Vikings

Brian Flores Is Minnesota's Ghost In the Machine

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Blake Cashman says he got turf toe early in the second quarter of the Week 5 game against the New York Jets in London. “I knew I did something. In the locker room at halftime, I tightened that cleat up a little bit more,” he said. “I was like, ‘We’re going to go ball in the second half and worry about this later.’’’

Cashman says he didn’t think about the injury after the Minnesota Vikings won 23-17. He had a good game, blowing up screens, flying by offensive linemen, and chasing Aaron Rodgers around all day. Cashman even had “a little chitchat” with Rodgers as he tried to decipher who was blitzing on each play.

“After the game, we were all shaking hands, [and] he kind of gave me that look. He was like, ‘Come on now,’” said Cashman. “It always feels good when you can make a good play on a future Hall of Famer.”

However, Cashman missed two games with turf toe, and the Vikings immediately noticed his absence. After the bye, Ben Johnson had the Detroit Lions max protect and repeatedly ran dagger concepts in Minnesota’s 31-29 Week 7 loss. Five days later, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams built off Detroit’s blueprint and beat Minnesota 30-20.

Those were Minnesota’s only two losses of the season. They’re also the only two games they played without Cashman.

After Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, the Vikings signed Cashman, Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel. Those moves were more significant than they appeared at the time. When they signed, it felt like Minnesota was bolstering the defense to cover for Cousins’ absence. Little did we know that they were building one of the league’s best defenses.

Last year, the Vikings frequently lined up seven players on the line of scrimmage and forced opposing offenses to guess if they’d send six after the quarterback or drop eight into coverage. That worked most of the season. However, coaches like Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, and Andy Reid started chipping away at it. A week after they shut out the Las Vegas Raiders, Zac Taylor cracked the code on Minnesota’s defense.

Flores said the conversation started in the offseason after Minnesota’s defense ceded 30 or more points in their last three games after playing the Cincinnati Bengals. The Vikings would need a more dynamic defense that protected the middle of the field and the flats to prevent teams from using Cincinnati’s blueprint to score against them.

“What’s our vision for how we want to play in the next season?” Flores said Minnesota’s staff asked itself. “Then what do we have on our roster right now that we just, that group that we just played with and what can we add to that group to kind of execute that vision?”

Flores said the Vikings emphasized linebackers who could cover backs and outside backers who could drop into coverage.

“We watched a bunch of guys, the scouts watched guys at free agency, and we watched them as coaches,” he said. “And the collaboration was, ‘Hey, our vision is to play this style. We’re probably gonna need these types of guys.’ Thankfully, we were able to get Blake Cashman, Greenard, and Van Ginkel.”

Cashman, Greenard, and Van Ginkel joined Harrison Smith and Harrison Phillips as Flores’ coaches on the field. Flores is the defensive mastermind, but the players are the nodes. They know how his defense works, and the veterans ensure they execute it correctly.

“I’m really excited [to] see if we can build a brand,” Greenard said in September, adding that Flores’ system requires high-IQ players willing to speak up in meetings and adjust on the field.

“That’s a tribute to the type of guys that we have around here,” Greenard added. “We’re very knowledgeable about the game of football so that we can add these things onto our schemes.

“And that will keep the offense guessing and playing on our terms.”

The Vikings have built a unique defensive brand. Flores runs a bespoke system based on his players’ strengths. However, to do so, he must evaluate the players correctly and assign them their proper roles. The players then must carry out their vision for the defense on the field. They can do so by suggesting tweaks to the defense during the week and communicating effectively on gamedays.

For Minnesota’s defense to work, the players must know why Flores called each play, which he communicates through Cashman’s headset. Cashman must then relay the message to the rest of the team. Then, the players must adjust based on what they see from the offense before the snap. If the players don’t understand what Flores is thinking on the sideline or miscommunicate on the gridiron, the defense will break down.

Even with good communication, teams immediately exploit Minnesota’s defense when a crucial player misses time. The Lions and the Rams attacked the middle of the field with Cashman out. Ivan Pace Jr. suffered a hamstring injury at Soldier Field in Week 12, and the Vikings’ run defense was immediately worse without him.

The beauty and weakness of Flores’ system lie in its simplicity. However, Minnesota’s defense needs Flores’ mind and the players he and his staff selected for each role.

Flores is the ghost in the machine. He’s the mind that operates outside of Minnesota’s defensive bodies. Flores can’t make a stop on third down, but he knows which play to call and who to deploy to turn the ball over to the offense. The players then must manifest their vision on the field.

The last time Minnesota played the Lions, Flores didn’t have all the components of his defensive machine. But he will in Detroit. On Sunday night, we’ll see if the ghost in the machine can put a scare into Ben Johnson’s innovative offense.

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