Replacement special teamers, Oliver’s role, Robinson’s smarts

EAGAN – The Minnesota Vikings came out of their win over the Indianapolis Colts healthy on both offense and defense. Surprisingly, they didn’t leave US Bank Stadium with their specialists in one piece. On Tuesday, the Vikings placed kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola on injured reserve. Reichard suffered a quad injury and DePaola required surgery for a hand problem.

They brought in kicker John Parker Romo, a former XFLer who was with the Vikings in the spring and went to training camp, and added former Lions long snapper Jake McQuaide. For at least the next four weeks, the Vikings will rely on these two to hold down positions held by the best of the best. Before Sunday night, Reichard hadn’t missed a kick all season (14-for-14 on field goals, 20-for-20 extra points) and DePaola has been a fixture since arriving in Minnesota, being voted to the Pro Bowl twice.

McQuaide has a lot of experience. He is a 36-year-old two-time Pro Bowler (2016, 2017) who was with the Rams for 10 years. As for Romo, he made 17 of 19 punts for the XFL’s San Antonio, including 2-for-3 from beyond 50 yards.

“It’s tough, especially when it comes to the kicker and actually the kicker and the snapper position because that’s what requires you to be in sync the most, so luckily (punter Ryan) Wright is a pretty good communicator,” Matt said Daniels, special teams coordinator. . “We’ll lean on him a little bit to be able to help… that’s why you get the title of coach. I have to coach these guys incredibly well and try to make it happen. And hopefully we can find a nice, good, consistent operation, no matter who’s in it.”

Losing DePaola, Daniels said, is more than just missing a consistent snapper. He has also become one of the top leaders of the special teams unit.

“It’s honestly devastating,” Daniels said. “Just from an intangible standpoint of what this guy brings to the room, his intelligence, what he sees on film, how he can communicate with guys… when we brought him back, I told him we needed him in the meeting rooms, in the building, still runs the same process, still has the same communication… But it will definitely be a hit for our team just from a leadership standpoint and what he brings.”

Reichard told the Star Tribune that he felt some discomfort leading up to the game, but Daniels said he was not informed of an injury and that Reichard had had a good workout prior to the win over the Colts.

The Vikings have reinstated TJ Hockenson as TE1 by involving a lot of Josh Oliver. He was ready for the challenge. Oliver had the highest PFF grade of his career, caught a career-high five passes and did a lot of dirty work in the run-and-pass blocking game.

“Josh is the best blocking tight end in the league,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “And that’s not disrespect for anyone else. We will put Josh over anyone in this league in the role he is in. Not only is he physically imposing… but the attitude he plays with the physicality… you see it every week. He moves people, big men, and puts them on the ground. And it has been a big part of helping us achieve some success on the ground.”

Hockenson was on the field 33 times and caught three passes on four targets for 27 yards.

“We didn’t want him to overload him in his first game back,” Phillips said. “I think he felt it a bit when he returned to real football in such form. But it was good that he was there. He’s done some good things. And I think it will continue to be that way.”

The Vikings leaned heavily on their new left tackle in his first game, giving him a full workload of 73 offensive snaps. He allowed just four pressures on 42 passing blocking snaps.

“Everything about his arrival was impressive,” Phillips said. “From the Wednesday he arrives here, he will meet with the line coaches. They immediately come in and say, ‘This guy is a hottie, he’s very smart.’ His meeting with Kevin before he met those guys, Kevin said, he’s really smart. When you talk to him you can just tell that he knows football.”

When Robinson met the media last Thursday, he called it a “whirlwind” but seemed mostly unconcerned about the difficulty of the task ahead. Phillips also noted his unruffled demeanor.

“There was just this kind of calmness where you weren’t worried about him, and the confidence that he has and everything that you talk to him about. He says, “I have a coach, you know, I have you.”

Phillips moved from the top of the booth to the bottom of the sideline on game day. He explained the decision on Tuesday.

“We’re just trying to find the best way to communicate in the game,” Phillips said. “And it felt like there were some things that were maybe just communication between position groups, with Kevin being down there and switching over to defense and managing the game and all the things that he does. It just felt like it would help us to move around a bit and then talk to him directly.

Rookie Dallas Turner had one of the best performances of his young career with four QB pressures and 26 total snaps. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores said he got a chance because Andrew Van Ginkel was getting beat up.

“Gink… has a little something he was dealing with, so Dallas is the next man up, he went in and played well,” Flores said. “Gink said he was ready to go back in and we kept the same kind of grouping for the rest of the game. And Dallas did some good things too. So again, you know, that’s a deep room. There are a lot of good players among them. And you know, generally it would be hot-handed.

It remains to be seen whether Turner’s strong performance will lead to more opportunities in the coming weeks.