Bad idea jeans

This from a Tuesday morning blog written by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert:

“Here’s something that NFL teams probably don’t want to hear: Minnesota might unleash rookie Percy Harvin as a punt returner later this season.”

There’s no indication in Seifert’s post that head coach Brad Childress is going to give Harvin the job full-time, but it appears he will use him in that role at some point this season.

And why not? Considering how successful Harvin has been returning kick-offs, this seems like a wonderful idea. Give a home run hitter like Harvin an extra play or two to hit a home run. What’s the downside for the Vikings?

I'm not trying to be contrary guy here, but there is a downside. For one, the Vikings tried Harvin as a punt returner in training camp. They decided against the idea – because he wasn’t very good at it. Instead the coaching staff went with Darius Reynaud in the role, and since Reynaud’s hamstring injury, Jaymar Johnson.

Harvin’s been marvelous returning kicks, but returning punts is different. You're still returning a kick. But it's a different kind of kick and punt returners have to make very different decisions when fielding them compared to kick-offs (such as: should I fair catch this one, let it bounce, or field it and maybe take a big hit in the process?) A punt returner also doesn’t have as much time or space to make things happen on a punt return compared to kick-offs. So Harvin’s success as a kick-off returner might not carry over to punt returns. But then again it might, which is why it's tempting to give him a shot at it.

However, Harvin also uses an awkward technique for catching kick-offs, normally grabbing the ball above his head with his two hands. He’s bobbled at least one of those kick-offs this season using that technique, but the bobble wasn’t costly because there wasn’t a defender within 15 yards of him and Harvin quickly picked up the ball and went about his business. But a bobble or a fumble of a punt return would be very costly. It likely would be recovered by the opposition and probably deep in Vikings territory. Thus, I’m wary of trying Harvin out returning punts in an NFL game when he hasn’t done it all season and he didn’t do it in college, either.

I also don’t think this is a great idea for health reasons. There's no concern about wearing Harvin out or winding him here – based on his physique, he appears to be in great condition. But being a punt returner seems like dangerous work to me. You have to concentrate on catching a ball kicked very high in the air while at the same time judging whether you can catch it without getting clobbered by several angry 200-plus-pound opponents who are often inches from your face. Harvin’s become such an important part of the passing game and such a great kick returner, is it really worth it to put him in more harm’s way?

Finally, there is nothing particularly wrong with the Vikings current punt returners that forces you to use Harvin in that role. Johnson has performed these duties the past five games and while his punt return average of 8.4 yards ranks 14th in the league, he’s sure-handed, fearless and has shown some ability to break long returns. Two of his 16 returns have been for 20 yards or more.

But Johnson isn’t even the Vikings number one option – Darius Reynaud is. During Reynaud’s three-game stint returning punts before injuring a hamstring, he averaged 17.3 yards per return to lead the league. When Reynaud is finally healthy enough to play, the Vikings would be smart to return him to that role.

They would also be smart to forget about Harvin and the punt return thing. Just say no guys.

Other stuff
Thought this article by Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette might be of interest to Vikings fans, where Pelissero breaks down down individual Packer performances watching game film. It's focused on the Packers, of course, but there's plenty of commentary about the Vikings, too. Pelissero does this every week after a Packers game.

I love this stuff and I hope to see the Pioneer Press or the Star Tribune do it for the Vikings some day soon on their websites. I think there is a lot of demand for this kind of analysis among football fans. It can't be that hard to find an ex-coach who can do this sort of thing.