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Brian Flores Hired as Defensive Coordinator


battle2heaven

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In terms of personnel packages, Flores has run blitzes out of many formations, but his most common were out of the nickel and dime packages. Flores was a big fan of rushing safeties during blitzes while he was in Miami, and it came with outstanding success. Dolphins’ safety Brandon Jones was a pass rusher in 46.8% of blitz snaps he was on the field for, and safety Jevon Holland rushed in 26.9% of blitz snaps. In fact, when either of these two safeties were a part of the blitz, the team’s blitz success rate was higher than most of the linebackers. Holland’s team blitz success rate was 71.4% and Jones’ was 59.4%. Flores also called his highest percentage of blitzes on third downs.

This approach is vastly different from how the Vikings’ safeties were used last year. Between Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus, they totaled 19 pass rush snaps.

Expect Flores to immediately raise the Vikings blitz rate, and also make this defense more successful at converting those blitzes into tough plays for the opposing offense. Of course, that comes with a caveat: If the Vikings roll out cornerbacks who gave up a 134.3 QB rating into man coverage (per PFF) as Cam Dantzler did last year, they could be in trouble.

 

https://purpleinsider.substack.com/p/do-the-numbers-behind-brian-floress?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=43357&post_id=104566300&isFreemail=false&utm_medium=email

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For Flores to succeed that front 7 has to get better.  Take the Jaguars for example, last year that 3/4 front was rock solid.  Very strong DL with Robertson-Harris and Hamilton in the middle with key production from Corey Peters, Dawuane Smoot and Adam Gotsis.  All three of those guys are free agents and I would love Peters on the Vikings as a legit NT type.  

 

DE Fatukasi / A. Key / Ledbetter
NT D. Hamilton / C. Peters
DE Robertson-Harris / Smoot / A. Gotsis
OLB J. Allen / A. Key / J. Smith
ILB D. Lloyd / C. Muma
ILB Oluokun / Caleb Johnson
OLB T. Walker / K. Chaisson

 

They also had a tackling machine in Oluokun who lead the NFL in tackles and solid rookies in Lloyd and Muma with him.  And Key filled in as a OLB as well as Smoot at times providing multiple edge rushing opportunities.

 

Vikings need that, legit up front that is rock solid and ILBs who can run.  Already got the edge guys mostly, needs some dudes in the middle.  Maybe Tonga can be some of that but then would need great DEs and not sure Phillips is that guy and not sure Lynch, Otomewo or Willekes are either.  Maybe Asamoah can be that speed ILB but he just plays small and is literally small, sure can run but has to have way better instincts and general toughness to get off blocks then if he is going to make more plays.  

Sure would love a legit big man like Peters on the roster who is a vet and is solid and only cost the Jags around $1.1 mil last year.  

 

DE H. Phillips / Lynch / Willekes
NT Tonga / Day
DE ?           / Otomewo 
OLB D. Hunter / P. Jones / Vilain
ILB E. Kendricks
ILB J. Hicks / B. Asamoah 
OLB Z. Smith / DJ Wonnum / Weaver

 

Curious if they cut Hicks how much would they save potentially.  Maybe Weaver could be a guy who is a OLB or a DE at times and that could help them out, Jones I think could do that also and Z.Smith already did it last year moving around. Maybe Willekes can do that also but most likely he will be cut in the future. 

 

That DL has to improve though no question, not sure how they do it but say they trade back out of the 1st and get a NT type in Mazi Smith, Siaki Ika, or Keeanu Benton in the 2nd I would not mind that at all.  All three could be forces in the middle no question about it.  Benton might be more of a DE type but could play NT no doubt but Ika and Smith are huge dudes that would totally change the front.  Not sure any of those three are worth a 1st round pick where the Vikings are unless they have a great combine which who knows could happen.  

Edited by Ozzy
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20 hours ago, Ozzy said:

DE H. Phillips / Lynch / Willekes
NT Tonga / Day
DE ?           / Otomewo 
OLB D. Hunter / P. Jones / Vilain
ILB E. Kendricks
ILB J. Hicks / B. Asamoah 
OLB Z. Smith / DJ Wonnum / Weaver

This is what I would do

DE: Phillips/Lynch/Blalock

NT: Tomlinson/Tonga

DE: Dre'Mont Jones/Tomewo 

 

OLB Hunter/Patrick Jones

ILB Germaine Pratt

ILB Asamoah

OLB DJ Wonnum/Will McDonald

 

-Tomlinson is resigned

-Dre'mont Jones is a FA siging

-Pratt is a FA signing

-Z Smith is traded for a 3rd rounder (clear 12.1m in cap space)

-Will McDonald drafted with their 1st pick (either at 23 or trade down)

-Kendricks is released, saving 9.5m

-Hicks is released, saving 5m

 

 

FYI those cap saving moves total 26.6M. Re-signing Tomlinson probably lowers his 7.5 m cap hit as well.

And then they can do a O'Neil restructure, and whatever they need to do with Harrison Smith and Thielen to create more cap space.

Edited by battle2heaven
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4 hours ago, battle2heaven said:

This is what I would do

DE: Phillips/Lynch/Blalock

NT: Tomlinson/Tonga

DE: Dre'Mont Jones/Tomewo 

 

OLB Hunter/Patrick Jones

ILB Germaine Pratt

ILB Asamoah

OLB DJ Wonnum/Will McDonald

 

-Tomlinson is resigned

-Dre'mont Jones is a FA siging

-Pratt is a FA signing

-Z Smith is traded for a 3rd rounder (clear 12.1m in cap space)

-Will McDonald drafted with their 1st pick (either at 23 or trade down)

-Kendricks is released, saving 9.5m

-Hicks is released, saving 5m

 

 

FYI those cap saving moves total 26.6M. Re-signing Tomlinson probably lowers his 7.5 m cap hit as well.

And then they can do a O'Neil restructure, and whatever they need to do with Harrison Smith and Thielen to create more cap space.

I would not resign Tomlinson, he has been a disappointment I thought, last year he was nothing great in the 3/4 and one would have thought he would be better in a 3/4.

 

Will McDonald 1st round seems like a massive reach to me.  Why not get Mike Morris or Isaiah Foskey or BJ Ojulari.  McDonald's little size scares men and he cannot hold the edge at all in the run game.  Will be interesting what he does at the combine but unless he totally blows people out of the water with his times, no way is he a 1st round pick.  Had great production but odd he was so lacking in production this last year and that is an odd front on Iowa State that does help him in certain ways.  

 

 

Andre Carter II and Keion White I would take over McDonald as well, White might be a 1st rounder but Carter I doubt it, still he has way more length and arguably just as much athletic ability if not more than McDonald.  

 

 

Byron Young, Nolan Smith and Felix Anudike-Uzomah I would take over McDonald as well as some other guys but none of those three are 1st round guys.  

 

Dre'Mont is a slippery pass rusher so that would be nice, still not sure they got the size at NT to stop people in the run game.  And Pratt I like at ILB but not sure he is a great fit in a 3/4.

 

On paper not sure that front 7 is better than last year.  Only way that would be is if Tomlinson all of a sudden becomes a force in the middle, Asamoah plays amazing and Wonnum becomes a star.  Not sure any of those thing would happen.  I would be willing to do those cuts but would want a bigger return than what honestly if one loses Z. Smith, Kendricks and Hicks.  D. Jones is good but not sure he is a total game changer, especially when they could get Keion White who is just as big, probably more athletic and is much cheaper.  We will see how White works out but apparently is going to blowup at the combine athletically.   

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7 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

I would not resign Tomlinson, he has been a disappointment I thought, last year he was nothing great in the 3/4 and one would have thought he would be better in a 3/4.

 

Will McDonald 1st round seems like a massive reach to me.  Why not get Mike Morris or Isaiah Foskey or BJ Ojulari.  McDonald's little size scares men and he cannot hold the edge at all in the run game.  Will be interesting what he does at the combine but unless he totally blows people out of the water with his times, no way is he a 1st round pick.  Had great production but odd he was so lacking in production this last year and that is an odd front on Iowa State that does help him in certain ways.  

 

 

Andre Carter II and Keion White I would take over McDonald as well, White might be a 1st rounder but Carter I doubt it, still he has way more length and arguably just as much athletic ability if not more than McDonald.  

 

 

Byron Young, Nolan Smith and Felix Anudike-Uzomah I would take over McDonald as well as some other guys but none of those three are 1st round guys.  

 

Dre'Mont is a slippery pass rusher so that would be nice, still not sure they got the size at NT to stop people in the run game.  And Pratt I like at ILB but not sure he is a great fit in a 3/4.

 

On paper not sure that front 7 is better than last year.  Only way that would be is if Tomlinson all of a sudden becomes a force in the middle, Asamoah plays amazing and Wonnum becomes a star.  Not sure any of those thing would happen.  I would be willing to do those cuts but would want a bigger return than what honestly if one loses Z. Smith, Kendricks and Hicks.  D. Jones is good but not sure he is a total game changer, especially when they could get Keion White who is just as big, probably more athletic and is much cheaper.  We will see how White works out but apparently is going to blowup at the combine athletically.   

Ok. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

As Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton seek reconsideration of a mixed-bad ruling regarding their effort to escape mandatory arbitration of claims made against the NFL and multiple teams, they have allies in the form of law professors who focus their efforts on dispute resolution.

On Tuesday, 12 law professors filed paperwork in support of the position by Flores and his co-plaintiffs that Commissioner Roger Goodell should not be handling the arbitration of the pending claims.

They argue that arbitration controlled by Goodell would “undermine the equitable administration of arbitration and erode public confidence in arbitration.” They write that delegating the authorities to Goodell is “unconscionable and contrary to the norms of fundamental fairness developed by the arbitration community.”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/21/law-professors-attack-roger-goodells-authority-to-resolve-claims-in-brian-flores-case/

 

@wcblack34
@fretgod99

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11 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

As Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton seek reconsideration of a mixed-bad ruling regarding their effort to escape mandatory arbitration of claims made against the NFL and multiple teams, they have allies in the form of law professors who focus their efforts on dispute resolution.

On Tuesday, 12 law professors filed paperwork in support of the position by Flores and his co-plaintiffs that Commissioner Roger Goodell should not be handling the arbitration of the pending claims.

They argue that arbitration controlled by Goodell would “undermine the equitable administration of arbitration and erode public confidence in arbitration.” They write that delegating the authorities to Goodell is “unconscionable and contrary to the norms of fundamental fairness developed by the arbitration community.”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/21/law-professors-attack-roger-goodells-authority-to-resolve-claims-in-brian-flores-case/

 

@wcblack34
@fretgod99

I mean, they’re not wrong. But what’s right isn’t always the law. 

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3 hours ago, VikeManDan said:

Judge, jury, and executioner.

It's always been a conflict of interest and I thought the players should have fought against that in their situation from the beginning.  Typically in mandatory arbitration items (at least in insurance), each party generally has to agree to pick an arbitrator out of a specific listing.  This was a one-sided situation where one party had no choice as to the arbitrator, which is completely unethical and most courts would probably throw it out right off the bat without even having to hear an argument for it.   

Edited by swede700
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4 minutes ago, swede700 said:

It's always been a conflict of interest and I thought the players should have fought against that in their situation from the beginning.  Typically in mandatory arbitration items (at least in insurance), each party generally has to agree to pick an arbitrator out of a specific listing.  This was a one-sided situation where one party had no choice as to the arbitrator, which is completely unethical and most courts would probably throw it out right off the bat without even having to hear an argument for it.   

I agree with you 100%.

I'm hoping that Flores takes the Dan Quinn approach and doesn't leave for another HC opportunity unless it is 100% the right fit knowing it very well could be his last opportunity to be a HC.

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  • 2 months later...

Flores’ defensive coaching style is different than Donatell’s, possibly even the polar opposite. The 2022 Vikings blitzed the quarterback on 18.9% of his dropbacks, the ninth lowest in the NFL, while Flores’ 2021 Dolphins sent extra pressure on 39.6%, the second most in the league. Even the Miami defense in his first season with suspect personnel, arguably even worse than current Vikings, blitzed on 31.6%, the 14th most that year.

Considering the problems the Vikings have in the cornerback group, bringing pressure to help them out could be part of the solution.

Harrison Smith: “I think it’ll be fun. I’m learning as much as I can. I think we’ll have a good time.”

https://vikingsterritory.com/2023/news/analysis/uses-thrilling-word?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

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