Matthew Coller: Are the Vikings going to use the new kickoff?

The Vikings didn't bring one back on Sunday. Will they start doing so soon?

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard (46) kicks off against the Las Vegas Raiders in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

EAGAN — The new “dynamic” kickoff in the NFL had its moments in Week 1. The Arizona Cardinals returned one 96 yards for a touchdown against Buffalo and the Chicago Bears booted a bouncing ball, resulting in a turnover against the Titans.

In East Rutherford, however, there wasn’t much action with the league’s XFL-style experiment. The Vikings returned zero kicks from the Giants and New York tried just one time for 22 yards.

Are we going to see the Vikings bring us back to the days of Moe Williams, Qadry Ismail, Percy Harvin and Cordarrelle Patterson or is the new kickoff unlikely to impact many Vikings games this year?

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said that the lack of kickoff returns that they allowed the Giants was in part because of the way the game was playing out rather than an over-arching philosophy.

“It's really more so game by game, really even within the game situationally,” Daniels said. “We get up 20 plus points on the Giants and you know probably want to just boot it out [of the end zone for a touchback] because you want to eliminate any type of explosive play that can end up happening or giving them any shifting momentum.”

In total around the NFL there were 57 returns with an average of 27.2 per attempt. Last year in Week 1 there were only 35 returns at 20.9 yards per return.

The fact that average returns are putting the ball in a similar place to where there would be a touchback is a motivating factor for some teams to avoid risking chaos.

“When you look at the average return of where the ball is being returned to versus kicking it out of the end zone,” Daniels explained. “It's really about the same right now. It's going to end up at the 30-yard line, whether if you boot it out or return it…So it's kind of a risk reward. Now you kind of got to turn more towards, what are the odds of me drawing a penalty, a holding call possibly here? What the odds of me being able to possibly draw the football loose? And so you try to weigh a little cost-benefit analysis in terms of how much do we really want to put this thing in play.”

Daniels also mentioned that the two most notable plays of the week also happened to take place in stadiums where the conditions were a factor.

“The biggest thing is is that everyone's still really trying to figure out the best way to personnel it,” Daniels said. “What type of kick to use and even dealing with the weather, too. With a Buffalo game, Arizona ended up taking one back to the house. Chicago ended up having a huge explosive. Both of those are windy. The atmosphere plays a huge role in what type of kicks you want to hit and how far the ball actually does travel, where it's getting caught at.”

It’s possible when the Vikings play outdoors in places like Green Bay or Chicago that there could be more opportunities for returns.

On Sunday the Vikings put Myles Gaskin and Ty Chandler back to return. It may have been a sign that they weren’t going to be a high volume return team when they cut Kene Nwangwu, who had been one of the NFL’s best returners since coming into the league in 2021.

The Vikings might not totally stay away from the chaos. They might, instead, wait to see how things play out around the league and try to get a better handle on what’s working before they jump into the fray more than they did versus the Giants.

“You're going to see different schemes,” Daniels said. “You're going to see different personnel. And it won't be until about week three, week four to where you get a good idea of what it's going to look like and how you want to be able to execute and also defend against the play. Who's a returning back there, how good do we feel about the personnel in terms of the blockers, it's blocking for them. And so it's kind of a game-by-game basis.”

Last year Chandler did have four returns with an average of 24.3 per return. He also took one for a touchdown that was called back due to holding. It would make sense because of his status as RB2 to only utilize returns when the team needs a spark rather than putting him at injury risk repeatedly.

Additional notes

— DT Harrison Phillips signed a two-year, $19 million contract extension with $13 million guaranteed after a terrific game against the Giants.

“His leadership, his ability to create relationships throughout the locker And that's part of the reason why he's a captain on this team,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “I think he does a lot of great things for us that really don't get noticed, as you mentioned, from a team building and camaraderie standpoint. And he's also a very good player.”

With Phillips signed, the Vikings have the majority of their cornerstone players on defense under contract through at least 2025. It is unclear whether Harrison Smith and Stephon Gilmore will keep playing and Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin and Cam Bynum are scheduled to be free agents but otherwise most of the spots are set. Phillips is set in place with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr. and Josh Metellus.

— Flores had this to say about Dallas Turner’s debut, in which he got his first career sack:

“For a rookie in their first game, there's certainly some jitters. I mean, I think for everybody there's some jitters, you myself included, but it certainly wasn't too big for him. I think he's getting better. He's getting a better feel for running games… how he can attack offensive linemen, what to do if they chip him or thump him and how to set a tackle up and at least draw him a little bit if he's dropping. There's certain things that I think he's starting to get a better feel for.”