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Will Special Teams play actually improve in 2022?


vike daddy

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O'Connell on hiring Matt Daniels: "When I close my eyes and I think about special teams, I think about a group with energy, enthusiasm, detail. Guys that can follow the lead of our coordinator to go out and execute plans each and every week. I really knew very quickly that Matt Daniels was a guy that I wanted to hire as our special teams coordinator."

Daniels: "For me, being an undrafted guy coming into this league out of Duke University, special teams was the only way I saw myself being able to make the team. I like to consider myself a special teams demon. That's kind of what I was. I took it to heart. I took a lot of pride in it. I played with a lot of passion. That's what you'll see pour into my players. I'm very personable and very relatable. Guys can lean on me because I've done it before and been in their shoes. I know what it looks like. I know what it takes."

https://www.vikings.com/news/ed-donatell-wes-phillips-matt-daniels-coordinators-intro?fbclid=IwAR3RmgDNzgSdM604lmyerw03CrPp4lUc2q2N5qwwygGuhWCfbSIA8p3R-xU

Edited by vike daddy
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Matt Daniels on his approach to coaching kickers:

"The mental toughness of the kicking game is obviously the biggest thing on a kicker, because obviously it's lonely as hell out there, if we're just being honest. So you look at the mental toughness, mental capacity that's able to handle the pressure, those are the types of questions that we like to have. You really don't want to give too many thoughts to your kicker or have him thinking too much, so we kind of always try to allow him to have a quieted mind, a stillness."

https://www.vikings.com/news/ed-donatell-wes-phillips-matt-daniels-coordinators-intro?fbclid=IwAR3RmgDNzgSdM604lmyerw03CrPp4lUc2q2N5qwwygGuhWCfbSIA8p3R-xU

 

I'd have to say Zimmer did not instill a sense of mental stillness in his kickers, as they would have to fear being cut.

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37 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

Matt Daniels on his approach to coaching kickers:

"The mental toughness of the kicking game is obviously the biggest thing on a kicker, because obviously it's lonely as hell out there, if we're just being honest. So you look at the mental toughness, mental capacity that's able to handle the pressure, those are the types of questions that we like to have. You really don't want to give too many thoughts to your kicker or have him thinking too much, so we kind of always try to allow him to have a quieted mind, a stillness."

https://www.vikings.com/news/ed-donatell-wes-phillips-matt-daniels-coordinators-intro?fbclid=IwAR3RmgDNzgSdM604lmyerw03CrPp4lUc2q2N5qwwygGuhWCfbSIA8p3R-xU

 

I'd have to say Zimmer did not instill a sense of mental stillness in his kickers, as they would have to fear being cut.

He seemed to realize that in the end. It took Zimmer awhile and we lost out on a fantastic kicker in Carlson. Why draft the guy just to give him a few games. 
 

There were moments last year where I thought he’d cut the kicker but he never did. 

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  • 5 months later...

Earlier this week, Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels explained how he has the "utmost confidence" in Greg Joseph. The kicker backed up his sport as the spotting of the ball kept going back and back and back.

Joseph started a special teams period by splitting the uprights on an extra point. From that 33-yard distance, Joseph was good from 40 on the right hash, 42 from the left hash, 43 from the left hash, 48 from the right hash, 51 from the left hash and 58 from the right hash.

Teammates got louder and louder in their reaction. The 58-yarder — and all of the kicks — had room to spare.

https://www.vikings.com/news/patrick-peterson-pick-training-camp

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By the editors' count, Greg Joseph has missed two attempts during team drills in training camp practices – a 55-yarder at U.S. Bank Stadium that he followed with a make from the same distance and a 41-yarder Monday night. Joseph responded to that with five makes in a row, including another 58-yarder.

https://www.vikings.com/news/training-camp-takeaways-so-far?fbclid=IwAR0h-436-4X-iOU8PtHBwQ8ppXvEH5N6Fvx-c4cRJJlq92_f-Nyg8szLka8

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Daniels said he evaluated Jalen Reagor, CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk as punt returners when they were in the 2020 NFL Draft. All three players became first-round picks, but Daniels said Reagor rated "No. 1 in my book."

"What he offers is an immediate guy that spooks the punt team," Daniels said. "He has the speed to race to the edge. He can attack vertically. He's a guy that's very confident back there.

"Last week he immediately approached the meeting saying, 'I want to be the guy.' I'm like, 'You're the guy. You're the guy.' He immediately wanted to start connecting with his blockers. I thought that was really important.

"For a guy to come in with that attitude and that mindset, wanting to connect with his blockers, getting to know them, we've already had a lot of meetings talking about what he likes to do so that the schematics are aligned with what his strengths are … that really shows a lot in terms of who the person is and how he goes about his work ethic and what his process looks like."

https://www.vikings.com/news/how-to-watch-stream-listen-packers-week-1-game?fbclid=IwAR1vAkIVVHmjeMsnCVsEILX_h6H2rrmkgasuHKku0-QG7to6JrDm8iiiTH0

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  • 3 weeks later...

One of the better coaches on the field Sunday was a guy who's 237 days younger than Harrison Smith. Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels could be a rising star in his first season as a coordinator. The 24-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 16-7 lead was set up by Kris Boyd's excellent forced fumble and recovery on punt coverage. The 46-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 19-14 lead was set up by Kene Nwangwu's 33-yard kickoff return and a fake punt in which one rookie (punter Ryan Wright, a former high school QB in California) threw a 13-yard completion to another rookie who had no career receptions (Jalen Nailor) on fourth-and-2 from the Saints' 47. Greg Joseph did miss a PAT to make things interesting at the end, but he also made all five field-goal attempts, including the game-winner from 47 yards with 24 seconds left.

https://www.startribune.com/five-extra-points-penalties-pressure-and-a-fake-punt-stand-out-in-vikings-win/600212334/

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It wasn't just Joseph who shined bright for Minnesota's special teams unit on Sunday. Vikings punter Ryan Wright only had three punts on the afternoon, but he pinned the Saints inside their 12-yard line twice. Wright's other attempt was fielded at the New Orleans 42-yard line, but Minnesota cornerback Kris Boyd punched the ball loose from Saints wide receiver/return specialist Deonte Harty's hands before recovering the fumble.

Wright not only got to show off his skills with his leg, but his arm, too. The Vikings lined up to punt on fourth-and-2 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Wright, a former quarterback at California High School in San Ramon, dropped back before delivering a completion to wide receiver Jalen Nailor for 13 yards.

Wright:  "We've been repping it the past couple of weeks of practice. It was a great game plan by our Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels. I just went out there and once they finally called it, I was ready to go. It was really cool, it was also cool to throw to a guy in our rookie class. We have the same agent, so we've known each other for a bit longer now, so it was really cool to see."

https://www.vikings.com/news/greg-joseph-career-high-five-field-goals-special-teams

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