Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Predicts Big Season for Kicker Greg Joseph
Matt Daniels is new to Minnesota, so he has no reason to be concerned with the Vikings' history of kickers struggling in big moments.
Daniels, the Vikings' special teams coordinator who was previously with the Cowboys and Rams, came out on Monday and offered up a prediction that might make some fans in Minnesota cringe. He declared that the 2022 season will be the best of kicker Greg Joseph's career.
"I have the utmost, highest confidence (in him)," Daniels said. "I’ll put it on record right now and say that I firmly believe that Greg Joseph will have his best year in his career this year. I’ll put it out there right now. I’m sure of it. The way that he finished up his summer, the way he prepared and how he’s come back and hit the football has been the best I’ve seen him."
"I’ve only been around him for four or five months. But he’s been 90 — I think he’s missed two kicks out of 35 kicks that he had in three sessions that we’ve had (so far in training camp), hitting it about 92-93 percent. You can just tell the process and approach he’s taking on each and every individual kick, you can just tell he’s really dialed in and I’m excited for Greg. I’m thrilled to have him as my kicker. It’s going to be a heck of a year for him."
Sure, that may cause some Vikings fans to roll their eyes. And I get it — when you've been through the famous Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh misses and the recent struggles of guys like Kai Forbath, Daniel Carlson, Dan Bailey, and even Joseph last season, you develop a major distrust for kickers. That's natural.
Regardless, I love this confidence from Daniels. Why not publicly talk up your kicker? What's happened in the past with other Vikings kickers doesn't mean anything to Joseph or Daniels, and it shouldn't. Their only focus is on the 2022 season.
Between field goals and extra points, Joseph missed nine kicks last season, including a potential game-winning field goal in Arizona. But he finished the season strong, making 20 of 21 field goal attempts from Week 7 onwards. Joseph had some big moments in 2021: a game-tying kick to send the season opener in Cincinnati to overtime, plus walkoff winners against the Lions and Packers at home.
One thing Daniels likes a lot about Joseph is his mental approach to kicking.
"Greg is very even-keeled," Daniels said. "That’s something we like to talk about a lot. My assistant coach (Ben) Kotwica has done a hell of a job working with Greg on certain mechanics that he might see needing cleaned up, considering he’s been around great kickers. He had Younghoe Koo back in Atlanta, he had Dustin Hopkins when he was at Washington. I kind of lean on him when it leans onto the mechanics of the kicking and he’s done an unbelievable job with Greg."
"I tell Greg all the time just from a mindset standpoint, we have to find a way to stay neutral. A lot of the greats, you look at Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, they always talk about the mindset of staying neutral, never getting too high and never getting too low. Just kind of keeping that even keel. That’s kind of where Greg is at, and I love it, honestly. That’s where you want to be at when you talk about that kicker position being the man in the arena."
Only time will tell if Daniels' prediction comes to fruition. But Joseph, who stands unopposed as the Vikings' kicker right now, isn't getting complacent. He's been lights out so far in training camp, causing confidence to grow for both player and coach.
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