Former Super Bowl Champion DB with first hand experience breaks down Vikings DC Brian Flores' brilliant defensive scheme
The Minnesota Vikings have a winner in defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He has been a renaissance with his defensive scheme in helping elevate a poor unit into the top half of the league in 2023 and things look even better in 2024. Flores used a lot of different three edge rusher packages in 2023 and […]
The Minnesota Vikings have a winner in defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He has been a renaissance with his defensive scheme in helping elevate a poor unit into the top half of the league in 2023 and things look even better in 2024.
Flores used a lot of different three edge rusher packages in 2023 and has taken that one step further in 2024 with even more confusion and players who are smart enough to handle it.
Jason McCourty talks Brian Flores' brilliant scheme
NFL Live has done a great job recently talking about scheme on their show and breaking plays down. Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky and former Flores cornerback Jason McCourty break down how the Vikings can do anything out of the same look because of their player's intelligence.
"And what's most impressive about this," said McCourty, "you can only do this if you have smart players, because you just said it looks just like the last one. In order for it to look like that, you have to be matched up with a guy, man-to-man. So the only way Brock Purdy's going to believe it, Stephon Gilmore can't be standing over a running back if he's out here. You have to match…"
"Personel wise," said Orlovsky.
"Yes," said McCourty. "And now he has to know if I'm the guy here, and Harrison Smith is here now, I've become a safety play in the half-field, and Harrison Smith is now playing cornerback in the flat. So at all of these positions, we have Josh Metellus a DB running through as a middle linebacker. You have to be able to play all the different spots in cover to Tampa to be able to run."
For context, here are the two looks the Vikings used in their two games this season.
Nearly identical looks from the Vikings' defense but two completely different play calls. In the first one, the Vikings ran a zero blitz with that many players up front and against the 49ers, they dropped back into coverage and rushed just four.
As McCourty and Orlovsky explained, the intelligence of the players to adapt and be fluid on the back end in coverage while being able to get to their drop points is what makes this defense thrive.
Another important element of discussion here is that McCourty was with Flores when they installed this defense back in 2018 so it gives us another level of analysis from someone who knows what they are doing from first hand experience.
Will the Vikings be able to keep this up? It's definitely possible due to the intelligence of the defenders on the field.
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