The Flores Scheme and What’s Next

The Minnesota Vikings finished the 2024 season with the fifth-best defense in points allowed, despite not having any superstar players, thanks to the ingenuity of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He took the Vikings’ defense from 28th to 13th in point allowed his first season as defensive coordinator, and then from 13th to 5th his second season.

One of the joys of having Brian Flores as defensive coordinator for the Vikings is that he is a student of the game and is at the forefront of defensive scheme trends. No static or stale defensive schemes here. All the recent trends of developing and using more hybrid defenders, increased blitzing, more pre-snap movement and disguise, and use of multiple fronts are incorporated into Flores’ scheme.

Indeed, the Vikings led the league in blitz rate last season (40.6%) and hybrid players like Josh Metellus were always on the field while edge rushers like Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner dropped back in coverage around 20% of the time. The Vikings under Flores last season also had the highest entropy (i.e. most unpredictable) defensive front in the league, with Pat Jones II, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner among those with the most varied usage in the league according to PFF.

So what could Flores do this season as an encore?

Flores the Innovator

My guess, in part based on his recent press conference, is that there won’t be dramatic scheme changes from last season, but there will be some incremental changes based on the change in personnel from a year ago. Flores hinted as much in that press conference at the end of minicamp, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be notable and/or more subtle scheme changes and other differences from last season.

But like all great innovators, Flores borrowed elements of his scheme from others. In this case, the elder statesmen of NFL defensive minds- Bill Belichick, Vic Fangio, and Steve Spagnuolo- and crafted them into his own scheme designed around his personnel. It was interesting that during Flores’ last press conference he mentioned looking at what other coordinators did with success last season but couldn’t think of any past Fangio and Spagnuolo. Flores has also borrowed from college-level coordinators, as college and even high school sometimes originate what eventually makes its way to the NFL level. Flores borrowed Pittburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi’s zone coverage behind various blitzes and has used it with success since joining the Vikings.

Above video: Some of the schematics Brian Flores employed last season with the Vikings’ defense

Defensive Front

One element of Flores’ defensive scheme that I expect to carryover from last season is the use of the five-man defensive front. Known as a Bear front in base defense and a Penny front in nickel defense, this is a versatile and variable element in Flores’ scheme with many versatile players upfront.

Last season this was something of a base front for Flores, used in more neutral run/pass situations. But with the Vikings’ personnel up front on defense, it can be a flexible and even more effective element in his scheme this season.

Among the starting defensive tackles, both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave can line up effectively anywhere from over center to over tackle, and have plenty of experience at all those alignments, while Harrison Phillips can be effective from over center to 3-technique (outside shade guard). That provides a lot of flexibility with those interior line chess pieces.

Among the starting edge rushers, Andrew Van Ginkel can play anywhere from a wide-9 outside edge alignment to a 3-technique and can also be an off-ball linebacker that can drop into coverage or show up as an A-gap blitzer. Dallas Turner can be both an edge rusher and off-ball linebacker who drops into coverage. I haven’t seen him lineup or blitz an interior gap yet, but presumably he could do that too.

So there is a lot of position versatility and run/pass defense ability too.

The Bear/Penny five-man front is seen as an effective counter for zone running teams, and with a wide-9 edge alignment, against wide-zone running teams. The Vikings used that alignment often against the 49ers, Lions, Packers, and Falcons- among others- quite a bit last season. Below are some variations we saw from Brian Flores last season.

Above is the most common Brian Flores version of the Bear front he used last season- with wide-9 alignment for the edge rushers against the 49ers week two.

The above is really a four-man front, but I include it here as Andrew Van Ginkel playing an off-ball linebacker role moves up to the line and rushes too. He could be more of a moving chess piece this year.

Above the Lions start a drive in week 18 with six offensive lineman (tackle eligible), tight end, and both wide receivers aligned in a condensed formation as well. The Vikings adapt their five-man front by adding Josh Metellus as well.

Unleashing Andrew Van Ginkel

I wouldn’t be surprised, particularly if Dallas Turner is ready for a bigger role, if Andrew Van Ginkel plays more often as sort of a roving off-ball linebacker who could drop in coverage, rush off the edge, or defend an interior gap. He did some of that this past season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he sees more snaps in that role this season. Doing so would create more of a dilemma for opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen while allowing Van Ginkel to maximize his ability to recognize plays pre-snap and make more impact plays.

More Effective Pass Rush

The addition of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen should help improve the Vikings’ pass rush. Even a somewhat diminished Hargrave and Allen would be a significant improvement over Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery as pass rushers, and getting the opportunity for more one-on-one matchups could lead to a resurgence in their pressure stats. Even as run defenders, which they haven’t fared as well in recent years, they aren’t really much worse than Bullard and Tillery when it comes to PFF run defense grades. The Vikings led the league in EPA per rush allowed (-0.17) last season despite not having an elite run defender among defensive linemen.

Declining Blitz Rate?

One trend Brian Flores is leading in the NFL is blitzing on early downs. The Vikings led the league in blitz rate on first (47.5%) and second (42.6%) down last season, but a good part of that was using five-man fronts on those downs.

When we think of blitzing, we think of a linebacker or defensive back shooting up from the secondary to rush the passer. But some definitions of a blitz (like that used above) simply mean five or more pass rushers. So, lining up five men on the line of scrimmage on a passing down constitutes a blitz so long as none of them drop back in coverage. That being the case, the blitzing stats for Flores’ defense can be a little deceiving in terms of how exotic his scheme is.

Still, Flores does send players on a post-snap blitz with regularity and his method of showing zero-blitz but dropping some into coverage is not often used elsewhere. Flores also differs from more traditional blitzing schemes by blitzing more on early downs than on third down- which is more usual (the Vikings had an average third-down blitz rate last season- 29.8%). The idea behind the early down blitzes comes from the growing recognition that to win on third down, you need to win early downs first. Blitzing on early downs isn’t just about pressuring the quarterback. It’s about forcing the issue early- whether run or pass- by sending more defenders forward to make a stop on first and second down, often leading to a third-and-long situation that is more difficult to convert. That early down pressure also reduces the effectiveness of play action and the threat of which can even cause offensive play-callers to eliminate longer developing play-action calls on early downs.

On third-and-long, Flores is more likely to play coverage than send 5+, but the threat of his doing so is real and it’s difficult to ignore a zero-blitz look pre-snap. That can often lead to a short pass call which with good tackling can be stopped short of the sticks.

The overarching aim behind this approach is to dictate the offensive play call – or at least limit their options. I don’t anticipate that Flores will move away from this philosophy this season, and with better players it may prove to be even more effective.

Defensive Secondary

The Vikings have used zone coverage schemes more than the average NFL team since Brian Flores became defensive coordinator. Last season they played a man coverage scheme just 22% of the time, which was eighth lowest in the league. Playing more complex zone coverage has been the trend in the league in recent years, along with the use of more two-high safeties. The goal of both is to limit more explosive passing plays down the field while the use of more complex zone coverage is because it’s easier to find top receivers who can beat man coverage than it is to find top cornerbacks who can play good man coverage.

But the use of more complex zone coverage schemes is creating confusion or doubt in quarterbacks reading the coverage and leading to more check downs or short passes in front of the coverage- sometimes by design.

Brian Flores’ pressure schemes and his disguised and varied but similar looking coverages tend to encourage the short pass as well. However, opposing offenses did have success at times using the quick pass against Vikings pressure and zone coverage to move the chains. Below are a couple plays the Lions used – which are typical of other teams as well- in countering Flores’ scheme.

The key in both plays is having a quick go-to route that’s difficult to beat in zone coverage, regardless of what kind. Sometimes it can be a quick screen, other times a quick slant or hitch route, and other times a quick out route.

The defensive counter to that is to play man coverage.

Brian Flores did that back in 2020 with the Dolphins, despite not having any elite pass rushers that year (although he had Van Ginkel) and only one defensive back that was good in man coverage (Xavien Howard). On a play with a running back in the backfield, one of edge rushers would key on him- rush if he stays in to block or cover him if he runs an outlet route. He’d use a five-man front and sometimes blitzed a sixth man while playing man coverage with a dime secondary. On third down the Dolphins led the league in third-down conversion rate allowed (31%) and passing EPA allowed per play (-.374).

That’s a more aggressive approach than he used last season, but it may be something that with a better interior pass rush and better man coverage, he may be more comfortable doing more often this season.

Below are a couple snaps in man coverage against the Packers week 17 last season. Both were successful plays for the Packers, but man coverage made for a closer play and a little better coverage by either Shaq Griffin or Stephon Gilmore- or a better pass rush- and they would’ve been defensive stops.

Both Shaq Griffin and Stephon Gilmore were below average in man coverage PFF coverage grade last season and are no longer with the team. Harrison Smith and Byron Murphy were above average in PFF grade and Theo Jackson was near elite but on just 20 man coverage snaps. Josh Metellus was below average.

Newcomer Isaiah Rodgers had the fourth highest man coverage PFF grade in the league last season (83.3) among cornerbacks with at least 50 total coverage snaps. Mekhi Blackmon had a below average PFF coverage grade in 2023, but still only allowed 5 receptions on 10 targets for 54 yards and no touchdowns on 74 man coverage snaps- a 66.3 passer rating when targeted. Newcomer Jeff Okudah’s best skill is his press man coverage and when he’s on his game his receiver doesn’t get targeted- which is most of the time. But he can’t play any other coverage well.

Having Rodgers and either Blackmon or Okudah playing man coverage on the outside receivers, with Harrison Smith on a tight end and Murphy on the slot receiver in man coverage, with Theo Jackson as the deep safety and either Josh Metellus or Blake Cashman playing a middle linebacker spot in either coverage or as a blitzer, could prove effective.

Overall, the Vikings have a better secondary this season when it comes to playing man coverage which could result in Brian Flores mixing in more man coverage this season to help combat the counters to his heavy pressure/zone coverage plays.

Bottom Line

Brian Flores took a defense without any star defenders and turned it into a top five defense last season in points allowed. They didn’t have a top unit at any level of defense but Flores’ scheme put them in better positions to succeed and made it more difficult for opposing offenses to execute.

This season they’ve upgraded their interior defensive line and upgraded a cornerback spot with a guy Flores has had his eye on for a while in Isaiah Rodgers, and probably two if Mekhi Blackmon continues to build on his rookie season or Jeff Okudah plays well in selective use. The good all-around inside linebacker they have (Blake Cashman) may be the only one on the field most of the time. Theo Jackson will be new as a starter but there has been zero doubt among the coaching staff about his ability to take over from Cam Bynum, which was a key reason the Vikings did not extend him.

Overall some outlets are ranking the Vikings defensive front as the best in the league based on their off-season moves. They seem to be more skeptical of the cornerback room but there’s not much not to like about Isaiah Rodgers’ performance last season with the Eagles and no reason to think it won’t continue.

The upgraded personnel on defense may allow Flores to introduce some new wrinkles into his scheme to help defeat weaknesses from last season, while providing even better results for its strengths.

Poll

The Vikings defense ranked 5th in points allowed last season. Where will it rank this season?

• 44%

  Top 3

  (4 votes)

• 33%

  4-8

  (3 votes)

• 22%

  9-15

  (2 votes)

• 0%

  16-22

  (0 votes)

• 0%

  Bottom 10

  (0 votes)

9 votes total

Vote Now