Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson said he's constantly thinking about his first kickoff return opportunity in the season opener against the Rams on Sunday. He even pleaded to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher in the offseason when the two bumped into each other at the ESPYs in June.

"I told him, 'Just make sure he kicks me the ball,'" Patterson said. "He told me, 'Be ready.' So I'm ready for that."

Fisher didn't sound like he was leaning that way during Wednesday's conference call. The league quickly found out about Patterson's ability last year when the rookie led the NFL, and set a franchise record, averaging 32.4 kickoff yards per return. He scored two touchdowns returning kicks, with one tying the longest play in NFL history on a 109-yard return against the Packers.

"If you want to create problems for yourself, give him a returnable ball," Fisher said. "The more balls you can kick out of the end zone, the better you are."

When told Fisher sounded like someone that didn't want to kick to the Vikings return man, Patterson wasn't buying it.

"Coaches tell you two different things," Patterson said. "I feel like they're going to try and kick it to me. Their kicker, he's got a big leg so I feel like he's going to try and kick it out the end zone. If he don't, I'm going to bring it out."

There will likely be times when Patterson won't be lined up to field returns based on in-game situations, but otherwise, Patterson enjoys making an impact on special teams.

"Last year, that's where I made my money at on kickoff returns," Patterson said. "Ain't no need for me to even be lobbying off of that. That's my job. I don't feel I need to get off that unless coach [Mike Zimmer] tells me to."