Vikings DC Brian Flores heaps praise on Packers HC Matt LaFleur, calls him 'One of the best in league'

The Minnesota Vikings are sitting at 3-0 heading into their first NFC North matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and there are a lot of intriguing elements about the game.

After dominating the Houston Texans 34-7 last Sunday, the only real question remaining is if the Vikings can be this dominant on the road against a top flight opponent. In the latest power rankings , the Vikings were similarly ranked to the Packers. Even though the Packers are 2-1, it's a fair ranking, as they have done a great job navigating without having quarterback Jordan Love under center.

Brian Flores praises Matt LaFleur

Ahead of Sunday's matchup, defensive coordinator Brian Flores spoke to the media and praised the job LaFleur has done in handling not having Love and starting Malik Willis in his place.

"I think for Matt to go in his bag and be a West Coast guy and then turn around and he's got this whole zone read, RBO counter read, I mean, that's pretty impressive. And I think I don't think it's being talked about enough for me, this is just,it's impressive to watch.

"He's (Matt LaFleur) just got great acumen. Obviously, he's gotten a menu of different styles of play. He tries to stay ahead of the defense. Clearly, they run it, they screen it, they drop back, they turn the RPO. They've got everything which can try to keep you off balance. I think some guys just have a nightmare for calling the game a certain way. And he's, he's done a great job with that for a long time, but the adaptability to me is, you know, I learned a long time ago, you know, great coaches are able to adapt. There's so many injuries in the National Football League. This is going back to us. This is a Bill Belichick, you know, there's so many injuries that you have to be able to coach and play at a high level, regardless of what the situation is. And obviously, Matt's had Rogers and Nate had a lot of success there. And Jordan Love comes in, and we fall see what he's done there. And then Malik Willis comes in, and we've seen what he's doing there. So obviously, you know, Matt's done a great job. And you know, again, this should be talked about a little bit more than it is, in my opinion."

LaFleur also comes from the McVay/Shanahan coaching tree like Kevin O'Connell does and is the same kind of creative genius. The counter and run game package that he installed to help maximize Malik Willis was extremely impressive. He also helped Willis drive the ball down the field and hit receivers on deeper routes.

LaFleur has historically had success against the Vikings, especially in the second meeting of the season. The last two years, the Packers have smoked the Vikings in week 17 for their most embarrassing loss of the season. It will be a great chess match between LaFleur and Flores.

Related: The Minnesota Vikings finally getting respect in latest NFL power rankings, near unanimously a top 5 team