Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has become the toast of the NFL so far this season.
In his second season as Minnesota’s defensive guru, he has made Daniel Jones, Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud melt as the Vikings cruised to a 3-0 start. Minnesota is second in the league in points allowed and 13th in yards given up so far in this young season.
“I try to give the players the autonomy and the freedom to make those calls when they happen or else there’s no way,” Flores told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “I don’t have a crystal ball. They have the freedom to check it, to not check it.”
That’s the secret sauce of why Flores’ system works so well. He allows his players to just play. He doesn’t overthink and bog his system down with unnecessary information.
Does that remind you of anyone? Packers coach Matt LaFleur is very open to new ideas and gives free rein to the players — especially now that quarterback Jordan Love is one of the highest-paid players in the league.
The Vikings lead the league with 16 sacks and 20 hurries. They are also second in the league with a 34 percent pressure percentage. They are also second in the league in blitz percentage with 39 percent.
“He does a good job of teaching everybody everybody else’s position,” Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel told Sports Illustrated. “People are lined up all over the place so if you get a grasp of that you can play faster. There’s challenges to it because every week it can be a little different. There’s a lot of tweaks and techniques that can change so you have to have an adapt mentality. Every day it’s changing and it can change on gameday on a drive or a series.”
Think about how often LaFleur uses different personnel, presnap motion and play-action and bootlegs. He is constantly giving defenses different looks and forcing them to second guess and think twice.
Love is expected to play for the first time since the season opener in Brazil. He’s bound to be a little timid at first. So what does that mean for Flores? It means that he’s probably going to bring the kitchen sink early on. He’s going to want to gauge if Love is able to recognize pressure and then quickly pass the ball to the right receiver.
This is a get right game for Love, but he’s jumping into the deep end of the pool. It doesn’t get any tougher than facing a defensive coordinator that has the trust of everyone on that side of the ball.
The Packers offense vs. the Vikings defense is going to be an amazing chess match. If Love can quickly revert back to last year’s end-of-season form, the Packers will win this one.
If not, the Packers are going to be behind the sticks a lot and Love will need a miracle to convert third down and seven or more yards. That’s exactly what Flores’ recipe has been. He disguises his defense so well that the quarterback can’t see what’s coming.
A Packers win on Sunday isn’t just a victory for Green Bay. It’s a win for Love, who some people still aren’t sold on. Stopping the Flores Train is exactly what Love needs to get his season on track.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on “Clubhouse Live” and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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