Thread: Vikings' Return Man

As we all know, the Vikings have typically never been extremely successful in the return game. They have trouble finding the right players for the job, and when we finally think they have the right man in place, they use someone else the next season.

Last week, the Vikings ensured that they would keep the tradition alive by trading Darius Reynard to the New York Giants for possibly a 7th round pick (not yet disclosed at the moment).

Wup-de-duh! :woohoo: :silly:

Here I am think we'll enter the season with one of the best return duos in the league with Reynaud at punts and Percy Harvin at kick-offs. Instead we are stuck with a big question mark yet again. At the top of that, some people would even say that the Vikings have two question marks because of Harvin's never-ending headache problems.

For now, I'm just gonna cross my fingers and hope that Percy Harvin can stay healthy. If he can do that, the kick return team will be pretty dangerous as we all witnessed last year in Harvin's rookie season.

As for the punt return, the job much more open. Head coach Brad Childress recently announced* that wide receivers Bernard Berrian and Greg Camarillo will split return duties when the Vikings open the season. He also mentioned the possibility of Percy Harvin later in the season.


So to summarize..

Starting kick returner: Percy Harvin
Starting punt returner: Greg Camarillo & Bernard Berrian (split duties)
Backup (possibly) punt returner: Percy Harvin

Source: *Childress Discusses Backup QB Situation, Other Topics

Has GC ever returned punts before? He might have great hands but he doesn't have much for speed, so I'm not expecting and TD's on PR's.

Risking BB back there is just stupid, but that's Chilly for ya.

Meh ... I never loved DR as a punt returner anyways. Berrian has done more as a PR than Reynaud honestly.

I don't hate the move and it helped create roster room.

I liked Reynaud at returner, but I think we'll be fine. I'm not worried about lack of speed. Remember, Mewelde Moore returned a couple punts for TD's a few years ago, and he's not exactly a speedster.

midgensa wrote:

Meh ... I never loved DR as a punt returner anyways. Berrian has done more as a PR than Reynaud honestly.

I don't hate the move and it helped create roster room.

I'm afraid that BB isn't durable enough for the job. PR's get WHACKED alot. So I'm expecting more fair catches.

I take it Young can't catch punts.

gagarr wrote:

I take it Young can't catch punts.

Young can't do anything. He's brutal as a back, terrible as a kick returner. For the life of me, I can't understand how he keeps making the team.

I can't figure out why Young keeps making it either. He's OK in pass protection, he does nothing above average, he's not fast, he's not very versatile, it's perplexing.

gagarr wrote:

midgensa wrote:

Meh ... I never loved DR as a punt returner anyways. Berrian has done more as a PR than Reynaud honestly.

I don't hate the move and it helped create roster room.

I'm afraid that BB isn't durable enough for the job. PR's get WHACKED alot. So I'm expecting more fair catches.

I take it Young can't catch punts.

Well ... I expect Cam to be run out there more often than not. And Reynaud took his fair share of fair catches. Fair catches sometimes are the right thing.

But Reynaud has never busted anything longer than 36 yards and he was pretty much the full time PR last season. I think he was solid and all, but hell, if throwing him in is what it took to unload Sage and it helped free up two roster spots, then I really don't have that big of a problem with it.

midgensa wrote:

gagarr wrote:

midgensa wrote:

Meh ... I never loved DR as a punt returner anyways. Berrian has done more as a PR than Reynaud honestly.

I don't hate the move and it helped create roster room.

I'm afraid that BB isn't durable enough for the job. PR's get WHACKED alot. So I'm expecting more fair catches.

I take it Young can't catch punts.

Well ... I expect Cam to be run out there more often than not. And Reynaud took his fair share of fair catches. Fair catches sometimes are the right thing.

But Reynaud has never busted anything longer than 36 yards and he was pretty much the full time PR last season. I think he was solid and all, but hell, if throwing him in is what it took to unload Sage and it helped free up two roster spots, then I really don't have that big of a problem with it.

you forgetting his touchdown in the Cowboys playoff game?

i_bleed_purple wrote:

gagarr wrote:

I take it Young can't catch punts.

Young can't do anything. He's brutal as a back, terrible as a kick returner. For the life of me, I can't understand how he keeps making the team.

Wow, I didn't think anyone else agreed with me. I hate Young as a player, I've never seen him do anything that looks good at all.