Our shocking lack of coverage on special teams

[Hunter Morrow]

I know the refs want to keep a star out of people like Devin Hester him and didn't call a single illegal formation, holding or block in the back on the returns, but still.

249 yards?

[LA Viking]

I don't recall any missed calls, just missed tackles and lanes and overpursuit.

[Mothman]

This is an aspect of the game that really needs to be emphasized. Hunter pointed out that Hester had 249 yards on returns. Hester broke his own franchise record with that total and I think it's arguably the #1 reason the Vikings lost that game. There were breakdowns on defense, mistakes on offense, etc. but 249 yards indicates a massive amount of sacrificed field position. This 2013 Vikings defense has a lot of work to do but they sure weren't being helped by a special teams coverage unit that repeatedly but them in bad positions.

Jim

[mansquatch]

I would argue that at least part of this was the condition of the field. Guys were slipping all day out there. When AP lost 13 yards in the Red Zone it was because he slipped after making a cut. I agree that 249 yards is atrocious and cannot happen again, but I saw replays and guys were slipping all over the place trying to get to him. Sunday was just about the perfect storm for Hester, sloppy field and his being quite perturbed with his organization.

[beardedterror]

When AP lost 13 yards in the Red Zone it was because he slipped after making a cut.

No, it was because he ran backwards 13 yards. Boneheaded move from a usually smart runner.

[Eli]

My take is that a kick returner has a big advantage on a wet field like that, and we saw it on both sides. The kicker can't get the ball as deep due to the poor footing and a damp ball, making returns much more likely to begin with. On the return, the returner is running downhill, making small cuts at high speed, whereas the coverage team has to stop and cut more severely. Kick returners always make use of small seams in the coverage, but on a wet track those seams close much more slowly.

[Thaumaturgist]

As much as I hated seeing Hester with the run backs, it was a refreshing change from the boring kick it out of the back of the end zone that we're so used to seeing these days.

Who couldn't ask for a more exciting way to start the game?