The addition of Brian Flores to the Minnesota Vikings’ defense is already profound. The scheme is completely different. The philosophy is more aggressive. Everything on that side of the football is going through an overhaul. With so much change, there is room for doubt. How will this work? How much improvement can we expect with such turnover?
Have no fear Vikings fans. Flores knows what he’s doing. Or at least that’s what the numbers say. According to Steve Patton, Flores has been one of the top defensive play-callers since 2016.
Since 2016, who were the best defensive play callers? The Vikings, Dolphins, Panthers and Browns hired coaches that rank in the top 10.
To no one's surprise, Fangio's defensive philosophy has taken the league by storm. pic.twitter.com/f0oUOeYy2H
— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) July 21, 2023
Patton’s process was detailed in the tweets attached to his first one.
There is a clear difference in how efficient coaches were from cluster 1 and cluster 2. Coach's in the first cluster don't have as many cap resources at their disposal.
Cap allocation in the model helps factor in team strength. pic.twitter.com/doRQs2gdpY
— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) July 21, 2023
In a world ruled by Vic Fangio and his disciples, Flores has brought his impact to the game. His ability to create uncertainty for offenses with his heavy boxes and aggressive playstyle keeps quarterbacks up at night.
Whether it’s mugged-up blitzes in the interior or a safety blitz from the C-gap, Flores is constantly attacking. He forces the issue. He causes havoc. And he’s done it at the second-most efficient rate since 2016.
