Brian Flores Hired as Defensive Coordinator

[vike daddy]

O'Connell:  "We do have a new scheme defensively, and that not only requires our guys on that side to be dialed into the installs and the execution and improvement day to day while adding new things, but also offensively versus some of the new looks we're seeing. We felt good about our install plan a year ago. We are under a little bit more duress throughout certain down and distances and phases of our offense, which I think is fantastic for our team.

"We're having some growth and some conversations – quite honestly, a 'Football 501' that sometimes you don't get to have until Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, when the time is so crunched. So to have all these conversations now with the extra time, and the experience of Year 1 in the system for a lot of guys, has been beneficial. But overall, just as a team, I think we're ahead where I thought we would be. And that's a credit, really, to Flo' and his defensive staff and our guys on that side of the ball."

https://www.vikings.com/news/2023-good-news-for-trishton-jackson-excitement-for-night-practice?fbclid=IwAR3sT5aPCO0hrE-J1ZF-W_zos_4Ty0yZ6EiD51eofCDsymCKAglv6rIJNCQ

[vike daddy]

The Vikings have not yet made an official roster move regarding James Lynch.

Flores: "Just wanted to get started by talking about the Lynch situation. Obviously, a tough loss. Obviously, injuries are a part of the game, but you hate to see it. 'Lynchie' has done a great job of coming back from a surgery in the offseason. He worked his way back, he was moving his way up the depth chart, so it's unfortunate. It's a tough break for him.

"As a team, as a unit, we feel it's a tough break. We feel bad for him. We know how important the game is for him. But my conversation with him last night, he's gonna work his butt off to get back out here as soon as he can."

"You know, I think we've got solid depth. Some veteran players like Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Tonga – and we've got some young guys like Jaquelin Roy, Bug – so we've got some good young players. Bug is Calvin Avery, by the way."

https://www.vikings.com/news/james-lynch-injury-defense-lineman?fbclid=IwAR11fkQgYtNd0jny7X2dlapBbgy3fOWrkO13mgq1BzUwg99hdwogSh0_H4Q

[vike daddy]

After James Lynch tore his ACL on Thursday and is out for the season, the defensive line group is even more in flux. The first group appears to be Jonathan Bullard, Dean Lowry and Harrison Phillips but Khyiris Tonga is getting a lot of reps at first-team nose tackle. Preseason games will help separate these players from each other, but it feels like it’s Bullard, Lowry and Phillips as the first team.

https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/lists/minnesota-vikings-saturday-training-camp-practice-takeaways/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Soepn8HYEqLFX5jh7T6-uN6-tncjEpD8GYKwutEssnWJ4zSf7qqgGvTA

[vike daddy]

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores wants to treat his front defenders like a hockey line.

Flores:  "There's always a rotation with those big guys, normally. You want that second wave of guys just so they don't tire out over the course of a drive. There's going to be some form of rotation. Is it going to be, 'Hey, four in, four out'? It could be. Is it gonna be 'one for one' in a situation or 'two for two' in a situation – third down, second-and-long? It could be. Sometimes guys just get gassed – it could be that."

Dean Lowry joined the Vikings this offseason after playing the past six seasons for the Packers, providing a veteran presence.

Flores: "You see that experience. You could see that on tape. He knows how to play blocks, he understands schematically what the offense is trying to do to him. He knows when he's in, when they have an advantage just from a blocking-scheme standpoint. He knows when he has an advantage from a blocking-scheme standpoint. Oftentimes, in the trenches, it's about that understanding. And Dean's got a good feel for it."

"He knows if he's in this position, he can't get reached; he knows if he's in this position, they've got an angle on him. And he does a good job of playing with good technique, fundamentals, releasing off blocks. He's quiet. He leads by example. But it's important to him. We're happy to have him, and he's done a good job."

Lowry:  "There isn't any one big name star on our interior D-line, but there a lot of guys that are competitive and just come to work every day. Harrison has had a great camp so far. And then Bullard is also experienced, too. And Tonga has been really playing at a high level. So, I would say it's a very deep group, and we're all hungry to go out there and compete and play at a high level."

https://www.vikings.com/news/2023-dean-lowry-veteran-presence-defensive-rotation?fbclid=IwAR1rGM6vHzjMZ41EMJqqsdWW2Iy6sV7YTX-2HmnYFzp3WNGpIbrT5Kd3qHg

[SteelKing728]

Phillips-Tonga-Lowry I think are listed as the starting DL

[vike daddy]

On the first depth chart released by the team, Khyiris Tonga was listed as the starting nose tackle. That should be what happens come week one and he played like that on Monday. He got his hands up really quick during team drills nearly leading to a PBU, looked good in one-on-ones and moved laterally really well against wide zone plays. Based on the performances we have seen from Tonga, you have to wonder if the Chicago Bears regret waiving him. They could use a player like Tonga.

You can see Mekhi Blackmon taking strides at each practice. He is getting more comfortable each day and the game looks slower for him. When the game gets slower, you don’t think as much and react quicker. That helps you make plays in the open field and Blackmon is doing that.

https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/lists/minnesota-vikings-training-camp-practice-takeaways/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem_manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Kt3J6EvjvXTiGPc4jRXxD-eTSG9AoGCCqK3UwvT2WuG2eLIsTnzcjG6U

[vike daddy]

Nickel and diming

With a considerable portion of practice directed toward 7-on-7, the Vikings defense used its nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive backs) packages.

The seven defenders with the first team in 7-on-7 were linebackers Jordan Hicks and Ivan Pace, Jr., cornerbacks Akayleb Evans and Byron Murphy, Jr., and safeties Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus.

When the Vikings shifted to dime, cornerback Joejuan Williams subbed in for Pace.

https://www.vikings.com/news/week-begins-with-7-on-7-mustache-monday?fbclid=IwAR2UW0AoII2N3c9SY8NwegqBCaVUmUbLEW8kLrkH3569XxaWvHwfkPUTO4g

[vike daddy]

According to a report from The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, fifth-round pick DT Jaquelin Roy was getting snaps with the first-team defensive line.

This is an important development with how the Vikings will construct their 53-man roster. With the defensive line being up in the air, seeing Roy get reps with the first team is a good thing, especially since he didn’t play in the first two preseason games.

Roy is likely a 5T on base downs with the ability to play nose tackle on passing downs. With his lack of participation in the preseason, this is a good sign for his chances to make the 53-man roster.

https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/2023/08/22/minnesota-vikings-jaquelin-roy-snaps-first-team/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0AlDEd5xRShYS1e_IRmIDjaRa6t7Y3F4ZKJy5InTAxfgP0MAWiGr7lPA8

[Captain Relax]

It's obviously not going to be a one year, awful to awesome, makeover for the Viking defense.  However, I like what Flores is doing with the pieces he has. It appears that he is giving the rookies work with the ones. The competition has been real, which I don't remember happening often under Zimmer.

If the Viking defense can improve to mediocre, I have hope that this team will be competitive given that I expect the offense to be really good.

[vike daddy]

Justin Jefferson: "Flo's defense is so tricky, it makes every other defense so recognizable."

vikings.com

[vike daddy]

Six of the 53 players on Minnesota's active roster are safeties.Combined with cornerbacks, that makes 11 defensive backs on the Vikings roster – a number they haven't kept since 2018. And even then, it's almost unheard of for Minnesota to retain six safeties heading into the 2023 campaign.

But when the team's safeties are as talented, dynamic and versatile as the Vikings are, leadership doesn't mind departing from recent history.

O'Connell said he and Adofo-Mensah had "daily dialogue" with Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores around the Vikings defensive system and players who would be the best fit in Flores' system.

O'Connell:  "From the interview process all the way through sitting down with Flo' as he's built this defense, you talk about the versatility and the multiple personnel groupings a lot. But then as we talked about, when you start to see it – and see what it looks like to have three safeties in the game, being able to play multiple versions of five DBs on the field, based upon what we think is best to not only apply what we're doing schematically but what those players' skill sets are."

"And then how carrying six safeties benefits our special teams, as well as the corners we do have in the game. I think it's an all-encompassing approach that's been really thought out. And then quite frankly, we do have a very strong belief in trying to keep the best 53 guys we can, and we feel like we did that with the training camps all six of those guys had."

https://www.vikings.com/news/5-takeaways-o-connell-adofo-mensah-on-roster-decisions-injury-updates?fbclid=IwAR1iz-N-YTs9AiENBpVAV0zmgmSk9_mMGXvaxiIW2Pz0cuONeUOmoE-uWKU

Edited September 1, 2023 by vike daddy

[vike daddy]

Perhaps the biggest theme of this season for the Vikings will be how effective Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy scheme will be. It’s not a defense NFL offenses see much. The challenge for opposing offenses is to get their protection call right and for the quarterback to make a quick, accurate read and get the ball out quickly and accurately. That’s easier said than done, especially for young quarterbacks, and especially if it’s well disguised. Even more experienced quarterbacks, such as Jared Goff, have been rattled when facing Flores’ defense.

In the NFC North, the Vikings have six games against young, relatively inexperienced quarterbacks, and Jared Goff.

Goff has faced Flores’ defense twice, once in the 2018 season Super Bowl and again in 2020 in Miami. His combined passer rating over those two games was 62.86, with two lost fumbles as well.

Jordan Love has a small sample size, but has not done well when under pressure, with a 26.4 PFF passing grade on 31 dropbacks under pressure since 2021. Last season his PFF passing grade under pressure was 45.0, also poor.

Justin Fields has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league under pressure, and against the blitz, and tends to hold the ball- he had one of the longest time to throw stats in the league last year by starting quarterbacks.

Other quarterbacks that have ranked relatively poorly under pressure and/or against the blitz include Baker Mayfield (Week 1), Jalen Hurts (Week 2), and Brock Purdy (Week 5). There are a couple other young quarterbacks on the Vikings’ slate that don’t have a lot to go on at the NFL level in Bryce Young (Carolina) and Desmond Ridder (Atlanta), but it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or both of them struggled against Flores’ scheme too.

The key for Flores’ defense in all of these games is not only can they get to the quarterback, but also tackle well on the perimeter to defeat the most common counters to his blitz-heavy scheme. Not allowing much success on the long ball counters as well will be key.

https://www.dailynorseman.com/2023/9/5/23857827/nfc-north-schedule-insights?fbclid=IwAR1-j_vf3hrqB55-Q6OPhfru9a40g1yXgP3HGlIk6XuoSLuVWdUZ7FqlDXg

[SteelKing728]

Which defensive back gets the first sack of the season, and when does that happen?

I'm saying Smith gets it Week 1.😈

[SteelKing728]

Steal.

[vikesfan89]

How soon does Kwesi get blamed for not drafting him?

I'm mostly joking but it's fortunate that all of the teams were scared off by his size.  Sometimes size doesn't matter