Marcus Sherels Keeps Making Bad Decisions On Punt Returns

Two weeks ago, Marcus Sherels had Mike Priefer in his earhole after fair catching a punt at his own six.

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Anybody with half a brain knows you don’t call for a fair catch at the six. Ever.

This mental mistake led Sherels to promise that he would work on his decision-making. How is that working out so far? Not great.

Though not as egregious as fair catching at the six, this decision by Sherels late in the third against Tampa Bay once again had people scratching their heads.

Sherels lined up on the ten to receive a punt, back pedaled to the five and caught it. Did he have room to make a return there? He obviously thought so.

The resulting return netted exactly two yards for the Vikings.

Most punt returners in that situation would elect to let the ball bounce in hopes that it might go into the end zone for a touchback.

Is there a chance the coverage gets down there and downs it inside the five? Yes. But there’s a better chance it goes into the end zone.

That’s the gamble. In that situation, most returners place their bet on the ball going into the end zone.

But Sherels didn’t do that. Instead, Sherels caught it and set the Vikings up at the seven.

The Vikings failed to get out of the hole and were forced to punt it away themselves. Tampa Bay got the ball back in good field position and turned the possession into a field goal.

By putting the Vikes in the hole, Sherels basically gave the Bucs three points with the Vikings leading only 10-0.

It was a move that could have been very costly. If this kind of stuff keeps up, I don’t see how Mike Priefer can justify keeping Sherels on punt returns.

I know Sherels is good with the ball in his hands but he keeps making these bad choices. One of these days he’s going to cost the Vikings a game.

Sherels needs to either learn to be more aware of where he is on the field or the Vikings will have to look for someone else to do his job. It’s getting a little ridiculous.