There aren’t many positions up for grabs as the Minnesota Vikings enter their final preseason game, but according to special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, the team’s starting punter will be determined during Saturday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.
Daniels referred to the competition between Jordan Berry and Ryan Wright as a “punt off” and both players have had similar success this preseason.
In the first two preseason games, Berry and Wright have an identical average of 48.6 yards, but Berry has a 39.8 net average compared to Wright’s 37.0 net average.
“t’s almost like they’re carbon copies,” Daniels said. “It’s weird. One guy screams down an amazing punt and the next guy doesn’t feel that pressure and follows it up with a big punt. You look at it and I think both guys have been doing a great job throughout this camp and we’ll go back and check out the tape, look at the statistics we’ve been compiling and putting together throughout this entire training camp and see who the better man is but overall I think both guys have been doing a good job.”
Another factor could be the preference of Greg Joseph as the punter is the primary holder on field goal attempts. Joseph has had a tremendous training camp in his second year with the Vikings and Daniels confirmed that he would have some input on the final decision.
“That’s something we’re very critical about,” Daniels explained. “We have conversations with Greg because we want to know what his opinion is because obviously there is chemistry…because of the time on task. He’s comfortable with Ryan Wright as well and obviously, we’ll have those conversations with Greg and that will play a part in the final decision on who our punter will be.”
Daniels was also asked about the punt returner position and the struggles of Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The second-year receiver is averaging 4.8 yards per punt return during the preseason and lost a fumble during last Saturday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers.
Although Smith-Marsette has needed an adjustment period to acclimate to the job, Daniels believes he has the skills necessary to perform the job.
“Ihmir has all of the tools in his body of what you’re looking for in a punt returner,” Daniels said. “He’s elusive. He can stick his foot in the ground. He can make you miss. The decision-making we are still cleaning up but this is a guy who hasn’t had a lot of time on the job.
“He hasn’t done it before in college so we’re asking him to come out and do something that he hasn’t done. Obviously with more reps comes more confidence and with more reps comes better decision-making. He just needs more time on the job and time is narrowing down.”
The Vikings will wrap up their preseason with an 8 p.m. kickoff on Saturday night.
