Tag: Blitz Rate

Vikings post lowest blitz rate of season vs. Saints

Flores isn’t just a blitzer, he’s a man of finesse as well

When the Minnesota Vikings hired defensive coordinator Brian Flores, they agreed to a massive shift on the defensive side of the football. This season, the Vikings blitz at the highest rate of any team in the National Football League.

On Sunday, that wasn’t the case. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Vikings blitzed on just 21.3% of plays, their lowest rate of the season.

At halftime, the Vikings barely blitzed as well with a blitz rate of just 18.8%. What caused the smaller blitz rate? It was how the offense of the Saints was approaching things. With Derek Carr as the starter, the Saints were running a lot of quick game concepts. Slants, shallow crossing routes and screens were a lot of what the Vikings were seeing.

The easiest way to attack those concepts is by playing coverage and getting pressure with a base pass rush. The Vikings found a way to do that with Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum consistently wreaking havoc in the pocket.

Flores is truly modifying his approach each week and its a breath of fresh air after last season.

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The Vikings finally started utilizing blitzes vs. Jets

The Vikings blitzed their opponent at the highest rate of the season

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense is in an interesting spot. They have been really successful in preventing teams from scoring points but they are not great in allowing yards.

Despite being 20th in points allowed per game with 23.3, they are 31st in yards allowed with 398.7 per game. Only their opponent on Sunday the Detroit Lions allows more.

One element that the Vikings haven’t tried so far this year to help improve both their defense and pass rush is how often they blitz. They went into the game against the Jets only blitzing on 17.1% of snaps.

Against the Jets, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell dialed up blitzes on a season-high 28% of snaps per PFF.

They didn’t achieve a high pressure rate, but it was great to see a different approach.

How can the Vikings do a better job with both? They need better production in general from their pass rushers and the rush techniques need to be both more creative and explosive.

Regardless of it’s success, seeing Donatell try something to energize and get more production from his defense with a new approach is great to see.

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