One of the requirements, so to speak, for The Flores, and by default Jones, defenses require quick twitch and length from defensive ends, from what I read. Bain may have the twitch but certainly not the length. I hope it doesn't put us in the Faulk discussion--reminds me of the Bengals mistake with Shemar Stewart.
Ok interesting. I was readiing early today about coverages but now I am diving into D line.
During their first season with defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings didn't use defensive linemen in the conventional sense.
www.espn.com
It's fair to ask wonder whether Flores molded his approach at least in part to cover for personnel shortcomings. But in an interview during the season, he made clear that he does not feel beholden to tradition when it comes to player deployment.
"I see spots on the field," Flores said. "I don't necessarily see, 'That's got to be a D-lineman or that's got to be a linebacker.'"
Even before installing the specifics of the scheme last spring, in fact, the Vikings taught multi-positional techniques to every defensive player.
"Everyone is just an 'X' on the field," defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Daronte Jones said. "Everyone has to learn the same techniques. Everyone has to learn how to be a flat dropper, how to be a curl-flat dropper, how to be a hook dropper. Everyone. You never know if a defensive lineman is going to be in that position, or a linebacker, or a safety or a corner for that matter. So we taught techniques, and when you teach techniques, guys aren't necessarily interchangeable, but it makes it a little less thought-provoking for them to do those things."
The Vikings' personnel decisions last season supported the idea they would deemphasize the defensive line, at least for 2023. They did not re-sign defensive tackle
Dalvin Tomlinson, who received a four-year deal worth $57 million from the
Cleveland Browns, and replaced him with veteran free agent
Dean Lowry at a much lower cost ($8.5 million over two years). They drafted one defensive tackle, LSU's
Jaquelin Roy in the fifth round, but brought him along slowly.
When the regular season arrived, their plan was to use Lowry, Phillips and Bullard as their top linemen. Lowry suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 9, leading them to shrink their rotation further. Phillips finished the season with 855 snaps, by far his career high, while Bullard played 655, besting his previous career high by more than 200 snaps.
During an in-season interview, Phillips said it had been apparent from the start of the defense's installation that linemen weren't likely to be the playmakers of Flores' scheme.
"My initial thoughts selfishly were not super high about this," Phillips said. "It was like, 'Dang, the way it's being described is you're an edge setter, you're a cutback player. It seemed like there was not going to be a lot of production through the system.'"
Phillips termed the scheme a "very unselfish defense" for linemen. There would be times, he said, "where I know the ball carrier is coming this way and maybe I can make it [there to tackle him], but I've just got to stay front side and trust somebody else is going to make it backside."
...The Vikings also had the second-most snaps this season with six defensive backs on the field, and of their top 11 defensive snap counts for the season, five were defensive backs and four were linebackers.
Flores' creativity serves as a foundation for future projections -- and a signal to be cautious. It probably wouldn't make sense for the Vikings to use their top draft choice on a position that is asked to funnel the playmaking to others -- if it's on the field at all. But if Flores could dispatch with convention so thoroughly in 2023, we shouldn't make any assumptions about 2024. Stay tuned.
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