Brian Flores' Pressure Schemes
Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores’ calling card is his aggressive 6-up and 7-up blitz schemes. This is where he loads the line of scrimmage with 6 or 7 potential pass rushers (generally one more than the offense can protect), and then attacks in an assortment of ways.
Specifically, he’s become known for his blitzes where the potential pass rushers in the A and B gaps will read the offensive line’s slide to determine their responsibility on the play.
Defenders to the side of the slide will drop out into coverage underneath after initially showing blitz and occupying a blocker. Those away from the slide will rush.
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This ensures that the defense gets a free rusher while also not sacrificing too many men in coverage. Not to mention, the quarterback will often look to get rid of the ball quickly underneath due to the instant pressure. That often leads to interceptions by those defenders dropping out from the pressure look.
Behind it, the defense plays a soft, flat-footed cover-0, allowing those defenders to keep receivers in front of them and then pounce on any underneath throws.
Ultimately, these looks can dictate the offense’s protection, ensure free rushers to the quarterback, and take away quick throws inside. They’re extremely tough for an offense to combat.
This play by the Dolphins defense against the Rams during the 2020 season when Flores was Miami’s head coach is a great example. L.A. aligned in an empty formation and the Dolphins responded with a 6-man front:
You can see the numbers issue this presented immediately. If all 6 defenders rushed, the Rams did not have enough blockers to pick them up.
The front also forced the Rams into a full slide. Here, the Rams would slide right, leaving the edge rusher to the left as quarterback Jared Goff’s responsibility. Not ideal:
A few moments after the snap, the Dolphins appeared to be bringing all 6, and that indeed left a free rusher coming in on Goff:
Only this wouldn’t end up as a 6-man rush. Those four interior pass rushers read and reacted to the slide after the snap. The two defenders to the side of the slide dropped out into coverage after an initial rush, as illustrated below:
The two defenders away from the slide rushed.
Goff didn’t see the defensive tackle drop out, and since he was reacting to the free rusher bearing down on him, he looked to get the ball out quickly underneath. Which he did. Just to the wrong team:
The genius of this blitz is that Dolphins forced the Rams to use 5 offensive linemen to block 3 pass rushers, and they ultimately got a free runner in on the quarterback while rushing just 4.
From the sideline angle, you can see that this pressure look was paired with a soft cover-0 behind it. Defenders were in position to play the deep ball while also being ready to sit and drive on anything underneath:
For what it’s worth, this particular pressure scheme from Flores doesn’t just give pocket quarterbacks like Goff trouble. It works just fine against QBs with mobility too.
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In Week 10 of the 2021 season, Flores used this pressure scheme to perfection against Lamar Jackson, generating 4 sacks, forcing an interception, and holding Baltimore to a season-low 10 points.
On the below example from that game, watch how the offense was again forced into a full slide, which triggered the A and B-gap pass rushers to the side of the slide to drop out and take away any underneath routes:
Jackson saw that he had no quick throws available and a defensive end with a clear path to him. He fled the pocket but was unable to get outside of the rush. Then he made an off-balanced throw into tight coverage:
Even if the offense decides to keep 6 or 7 men in to protect, Flores has similar schemes capable of getting free rushers in off the edge without compromising coverage.
Below was a similar concept against the Ravens, just with the numbers 8-on-7 pre-snap instead of 6-on-5. The line slid left, the A and B-gap rushers to that side read it and dropped out, and the Dolphins still got a free rusher despite using a 6-man rush against 7 blockers: