Falcons' Cordarrelle Patterson reacts to Arthur Smith's bad decision
For the first time in 13 weeks, Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson received a goose-egg amount of touches. Patterson played eight snaps, but head coach Arthur Smith didn't draw up a single play design for him as the Falcons went on to lose 37-17 to the Chicago Bears in Week 17. This odd outcome comes […]
For the first time in 13 weeks, Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson received a goose-egg amount of touches.
Patterson played eight snaps, but head coach Arthur Smith didn't draw up a single play design for him as the Falcons went on to lose 37-17 to the Chicago Bears in Week 17.
This odd outcome comes one week after Patterson rushed seven times for 26 yards on nine touches against the Indianapolis Colts. He also caught both of his passing targets for seven yards during the Falcons' 29-10 win over Indy in Week 16.
Falcons fans aren't the only ones upset at Smith for Patterson's lack of touches against the Bears, and this season as a whole.
Patterson took to X/Twitter to express his frustration.
He first retweeted @RiseUpReader's post that read, "It’s crazy how little we saw Cordarrelle Patterson this year. Arthur Smith didn’t use him creatively at all, and listed him as “Joker” on the depth chart. The joke was on all of us."
And after Fox 5 Atlanta reporter Miles Garrett called him out for being "unhappy with his usage this season," Patterson's response to Garrett made it even clearer.
"Should I be?" Patterson asked in response to Garrett's post on X/Twitter.
The Eagles have favored running backs Tyler Allgeier and rookie Bijan Robinson this season, leaving Patterson collecting dust for most of the year.
Patterson has carried the ball 45 times for 160 yards this season. He's also caught 9 of 11 targets for 38 yards and one receiving touchdown.
Even if he isn't the same 2021 bell cow that he used to be, his presence and usage made a positive difference (except vs. Carolina) when Smith chose to utilize him more often.
Perhaps if Smith kept his word and got a bit more creative using Patterson this year, like he said he would, they would have won a few more games and he wouldn't be in the hot seat.
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