The rundown: Blake Brandel at center, blocked kicks and run defense

Vikings coordinators spoke with the media on Tuesday

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — As the Minnesota Vikings prepare to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, we heard from coordinators Brian Flores, Wes Phillips and Matt Daniels. Here were the most interesting takeaways:

The run defense

The Minnesota Vikings are second in the NFL in defensive Expected Points Added, No. 2 in QB pressure percentage and No. 2 in passing yards per game (per Pro-Football Ref) so it’s hard to be too unhappy with their performance thus far but if we are nitpicking the results, ranking 21st in run defense is concerning with running teams like the Eagles, Chargers and Lions coming up.

Can we pinpoint the issue? Well, this chart via TruMedia certainly helps. The Vikings rank 7th in terms of yards before first contact with the opposing RB and 27th in yards after contact. That is a very clear indicator that the defense is getting its hands on runners, they just aren’t tackling well enough.

On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Brian Flores addressed the run defense, which has given up over 100 yards in four out of the five games.

“That’s a spot where we certainly need some improvement,” Flores said. “First person I look at is myself. What can we do to put them players in better positions? Whether it’s calls, fronts, coverages, disguise, maybe it’s too much of this, too much of that.”

He continued…

“I think generally they’re the same things: it’s fundamentals, it’s tackling, it’s getting off blocks, it’s setting edges, it’s you know things right in that kind of realm… it’s not the flashy stuff — there’s nothing flashy about it, it’s really the non-sexy things that we just need to do better a better job of.”

PFF has the Vikings graded as only the 23rd ranked tackling team. That’s way down from ranking 5th last year.

The players with the most missed tackles are Ivan Pace Jr. (10), Eric Wilson (7) and Theo Jackson (5). The lowest run defense grades on the team belong to the two starting DTs Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, who are sitting at 56th and 61st out of 69 DTs in PFF run defense grade.

It’s clear that the Vikings need some of their best tacklers back in the lineup to make up for some of the shortcomings up front. We also saw Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez get more work on run downs than Hargrave against the Browns. That’s a trend that may continue.

Harrison Smith’s snaps may remain limited

One of the aforementioned best tacklers is Harrison Smith. You could argue that he has been a top run defender at his position for the last decade-plus. Last year he finished 20th among safeties (out of 64) in grade against the run. This year his 75.1 grade is best on the team but that’s only in 68 total snaps over three games.

Will we see a lot more of Smith coming out of the bye week? From Flores’s comments, it doesn’t exactly sound that way.

“I think we’re in the space where potentially we could play him a little bit more,” Flores said. “But I think it’s going to be by game plan, what do we need from him this particular week… I think there’s some things that I think he’s still working his way back. We’ll work with him and get him out there as much as we possibly can.”

It might be fair to wonder if the Vikings made a misstep by allowing safety Cam Bynum to walk. As a leader on the Colts defense, he is currently the 9th best graded safety in the NFL by PFF.

Of course, the Vikings did not know that Smith was going to be limited by health issues but his age alone left the door open for regression.

Blake Cashman’s status for Sunday

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported on Tuesday that Blake Cashman is “currently” expected to return for the Vikings this weekend.

Of course, the veteran linebacker still has to practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before he can be 100% sure that his hamstring is fully recovered and ready to go against the Eagles.

“He’s a big part of what we do defensively from a communication standpoint, from just an athleticism, football acumen, getting other guys in right positions, leadership,” Flores said. “He does a great job. Can’t wait for him to get back, but… going to take this day to day and see how he’s feeling over the course of this week.”

Last year Cashman was the 13th best PFF graded linebacker (out of 59). This year Wilson is 44th and Pace Jr. is 53rd.

Blake Brandel at center