Kicking continuity escapes the Vikings yet again

As the Vikings prepare for their season opener in four days, you (a Vikings fan) probably have a lot of big questions. Such as:

How good will the revamped defense be?

What happens if there's a long-term injury at corner, linebacker, defensive end, offensive tackle, wide receiver, tight end or quarterback?

Is the offensive line, period, any better than last year? Is it possibly worse?

As you ponder the possibilities both good and bad, though, don't forget about special teams. They are the great unknown — and they became even less known last week with an under-the-radar move that bears watching, which I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast.

If you don't see the podcast player, tap here to listen.

The Vikings last week changed punters, ditching Britton Colquitt in favor of Jordan Berry. On the surface, that's fine. Berry did a good job with the Steelers from 2015-20. Colquitt had a subpar season a year ago.

"He's got a big leg. He's done it for a while. Just trying to get a little more hang time and distance," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said earlier this week when asked about the move. "We thought we had an opportunity to get a guy with a little bit bigger leg."

Colquitt's career average is 45.4 yards per punt, compared to Berry's 44.4, but hang time is a big deal. Berry, for example, induced 22 fair catches last season on 57 punts; Colquitt delivered just 11 fair catches on 54 punts.

The question here, though, is continuity — something about which I've had extensive conversations with former Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell.

Longwell is a big believer in staying consistent with the same placekicker, holder and long snapper — something he enjoyed all six years with the Vikings with Cullen Loeffler and Chris Kluwe, while Longwell made 86% of his field goals.

He says the timing of the operation is vital, and that changing just once piece — with Berry now in for Colquitt not just as the punter but the holder as well — can be a big deal.

The Vikings have not had that consistency in recent years.

Since 2016, they have had five placekickers: Blair Walsh, Kai Forbath, Daniel Carlson, Dan Bailey and Greg Joseph.

Since 2016, they have had five punters/holders: Jeff Locke, Ryan Quigley, Matt Wile, Colquitt and Berry.

Since 2014, they have had five long snappers: Cullen Loeffler, Kevin McDermott, Jeff Overbaugh, Austin Cutting and Andrew DePaola.

That's a lot of change in a three-person operation that — at least in Longwell's experience and opinion — benefits from continuity.

Now: The kicking game was not good for the Vikings in any phase.

And: It should be noted that Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell made 88% of his field goals and 94.4% of his extra points between 2015-2020, with Berry as his holder for almost all of that time.

Maybe that speaks to the value of continuity. Or that Berry is a good holder.

Or both?

As always, we will see how it all plays out for the Vikings. In the three playoff seasons under Mike Zimmer, Vikings kickers have made 88% of their field goals. In the four non-playoff years, it's been 75%. So it's a big deal.

And as always, we will know that at a moment's notice the plan is subject to change.