome.”
Manuel played well in the preseason opener but has struggled the past two games. But second-year quarterback Connor Cook hasn’t done much with his snaps in camp or in the preseason games.
Patterson, meanwhile, had a great start to camp, then struggled as he let the ball hit him in the chest rather than in his hands. He’s bounced back in the games, and caught a pass from Carr for a 17-yard touchdown last week.
“How did someone else let him go?“Carr said. “That size, that speed, he’s like a horse out there. He’s 220, 225, running a 4.3. Those don’t come around all the time. Being able to get him in our offense and implement him, not just as a gadget guy but as a receiver . ... He was a first-round pick for a reason.”
Manuel said that the comfort level for both him and Patterson is growing every day.
“Each rep I get with this team, I’m extremely excited to be here,” he said. “Derek is extremely supportive from the sideline. … He’s right there on my hip as soon as I come off the field, so that makes me feel great, too.”
In Buffalo, Manuel competed 58.3 percent of his passes and had 19 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. The book on him was that he never turned his big arm loose, content to check down to shorter passes but not having the mechanics or accuracy to complete enough of them.
Downing didn’t agree with that assessment, and said that Manuel showed “that he can let it fly” in Napa and “had a great, great camp.” Manuel dropped in a 34-yard pass to tight end Clive Walford in the preseason opener, and head coach Jack Del Rio blamed the offensive line for Manuel’s harried quarter of action (2-for-4, eight yards) last Saturday.
Speaking of harried, Manuel doesn’t enjoy the topic of Buffalo, but he said the experience there made him a better quarterback and person.
“Yeah, most definitely,” he said. “The ups and downs in Buffalo, obviously being young and getting an opportunity to start my rookie and my second year, just some of the things I’ve gone through will definitely help me moving forward. Not just in football but in life.”
Now 27, Manuel is all grown up.
“I think some people that went through what I went through, they may have just fallen by the wayside and just, ‘I’m going to quit,’ ” he said. “I’m not a quitter. That’s not in my vocabulary, so I’m going to continue to fight with everything I have and obviously getting the chance to be on a great team like Oakland is nothing but excitement for me.”