Dan Chisena – Gunner
Dan Chisena is fast, there’s no denying that. On every single punt, he’s easily the first man down the field making the initial contact with the returner, or at least he tries to. Chisena has a hard time finishing those plays, and making the actual tackle. That showed up again on Sunday against the Bears and it happened at least half a dozen times.
When the Bears punted, Chisena was the first man down the field, and then missed the tackle. He’s so fast, that on one failed attempt, he actually got up from diving and missing and chased down the returner, but again failed to make the tackle.
Maybe he’s scared to make contact or just runs with his eyes closed but Chisena should have a lot more plays, and if he actually made contact perhaps he’d be in the Pro Bowl conversation as a special teamer.
It’s very odd that the Vikings saved a roster spot for this guy. Sure he was a good story, walking on at Penn State, and then defying the odds to make the Vikings, but he just doesn’t do his job.
That has been a problem of the Mike Zimmer regime though, hanging on to players who routinely don’t do their job on Sundays. Chisena is fast, but he also doesn’t tackle, which is disappointing and it was evident against the Bears.