Brian Flores said the Minnesota Vikings’ run defense “starts with me” after Detroit ran for 230 yards in a 19-15 win that ended Minnesota’s unbeaten start. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Vikings’ defensive coordinator said the loss came down to “a handful of plays,” took the blame for the missed tackles and said the Vikings will not abandon their blitzing style against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, though “we’re not going to be reckless.”
Flores opened by sending his thoughts to Detroit linebacker Jack Campbell, who was carted off the field with a neck injury in the fourth quarter. “That was a scary moment on the field,” he said, adding that he had found himself “punching his name in” to look for an update.
“It starts with me”
Flores said Minnesota’s defense did plenty right in Detroit. “I think defensively we did a lot of positive things,” he said. “I thought our guys played hard, I thought the communication was good, I thought the physicality was good.” But, he said, “it always comes down to a few plays, and they executed in the critical moments.”
The run game was the exception. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 153 yards and Sione Vaki added 65, and the Lions got 164 of their 230 rushing yards after halftime. “The one area that was obviously a need for improvement is the run game, and for certain I look directly at myself first,” Flores said. “We need a lot of improvement there, and that starts with me. I have to do a better job of putting these guys in positions to play better in that phase.”
Missed tackles: “I’ve got to coach it better”
Asked what the common thread was in the missed tackles, Flores pointed to the staff before the players. “I think we’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to coach it better. That’s the first thing that comes to mind,” he said. The plan for this week is more tackling drills, edge-setting drills and cutback drills. “You get what you emphasize,” Flores said, “and that’ll be certainly the emphasis this week.”
He said the team will not hide from the problem, because opponents will test it. “In this league, if there’s something that you’re struggling with, you’re going to see more of it,” Flores said. “Back to the drawing board from that standpoint.” He also said his players were not the issue. “Our guys are playing great football,” he said, and “I’ve got to do a better job of putting them in positions to play well in the run game.”
Flores did not treat the loss as a crisis. “I also think a little adversity is good for a team,” he said. “It’s good to feel these tough moments, and how are we going to respond to those.”
Josh Allen: “risk-reward,” but “not going to be reckless”
The Vikings blitzed on 26 of Detroit’s 29 dropbacks, so Flores was asked how the approach changes when the quarterback is Allen. “This is the most, or one of the most, dynamic players in our league,” he said. “He makes a lot of people miss, he breaks a lot of tackles. Big, strong quarterback, huge arm. There’s risk-reward. Pressuring people every week, that’s certainly our play style. I don’t know if we’re going to go too far away from it, but we’re not going to be reckless.”
He said the plan has to account for the plays Allen extends. “With a guy like this, you can have an unblocked defender and he can make that guy miss,” Flores said. “The rest of the coverage, the rest of the rush, we’ve got to do a great job of working through some extended plays, because we’re going to have those.”
Flores also looked back to his time with the New England Patriots, when Allen was a rookie and a second-year player. “At that time it was, ‘Hey, keep him in the pocket and make him throw from the pocket, because he’s not really that accurate,’ and that is certainly not the case anymore,” he said. “It’s fun to watch his growth and development, from where he was as a rookie and second-year player to being in the MVP race yearly, and having won one, and probably likely to win some more.”
Asked whether teams do anything different against Allen, Flores said every opponent is thinking about his scrambling and off-script ability. “If you blitz him, he may make you miss and throw down the field,” he said. “If you spy him and you don’t have enough rush, he’s just going to stand there and find somebody who’s uncovered, or he’s going to scramble and get out of there. He presents a lot of problems.” He also praised the Bills’ skill players, naming Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and DJ Moore, whom he called “a great player,” and tight ends Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid and Jackson Hawes. “This is a very good skill group,” Flores said, and “Josh leads the way.” He added that the Bills have “a great runner” in James Cook and a good offensive line.
The Lions’ St. Brown play and “wish I had pressured”
Flores was asked about the third-and-8 play in which Detroit lined Amon-Ra St. Brown up about 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, a look more common in Canadian football, before Gibbs scored on the next snap. “That was new. I didn’t know what was happening, I was watching,” he said. “Kudos to them. It was a creative play.” He called it part of “the back and forth chess match,” and said Detroit simply “made a handful more plays than we did.”
He was also asked whether the Vikings’ heavy blitz rate was ever a concern internally. Flores said the calls he wishes he had back are almost never pressures. “It’s never a pressure. It’s always I wish I would have pressured,” he said, because the quarterback would have been “off the spot” and felt more heat. “When you’re calling plays, you’ve got to have peace with what you’re calling. Whether it goes good or bad, you feel like you can sleep at night, because your players could execute it, you felt great about it, and you feel like you’re putting your team in the best position.”
Asked about his influences, Flores listed Rex Ryan, Bill Belichick, Mike Zimmer and Dick LeBeau. “I’ve certainly taken or sampled some things from other coaches,” he said, and “you see kind of a collage.” He said he sees more teams trying the all-out pressure approach Minnesota uses. “I understand why people may try it, but I think it’s good stuff too,” Flores said.
Depth and rookies as the season wears on
Flores said the Vikings’ depth will matter more as the season goes on. “Every player in the league is now sore, tired, physically, mentally, emotionally. We’re at that point,” he said. “The depth of the team is going to start to show up, which is why we’re going to need our young guys and our backup players to show up as well.” Asked about the Vikings’ rookies, he said they are “practicing well” and “making mistakes just like most rookies do,” and that every week is a “learning experience.” The Bills game will be their first Monday night, he said, so “as coaches we have to help them build the right habits, build the right routines.”
The 6-1 Vikings host the Bills on Monday Night Football on November 9 at 8:15 p.m. ET, which is 3:15 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, in Cairo. Flores said he was looking forward to “being back at US Bank” and that the crowd “will be ready to go.”
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