StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2097396060435992748?s=46&t=ohFAAgt56m6anXyDpx1btQ

Let's hope that doesn't bite us.

https://zonecoverage.com/2026/packers/brian-flores-will-attack-the-packers-from-the-inside-out/

Brian Flores Will Attack the Packers From the Inside Out

The interior of the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line is the weak link of this offense, and I’m sure Brian Flores will spend plenty of time game-planning to attack that group. That could be a major issue for Green Bay in the showdown against the Minnesota Vikings. They could hardly have drawn a tougher matchup up front, especially if Flores can consistently create pressure through the interior.

Let’s look at the personnel and schematic reasons this is such a bad matchup for the Packers. On Green Bay’s side, they still haven’t named a starting right guard with less than a week until the game. At left guard, they have Aaron Banks, who missed a large portion of training camp with an injury and allowed the fifth-highest pressure rate among starting left guards last year.

Meanwhile, Sean Rhyan spent the offseason transitioning to center, and I believe he can eventually become reliable. Still, Green Bay’s interior will open the season with a new starting center, a shaky left guard, and no clear answer at right guard. That doesn’t exactly sound promising, right?

Brian Flores is too good a defensive mind not to attack Green Bay’s interior. Creating pressure has been a major part of his defensive philosophy, and the Packers have a clear weakness for him to exploit. The Vikings led the NFL in blitz rate last season, sending at least five rushers on over 50% of their defensive snaps. No other team blitzed at 40%.

Brian Flores is a maniac in all the best ways

From the Stats & Scheme newsletter pic.twitter.com/PkkgZMUIiB

— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) September 4, 2026

The interesting part is how Flores creates that pressure. Minnesota has blitzed more than any other team over the past three seasons, yet the Vikings also play a ton of zone coverage. They also use mugged fronts more than anyone in the NFL. In other words, that means putting multiple defenders close to the line of scrimmage, often crowding the gaps around the center before the snap.

Brian Flores lives in a paradox:

A 50%+ Blitz Rate paired with zone coverage on over 80% of his play calls.

"All-Up" presentations are a critical part of Minnesota's scheme and create empty protection, freeing edge rushers while the secondary plays "anchored" vision coverage… pic.twitter.com/Ouol89ktVZ

— Cody Alexander (@The_Coach_A) September 3, 2026

On Wednesday, Matt LaFleur discussed the challenge of going up against Flores’ defense.

You try to get as much information as possible. You watch some of the preseason stuff. I know they’re not showing everything, obviously. We’ve gone against each other quite a lot of times now, and I would tell you this: I think Flores does as good as anybody at creating problems for offenses. 

LaFleur also noted that the Packers are expecting plenty of pressure from Flores and Minnesota’s defense.

“It’s a highly aggressive defense, and you kind of, especially Week 1, you’re not really quite sure what’s going to happen,” he said, “but I’m pretty sure I can bank on it that they’re going to bring a lot of pressure.”

So, the guys on the interior will need to be at their best by Sunday. We should also see a lot of Chris Brooks in this game. The running backs will have an important role against Flores because Love will need to make frequent protection checks and adjustments to account for extra rushers. Brooks is the best option to handle those responsibilities and could be especially valuable on obvious passing downs.

Green Bay’s interior offensive line will face one of its toughest tests of the season, and it’s only Week 1. That group doesn’t inspire much confidence right now, especially against a defense that will test its communication. Matt LaFleur will need to put together a play-calling masterclass and find ways to keep Love out of harm’s way.

Oh, so you want to double Justin Jefferson? Get ready to pay the price.

Awesome stuff from Kevin O'Connell today: https://t.co/i2k1jHBIHL pic.twitter.com/XzQA9q97c8

— Bring Me The Sports (@BMTNSports) September 8, 2026

Kevin O’Connell warns defenses about Kyler Murray, talks Hitman, rising stars

Harrison Smith is in shape, Kyler Murray gives defenses a lot to consider, and stars are rising on defense.

Hype about the Minnesota Vikings is rapidly developing ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Packers, and head coach Kevin O’Connell raised expectations higher when he joined Paul Allen for a chat on KFAN-FM 100.3 on Tuesday.

O’Connell talked about Harrison Smith’s return, rising stars on defense, rookie first-round pick Caleb Banks, and how excited he is to see Kyler Murray run the offense to a higher level.

Harrison Smith is ready to play

Back for his 15th season, Smith figures to start alongside Josh Metellus at safety. Despite joining the team just over a week before the Sept. 13 opener against Green Bay, Smith has stayed in shape and is ready.

“As the summer days were kind of going off the calendar, he started to get that itch,” O’Connell said of Smith. “Welcomed him back yesterday. He’s hitting the ground running. He’s in great shape. He’s got a great routine. He did tell me, one of his workouts that he does is he dunks a basketball 40 times — 20 off his left foot and 20 off his right. I immediately called foul on that. I was like, I’m going to need to see that at some point.”

“Hitman’s in shape, and the guys were juiced to have him back in the building and back in the grass,” O’Connell added.

Caleb Banks needs to adjust to the NFL

Minnesota’s first-round pick is a large man, but he’s still learning that pad level goes a long way in winning battles in the trenches.

“We really saw Caleb come on towards the end of training camp. There’s certain things that you can get away with in college, pad level being one of them, where he’s just gotta continue to understand, yes, you are physically gifted, strong, powerful, quickness — all the things that made us so excited about him. But there’s a level of pad level and technique and fundamentals that go into the starting point of NFL plays, that you just don’t have the makeup factor that you do at the college level when you start talking about the different blocking schemes and the physicality at which people are trying to get downhill on you,” O’Connell said.

It’s unclear how much Banks will play right away, but once he starts winning the pad level game, he could be an X factor for Minnesota’s defense.

3+ budding stars on defense?

Dallas Turner doesn’t get national attention, but O’Connell thinks he could become a household name this season

“He has had an unbelievable offseason,” O’Connell said of Turner. “I’m really, really excited to watch this guy play. I think he’s gonna really going to come on the scene and be somebody that starts to really be recognized around the National Football League on the edge.”

O’Connell also raved about defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, applauding his “elite quickness” and versatility to play up and down the D-line as a run stopper or pass rusher.

“We have a few guys on that defense that, maybe right now, are thought of as, ‘You know, this is just a really good, solid player,’ but ascending to where? Only they know,” O’Connell said.

Another guy he said could “absolutely” burst onto the scene is Ty Ingram-Dawkins, who figures to start on the defensive line alongside Redmond and Levi Drake-Rodriguez.

And rookie defensive lineman Domonique “Big Citrus” Orange is also going to get plenty of snaps on the D-line rotation.

“I think what surprised even us, and we loved it about him when we evaluated him, was his quickness,” O’Connell said of Orange. “He played so many snaps (in college) that if you really weren’t watching close enough, you might see a guy, does he have enough twitch? But you might’ve been watching the 12th play of the drive, and he didn’t come out of the game. Just a crazy amount of snaps that he played. So when you start getting him in a rotation with Jalen Redmond, Levi, Ty Ingram-Dawkins, and Caleb, you start to see all of these guys start to pop. It’s been great for us.”

KOC impressed by Kyler, warns opposing defenses

O’Connell said he was blown away from how good Murray was in the joint practices against the Ravens.

“There was clips of practice where he would go six, seven, eight attempts in a row, just putting the ball in play and we’re moving the football. It’s held up against our defense well. He’s got the ability to anticipate. He’s got the ability, with a lot of different throws in his arsenal, to attack different areas of the field,” O’Connell said.

“Generating explosives does not necessarily entail throwing the ball 50 yards down the field. In fact, when we’re at our best, it’s that intermediate range, and we force people to defend that area of the field, and then the shots down the field come.”

O’Connell also warned opposing defenses that double-teaming Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison comes with the risk of Kyler Murray killing them with his feet.

“There’s going to be some times when we need him to do it,” he said. “There’s going to be some weighty downs, some third downs, where people are going to decide, hey, we’re going to try to double team Jefferson and Addison, and we’re going to try to make this a hard down for Kyler. But they better account for him if they’re going to be playing a lot of the traditional coverages we get to try to make life difficult for for 18 and 3. Because if you don’t account for him, it’s well documented, he can not only get out and get a first down, but he can totally flip the field in one play.”

The Packers can prepare for Kyler Murray based on his previous NFL tape, but they still haven’t seen how Kevin O’Connell plans to use him in Minnesota. The Power Trip discusses why that could create a real element of surprise in Week 1. pic.twitter.com/oBQv0spxtt

— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) September 8, 2026

Only a few more days until we get to watch Kyler Murray in Minnesota.

(Via @BTLNFL) pic.twitter.com/eEvMO5Lz3e

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) September 8, 2026

KOC on Christian Darrisaw:

“He didn’t always feel great last year…
But what I’ve noticed is he’s smiling more, he’s loving football again... Donovan Jackson’s growth has been pretty monumental next to him. That left side is something else now when they get going.”@KFAN1003

— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) September 8, 2026

C.J. and Adam are getting to (a new kind of) work this fall.

Fuel up for gameday at Caribou. Secure your Vikings coffee sleeve at any Minnesota location. pic.twitter.com/e5s3Fr2xA4

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 8, 2026

I was there for the first home game of damn near every QB they've played since Kramer

Out of that really long list (for some reason) Bradfords game at USB sticks out in my mind along with Bert to Greg Lewis.

That said, I truly am excited to see what this team and K1 do this opener.

purplefaithful wrote:

I was there for the first home game of damn near every QB they've played since Kramer
Out of that really long list (for some reason) Bradfords game at USB sticks out in my mind along with Bert to Greg Lewis.
That said, I truly am excited to see what this team and K1 do this opener.

Same here. 😊 I'm surprised that more folks aren't expressing their excitement for this game.

(1) It's our 1st game of the season. (Football is finally really here!)

(2) It's Packer weekHeck, just the fact that football is back is something to be excited about. Well, for me, it is.

Anyways, here's to an injury-free & awesome game!

I have to see how the team plays and I know anything can happen, but does anyone else think the Vikings are going to win big this game? Green Bay is missing its best players (Parsons and Jacobs) and defenses are ahead of the offenses early (our defense is much better and their OL is not good). On paper it does not look close.

avike wrote:

I have to see how the team plays and I know anything can happen, but does anyone else think the Vikings are going to win big this game? Green Bay is missing its best players (Parsons and Jacobs) and defenses are ahead of the offenses early (our defense is much better and their OL is not good). On paper it does not look close.

I think if it's a standard game—dominated by offenses trying to move the ball and defenses trying to stop them—I think we win something like 30-20. But if it's a game dominated by penalties, turnovers, injuries, dropped balls and other whacky shit, all bets are off. The Vikings are certainly not immune to coming out flat and mistake-prone.

¡Vamos Vikings! 🇲🇽

Win a trip for two to Mexico City for the #Vikings international game this November. Flights, hotel, and tickets are covered. Every donation supports the Minnesota Vikings Foundation's youth programs!

Enter at https://t.co/nRLWplxajF pic.twitter.com/DjvhM9OpTf

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 8, 2026

avike wrote:

I have to see how the team plays and I know anything can happen, but does anyone else think the Vikings are going to win big this game? Green Bay is missing its best players (Parsons and Jacobs) and defenses are ahead of the offenses early (our defense is much better and their OL is not good). On paper it does not look close.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think if it's a standard game—dominated by offenses trying to move the ball and defenses trying to stop them—I think we win something like 30-20. But if it's a game dominated by penalties, turnovers, injuries, dropped balls and other whacky shit, all bets are off. The Vikings are certainly not immune to coming out flat and mistake-prone.

Homer opener

Divisional Game

Both teams will have 1st game rust to kick-off

Probably closer than any of us would like

We'll see how this post ages (or not)

#NFL disapproved #Vikings practice squad contract for Kenny Dyson. Free agent again. Deal can be refiled

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 8, 2026

The disapproval more than likely relates to NFL rules on injury settlements, as the Minnesota #Vikings had just released Dyson from injured reserve days earlier, restricting immediate re-signing to avoid roster rule circumvention. https://t.co/1K7eYJnfGV

— VikingsDaily (@VikingsDaily) September 8, 2026

I think we’re better than GB but the potential to Vikings things up is always lurking and it’ll probably be a close game. Love is solid at the quick hitter, chain mover passes and between Kraft and the WRs, they are well-suited to counter our blitzing. My hope is that their patchwork OL gets confused or beaten enough times that we can force negative plays that way, without Flores having to dig too deep into his bag of tricks.

Aside- Wasn’t it Week 1 @ GB when Daniel Carlson caught the yips and Zim freaked out and cut him the next day? Hey Thorson don’t shank any punts on Sunday, buddy. Packer week is not the week! 😂😭

Cricket wrote:

Same here. 😊 I'm surprised that more folks aren't expressing their excitement for this game.
(1) It's our 1st game of the season. (Football is finally really here!)
(2) It's Packer weekHeck, just the fact that football is back is something to be excited about. Well, for me, it is.
Anyways, here's to an injury-free & awesome game!

Unfortunately, wait until the losses come (if they come) and then see how active the board gets. Its been like a morgue in here all week, pretty weird for Game 1. My guess is long timers are a little burnt out over a long summer of clickbait, QB comp takes, not sure about K1, maybe a failed drafted QB we had some excitement for, a little disillusioned with the org, etc. Probably more wait and see then most years in the past. Wins should perk most fans up, hopefully that happens. But if it doesn't, some deserved criticism will rain down...but honestly now isn't the time for that. This is hopeful season, especially with GB coming to town. Isn't this why we wait all offseason? 🤔

Distilled point: a win against GB and I'm sure most will be back and chatty. Maybe the ol' adage if someone has nothing good to say, they'll say nothing at all could be at play until we see some games live. I don't blame anyone for that. Hard to buy into Murray 100% at this particular point. Some might be its just more of the same. Just guessing on my part.

KOC speaks....and actually says things we can understand:

https://bringmethesports.com/kevin-oconnell-warns-defenses-about-kyler-murray-talks-hitman-rising-stars

STORY: Dallas Turner has once again looked like a man on a mission.

Talked to his longtime trainer Javon Gopie about all the work they put in this offseason.

He explained why the Vikings can feel confident that Turner’s breakout is coming. https://t.co/yLN2OiSg4k

— Dane Mizutani (@DaneMizutani) September 9, 2026

"As the summer days were going off the calendar, he started to get that itch to play." - Head Coach Kevin O'Connell on @HarriSmith22's return

📺: https://t.co/HjrEKH6t5J pic.twitter.com/n46Prqad5I

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 9, 2026