Vikings Special Teams Has Become Less … Special
Life comes at you fast, I guess. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings’ return game looked like a highlight because of an unearthed gem. Myles Price went from undrafted free agent to key contributor on Sundays. Fast forward to the tilt against the Green Bay Packers, and things have quickly gone sideways for multiple parties involved.
The Minnesota Vikings’ special teams unit has become a liability over the last couple of weeks, and it is costing them.
Against the Baltimore Ravens, Myles Price fumbled on two separate occasions and lost one of them. He avoided disaster against the Chicago Bears and actually put up solid tape once again. Unfortunately, it was fleeting with a boneheaded decision impacting the game against Green Bay.
Vikings Special Teams Need an Intervention
Price has contributed to both the kick and punt return setups. When Green Bay kicked to the Vikings at Lambeau Field, Price got out of the way on a punt he didn’t intend to return, but thought blocking made sense.
The problem is that he got shoved into the ball because he was entirely too close. His involvement in the play should have been to get himself and everyone around away from the football. Instead, he made arguably the worst choice possible.
Price is a rookie, and there are going to be growing pains, but two of his last three games have sapped a good deal of the goodwill he generated early on. He’s not going to be benched or waived right now, but the patience for more mess-ups is quickly dissipating.
It’s also getting late early for Matt Daniels. The Vikings’ special teams coach is supposed to be the one making sure Price is positioned not to make these boneheaded mistakes. He’s also the one who should be held accountable for the back-breaking kick return that sank Minnesota late against the Chicago Bears.
There’s not enough of a reason for the Vikings to make changes to either Kwesi Adofo-Mensah or Kevin O’Connell after just extending each of them. That same opportunity can’t be said for the coaching staff, and Daniel has to feel like his seat is getting warm.
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