The last seven days have not been kind to the Minnesota Vikings, especially Brian Flores’ once-solid unit.

The fall from grace was swift and violent, like when an anvil falls on a character’s head in a vintage Looney Tunes cartoon. Last week, Flores was the hottest defensive name in the league and one of the top candidates for head coach. Since then, his defense has given up 31 and 28 points (not counting offensive security) in consecutive weeks. The secondary is playing terribly, the pass rush isn’t coming home, and you’ve watched two quarterbacks carve you up with surgical precision for five days. It hasn’t been pretty.

The other problem is that while the fundamental problems with Flores’ aggressive passes not coming home and opposing receivers exposing the secondary are obvious to everyone, there are many root causes.

Blake CashmanIt is injury left a hole in the middle of Minnesota’s defense, especially in the middle of the field in terms of coverage. The lack of meaningful passes from the interior has led to countless third-down situations where quarterbacks can easily step up and escape edge pressure. In turn, this means bringing in additional bodies, which further frees up the secondary, where individuals like Stephon Gilmore seem to age like milk as the season progresses.

“Dagger,” “glare,” and “mesh” are all fancy football terms for the same thing. These are basic concepts with an open receiver crisscrossing the middle of the field for easy completion in the game’s most crucial situations. There’s also a maddening feeling of helplessness as the entire stadium knows it’s coming, but the Vikings can’t stop it. Add a shaky run defense, a Jonathan Greenard roster entry and exit and first round pick Dallas Turner being so anonymous at the start of the season, he may have entered witness protection, and you have a problem.

Some of their struggles appear to be personnel-based, while others are schematic. The question is: how adaptable are they to try to solve this problem?

When it comes to personnel, there are a few options and reasons to be optimistic.

First off, count me among the chorus of fans clamoring Kevin O’Connell to keep its promise of a “10-day plan” to intensify Dallas Turnerthe impact on the ground. “His (snap count) will continue to grow. He does everything we ask of him,” he said after the match. “You’ll see more and more from Dallas. This will be something in the next 10 days. It will have a considerable impact for us.»

Fans are desperately waiting for this promise to come true. It’s hard to watch Jared Versea promising talent who was on the board when the Vikings selected Turner, play at a level close to DROY when you can’t find Turner with a spotlight. If Turner can add dimension to this defense as a productive third-down pass rusher, it could provide a spark. With Pat Jones regress after hot startthey need a third body to wreak havoc on third down and relieve Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

Unfortunately, there aren’t really any promising young recruits in the secondary to sell prospects on. The corners of Minnesota are what they are. Maybe it could have been different if Mekhi Blackmon didn’t have I was hurt in training camp, allowing Byron Murphy to move outside and give you the option to put Gilmore or Shaq Griffin. However, this is not the case. Even though Gilmore has regressed over the past two weeks, there is no significant depth behind him. Unless this team is aggressive at the trade deadline, they will have to settle for the 34-year-old veteran.

We can also hope that this 10-day layoff will bear fruit in terms of health, particularly at Greenard and Cashman. Both players returning and playing to their early season form would be huge for this team. Cashman’s return not only puts an instinctive, rangy defender on the field, but also frees up a safety/defense weapon. Josh Metellus to start running the field again rather than putting his head in as a linebacker. Cashman’s absence may have crippled Flores’ creativity to a degree we may not fully appreciate.

But as you can see, the Vikings are locked into this roster. The roster is what it is, and it’s hard to imagine general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being too aggressive at the trade deadline, especially considering the franchise’s left tackle. Christian DarrisawIt is season-ending injury. Even though they added some new personnel, the loss of Darrisaw lowers this team’s ceiling significantly. Given their limited assets and what they are trying to build around JJ McCarthy looking ahead, it would be pretty irresponsible for this organization to put all their chips in this season.

Last week I felt like it might be worth striking while the iron is hot and opening a winning window. However, after two losses and the decline of your franchise’s left tackle, the sad reality has probably set in: This team is not a Super Bowl contender.

So, from a schematic standpoint, the only other remaining solutions rest squarely on the shoulders of Brian Flores. We saw what happened the first time his innovative project was “solved,” and it wasn’t pretty. Every Shannahan/McVay disciple has seen the game plan, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. designed. Minnesota’s defense collapsed a week after they exclude the Las Vegas Raiders.

Earlier this season we saw some fascinating innovations on Project Flores after an offseason in the lab, but now we find ourselves at a crossroads. There are opportunities for health and staff to show improved play. However, the Vikings cannot sit idly by. Starting November 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, the last thing Minnesota needs is to give a brilliant offensive mind like Shane Steichen the opportunity to instill confidence in its young QB with a clearly defined game plan. Flores has to be ready to adapt, catch the Colts off guard and show us the latest evolution of this defensive scheme, and he has 10 days to do it.

I will not pretend to know what this evolution should look like. My layman’s understanding of defensive football certainly won’t try to explain to Brian Flores how to coach defense. Yet the need for change is clear. The success of this next innovation could decide whether this Vikings team can continue to hang around in the playoff race or collapse in on itself like a dying star.