Lots of Cover Zero?

[purplefaithful]

I don't think so...
CornerbackCB1: Byron Murphy
CB2: Andrew Booth
CB3: Akayleb Evans
CB4: Joejuan Williams
CB5: Mekhi Blackmon
CB6: Tay Gowan
CB7: Kalon Barnes
CB8: C.J. Coldon
CB9: NaJee Thompson
CB10: Jaylin Williams

[Guest]

That's a rough list.  Guys are going to have to get good quickly

[Guest]

Just time for someone to step up. 

[Guest]

Need a pass rush or it won't matter who we have at CB.

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
Need a pass rush or it won't matter who we have at CB.

This ^^^

Generating a consistent pass rush is critical to this defense being successful, any defense actually.

[Guest]

Last year the Vikes played a lot of cover zero.

On many plays they absolutely covered zero receivers 

[Guest]

I don't know that I've ever seen a team completely turnover its entire secondary like the Vikings have.

Murphy should be solid. Love what I saw from Evans before the concussions. Booth is a high-upside prospect, but so far, until he can prove he can stay healthy, that's all he is. Joejuan should be a valuable role player with experience in Flores defense. 

Basically, it's a big question mark right now, with some decent upside. 

This is encouraging about Murphy....
At one point last season, Cooper Kupp hit at least 90 receiving yards in 21 of his last 23 games. He fell under 65 yards in both of the two exceptions. Davante Adams hit double-digit fantasy points in 32 straight games. He failed to do so in his 33rd. The common denominator? Shadow coverage from Cardinal CB Byron Murphy.

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
Need a pass rush or it won't matter who we have at CB.

Yes it has always been true. The Vikings never draft for a pass rush, they just like premium picks on CBs. Must not have been just a Zimmer thing.

[Guest]

If Blackmon is behind 4-year bust Joejuan Willans when the season starts I'll be worried about Blackmon.  After being a 2nd round pick, Williams started 1 game in 3 seasons, then got dumped on IR for his 4th (contract) year.  A total waste of space.

On the positive side, If they can stay on the field I like Murphy/Evans/Booth better than PP/Dantzler/Sullivan.

Still can't figure out why the $&)&$#! they let Duke Shannon walk.

[Guest]

Talk is cheap. Especially in July.Flores is the anti-Ed in mentality, age, play-calling aggressiveness and, well, you name it. How he weds all that personality with a defensive personnel returning only five starters while losing Patrick Peterson, Eric Kendricks, Dalvin Tomlinson and Za'Darius Smith is the No. 1 key to whether the Vikings defend their NFC North title and advance further in the playoffs this season.
So, Brian, what are your top one or two concerns? And no rosy, Ed-like training camp sugarcoating, please.
"I'm concerned with everything," Flores said before the first training camp practice on Wednesday. "There's not a part of the defense that we're not going to coach our butts off to make sure it's right."
He didn't mention the obvious No. 1 concern as camp opened with Danielle Hunter, one of the league's top edge rushers, present but withholding his physical servicesuntil his contract is restructured or the Vikings trade him.
Another somewhat, if not all-out, frightening question mark early in camp is the cornerback position.

"It's going to be a competitive camp," Flores said. "We've got a lot of guys who showed well in the spring, in meetings. And they've come back ready to go."
Believe it or not, the presumed top five corners — Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth Jr., Mekhi Blackmon and Joejuan Williams — enter camp with experience and durability concerns.
Murphy, 25, is essentially the grizzled veteran of the group with 48 starts and five interceptions. He missed eight games with a back injury in Arizona last year.
Evans had more stints in the NFL's concussion protocol (three) than starts (two) as a rookie last year. Booth's long list of career injuries continued with multiple ailments throughout 2022, limiting him to six games and one start as a second-round pick.
Williams, once a promising second-round pick of the Patriots, missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. And Blackmon is a rookie Day 2 pick.
Those who say, "Oh, well, the defense can't be any worse than last season" are forgetting four one-score nailbiters against the Lions, Bears, Jets and Bills. Takeaways by Donatell's defense in the final 1:19 of regulation or overtime preserved each of those wins.
Flores isn't making any promises about 2023. And that's a good thing since talk is, well, you know.
"What I know is the good defenses I've been a part of, they have a lot of fun," Flores said. "We're going to try to do that.
"https://www.startribune.com/vikings-brian-flores-is-concerned-with-everything-as-he-embarks-on-reshaping-the-defense/600292653/