7 hours ago
(Yesterday, 10:01 PM)hogjowlsjohnny Wrote: Honestly, Hunter was great but disappeared in several games. The opposing offense can no longer focus on stopping one guy because of the way Flores is coaching them up. There will always be a way for one guy or another to find an advantage with the way Flores is scheming them and granting them autonomy to call their shots on the field. This defense is as innovative to me as Bill Walsh's west coast offense was years ago. The combination of innovation by both Flores and KOC make this team dangerous.
The Lions are a very good team, partially because they are well coached for the most part, but not as well as the Vikings.
The Vikings need to clean things up a bit. But I truly believe they will beat the lions, and that will be monumental. I look for it to be another very physical game.
While I don’t agree that Hunter disappeared any more than any other top Edge based on how they’re schemed, I do agree that this year’s rotation is better. Unlike last year’s group, Greenard and Van Ginkel were hand-picked by Flores to run his defense. He knew what he wanted (apparently football IQ and versatility), identified the players and we went out and got them.
The best thing about this defense is that it’s so shifty and dynamic, you don’t need superstars to make it work. Pace goes down, Grugier-Hill comes in and plays just as well. League-average players like Pat Jones and Harrison Phillips can also have an impact. That keeps it unpredictable and hard to game plan for.