Michael Silver of The Athletic compared Brian Flores to a "shirtless ice fisherman."

That's how unmistakably different the Vikings defensive coordinator is to Silver "in a coaching world full of careful copycats, insecure ladder-climbers and risk-averse yes men."

Silver on Tuesday filed a story that assessed how Flo's aggressive defensive scheme is problematic to opposing coaches and quarterbacks — and taps into his own players' wits.

"The most radical thing of all" — Silver wrote is how Flo' — "has empowered his players to do the heavy lifting." Many are veterans well-versed in the business of real-time adjustments.

Such as Joshua Metellus and Harrison Smith and Blake Cashman, etc.

"Your natural instinct is to control all of it as a coach," Flores said to Silver during an interview this month. "But there are things we just don't see on the field that they see."

The group's two-way trust has produced overwhelmingly positive results.

Going into its bye, Minnesota's defense ranked No. 1 in points allowed per game (12.8), third-down defense, red-zone defense, EPA per play, total EPA, success rate and opponent completion percentage. That dominance underpinned the team's 5-0 start this season.

It's causing night sweats, too.

Giants Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy said, "People say, 'He blitzes,' but it's a lot more complicated than that, and he has his own little twist on things that keeps you off balance.

"It definitely makes you stay up at night," Nagy added.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who is preparing to face Flo's forces in Week 8 noted he has "a ton of respect for how (Flo') prepares his defense and the stressors he puts on offenses."

The main stressor is not a secret — it's apparent on the majority of snaps. It's blitzing.

Minnesota is sending extra-man pressures on 66.5 percent of drop backs, according to TruMedia. Silver pointed out that no team has surpassed even 51% in a season since 2009.

The possibility of a blitz by itself is enough to unsettle offenses.

"The variety in the way that we do things is what becomes a little bit overwhelming, because you think everything is just an all-out blitz," Smith expressed to Silver. "And sometimes it is. [And] some games it won't be as much, but it might feel like that."

Below is an excerpt from Silver's article, which is available to read here.

Flores will never back away from his principles — he values discipline above all else — but, after spending 2022 on Mike Tomlin's Steelers staff, he seems to have softened his approach. For example, in empowering his players to make checks, he also refrains from lambasting them after the fact if those audibles don't lead to a successful outcome.

"We love knowing that we have the confidence of our defensive coordinator to have that right and opportunity," said Cashman, a free-agent signee in 2024. "But that's something that we've also earned over the last few years. There's constant dialogue on the sidelines, and where we've been excellent this year is the in-game adjustments. With those adjustments, I feel like Flo' and our coaching staff are batting a thousand right now."

Ranking the division

Again, the NFC North is shaping up as one of the toughest divisions in football with all four teams above .500. Only one team, Minnesota, has a pair of wins over the others, though.

That probably factored into Bucky Brooks placing the Vikings atop his totem pole at the tail end of last week before the team enjoyed its bye. Brooks studied the film from the division so far and recognized the Purple as the cream of the crop. Here's what he said about them:

If defense wins championships in 2026, it's hard to bet against these Vikings, with Flores beating opponents into submission via a barrage of Cover 0 pressures and complementary blitzes that force quarterbacks and play-callers to crash out by game's end. The Vikings relentless approach and rugged style make them a nightmare to play for 60 minutes, especially with Flores calling unique blitzes that put free rushers right in the quarterback's face. With constant punishment and harassment leading to negative plays (sacks, tackles for loss and turnovers), Minnesota's defense routinely sets up Kyler Murray and Co. for prime scoring chances. As the former No. 1 overall pick settles into a Kevin O'Connell offense that plays complementary football with a dominant defense, the Vikings are getting more comfortable winning ugly while making a run at the NFC's No. 1 seed.

Brooks pegged Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit after Minnesota. The Lions also had their bye in Week 6, while the Packers topped Dallas by 10 and the Bears defeated Atlanta 31-23.

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