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- Mar 19, 2019
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Return game dynamics | By @pcraigers
The very first postseason meeting between the Vikings and Saints featured an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown by Anthony Carter. That was 32 years ago today.
In honor of that play, here’s a brief ode to Sunday’s likely punt returners.
The Vikings on Friday announced they have re-re-signed Marcus Sherels, the franchise’s all-time leader in punt returns (237), yards (2,480) and touchdowns (five). Sherels has returned six punts for 51 yards in four postseason games.
There’s a stark contrast in experience between Sherels and Saints rookie Deonte Harris, who were both undrafted out of their respective colleges but have shown effectiveness in the NFL.
Everyone within a stone’s throw of Minnesota knows that Sherels, a Rochester native, played collegiately at the University of Minnesota.
Harris, who played at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, led the NFL this season with 36 punt returns and 338 yards (9.4 yards per punt, fourth in NFL). He also returned 24 kickoffs a total of 644 yards for an average of 26.8 that ranked third in the NFL en route to Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
“He’s electric, now. He’s everything you want in a return specialist,” Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Marwan Maalouf said Thursday. “He’s not tall, which makes him harder to find, and he’s elusive. He’s excellent at cuts, and he’s got really good vision. He’s got that running back style, and they block.
“They’re fundamentally very well coached, very sound,” Maalouf added. “I’ve known the coordinator there for a long time, and he’s done nothing but a good job there and everywhere he’s really been. Having a very good returner like that just helps them.”
Sherels signed with New Orleans as a free agent this offseason and worked with Harris.
“He’s a special player, a special talent,” Sherels said. “He’s really quick, really fast, catches the ball well, so we’ve got our hands full.”
Substantial Stats
— Sunday’s game will mark Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer’s 100th game (excludes preseason) with Minnesota. Since taking the helm in 2014, Zimmer is 57-38-1 in regular-season games and 1-2 in the postseason.
— Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ passer rating of 107.4 is the league’s fourth-highest behind Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill (117.5), New Orleans’ Drew Brees (116.3) and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (113.3). It also was the second-highest passer rating by a Vikings QB in a season, edging out Favre’s 107.2 and trailing only the 110.9 by Daunte Culpepper in 2004.
— Vikings kicker Dan Bailey was fantastic through the regular season, making 27-of-29 (93.1 percent) of his field goal attempts. His only two misses occurred at Green Bay and at Detroit in Weeks 2 and 7, respectively. Minnesota is fourth-best in field goal rate behind Jacksonville (97.1), Baltimore (96.6) and Pittsburgh (93.6).
— The 2019 Saints are just the third 13-3 team to play in the Wild Card round since 1990, when the NFL expanded to a six-team field for each conference. The other two teams to fit the situation? The 2011 Saints, who advanced to the Divisional round and lost to San Francisco, and the 1999 Titans, who advanced to Super Bowl XXXIV.