The team was bought by new owner Cjfred68 and after 20 seasons with only 1 playoff appearance and 1 record over .500 (9-7), big changes are on the horizon.

A quick assessment of the team has shown that over half the 53 man roster will be departing after this season due to expiring contracts and outright releases.

The team will go into the offseason with the 1st overall pick in its pocket and plenty of cap space to turn the roster over fairly quickly.

When asked what he goals were for the francise next season and beyond, new owner Cjfred68 had this to say:

" 20 years of failure means tearing this whole thing down and building with a brand new foundation. Our first overall pick should be a major part of that foundation and hopefully free agency will help us put some solid brick and mortar down.
Our plan is to become competitive very quickly while developing our young talent. We have already scouted the draft class and we think we found someone who will be a foundational player for the next decade or more."
Next season, we hope to finish around 8-8 with an eye on making the playoffs the next season and being in line to compete for a title by year 3."

Speculation has the Vikings selected Florida State QB Dwight Paynter with the 1st overall pick to set that foundation but only time will tell.

The team took a different direction with the #1 overall pick...while rumors and speculation had them zoned in on QB with the top pick, the team principles decided that taking a rookie QB and going through the growing pains for 3 to 4 seasons wasn't the best option. They already had a 4th year QB on the roster and they believe they can make him into a quality starter in this league. He doesn't have the strongest arm and he isn't the brightest tool in the shed but he is accurate, has great vision and a talent for looking off defenders.

Therefore, they took a lockdown cornerback with blazing speed and quickness with incredible man cover skills along with a knack to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage during the bump and run. The team was weak in the secondary and some of the talent they do have is aging so this pick gives them a stud to build around for years to come and helps stabilize the back end of the defense.

The team built a solid offensive line through free agency and has a few playmaker to take advantage of the time that line will provide. They also have speed and power up front on the defense and the trades they made will help strengthen the middle of the defense.

With the 2nd round pick, all signs point towards adding another playmaker on offense and subsequent picks should address more needs at linebacker and the secondary.

very nice cj

The anatomy of a rebuild

When new owner C.J. Frederickson bought the team, he spent 1 billion dollars for the honor of owning a francise best known for losing. The billion was simply the cost to own the francise, but the spending didn't stop there!

He attacked the off-season like a man possessed signing 33 free agents, making 2 trades for players and put together a scouting strategy will dozens of football scouts input that netted him 7 draft picks which have every oppurtunity to make the final 53 man roster.

The 33 free agents signed for a combined 131 years at 526.4 million dollars which works out to roughly 15.95 million per player.

The 7 draft picks were signed for 28 seasons at 154.5 million dollars.

The 2 trades were for veteran players who signed extensions to stay with Minneaota for 12 seasons at 56.5 million dollars.

Not to mention 4 players who were already on the roster and deemed important enough to keep around signing extensions totaling 24 seasons at 125.0 million dollars.

That's 46 of the 60 players currently on the roster signed for 195 seasons at a combined 862.4 million dollars.....or an average of 4.2 years at 18.74 million each!

So you want to own a football team?

He hasn't won a game yet and already spend roughly 1 billion in salaries If you include the 14 other players already on the roster plus the entire coaching staff.

QB Theodore Mullins
FA
2 years
4.4 million
1 season playoffs

RB Steven Shock
DRAFT 3.1
4 years
27.0 million

RB Andre Juarez
FA
6 years
14.3 million

FB William Vasquez
FA
6 years
10.0 million
2 seasons playoffs

TE Cedric Steinmetz
FA
4 years
3.99 million
2 season playoffs

TE Tony Egan
FA
4 years
14.1 million
1 season playoffs

WR Daniel Yamashita
FA (end of 89)
4 years
2.5 million

WR Christopher Mcgraw
DRAFT 2.1
4 years
36.1 million

WR Nathan Chesley
FA
6 years
125.1 million

WR Michael Shuff
FA
4 years
21.0 million

WR Royce Archer
DRAFT 4.1
4 years
19.7

LT Alfred Shorts
FA
6 years
101.6 million
3 seasons playoffs

LT Peter Nixon
DRAFT 5.1
4 years
13.5 million

LG Claurence Head
FA
2 years
3.1 million
2 seasons playoffs (CC)

C Terry DeSean
FA
2 years
3.8 million
4 playoff seasons (CC)

C Juan Ortega
FA
2 years
1.2 million
10 playoff seasons (CC x4) (LC x2)

RG Evan Jones
FA
1 year
0.633 million
8 seasons playoffs (CC x2) (LC x2)

RG Douglas Coleman
FA
3 years
49.5 million
2 seasons playoffs

RT David Wilkenson
FA
6 years
31.2 million
1 playoff season

RT David Dodd
FA
6 years
23.4 million
4 playoff seasons

P Daniel Schacher
DRAFT 7.1
4 years
4.1 million

K Kurt Brownlow
DRAFT 6.1
4 years
8.2 million

LDE Rodney Henderson
FA
3 years
6.7 million
2 playoff seasons

DT Lawrence Chambliss
FA
6 years
6.1 million

DT Alex Sherry
FA
6 years
6.0 million
2 playoff seasons

RDE Clinton Herbert
FA
1 year
0.318 million
1 playoff season

RDE Keith Burks
FA
3 years
1.9 million

RDE Richard Pearson
FA
3 years
2.9 million
4 playoff seasons

SLB Adolfo Holt
TRADE
1 year
1.3 million
2 playoff seasons (CC)

SLB David McKenzie
FA
6 years
29.4 million
1 playoff season

SLB Warren Hillard
FA
4 years
3.9 million

MLB David Kimberlin
FA
6 years
6.0 million
2 playoff seasons

WLB Samuel League
FA
6 years
12.1 million
2 playoff seasons

WLB Jeffrey Copeland
FA
6 years
23.4 million
3 playoff seasons (CC x2)

CB Thomas Gabaldon
TRADE
1 year
1.0 million
2 playoff seasons (CC)

CB John Shepard
DRAFT 1.1
4 years
45.9 million

CB Michael Daniel
FA
1 year
0.318 million
3 playoff seasons

CB Robert Rains
FA (end of 89)
5 years
3.2 million

SS Jesse Valencia
FA
3 years
2.9 million
2 playoff seasons

FS Robert Deloach
FA
1 year
0.318 million
4 playoff seasons (CC x2 LC x2)

FS Cameron Johnson
FA
4 years
5.3 million

FS Jerry Brown
FA
3 years
5.8 million
3 playoff Seasons (CC LC)

The influx of free agents plus the 2 trades added 73 combined seasons of playoff experience which includes 15 Conference Champions and 7 League Champions!!!

The hope that C. J. Frederickson has is that the coaching staff can assemble all this talent into a cohesive team that will bring playoff experience to a francise that hasn't won a single playoff game and only has 1 playoff game in francise history!

It's great to see a qua;ified and determined GM in Minnesota! Best of Luck!....................................MM

MID-SEASON REPORT!

There are some good and bad about the 1st half of the season but overall at 5-3 which matches the win total for 11 of the previous 20 seasons, the division title and the playoffs are very much in the picture.

OFFENSE

THE GOOD

The running game is ranked 7th and they have established depth at RB, having 3 players with 4.3, 4.5 & 4.5 averages which is good, not great.

THE BAD

The passing game hasn't developed like the team had hoped being ranked 14th and QB Packard has thrown 11 TDs to 9 INTs which is horrible. They did lose one of their best recievers for 7 of the 1st 8 games so maybe his return opens it up a little bit.

DEFENSE

THE GOOD

The teams rush defense is ranked #1 overall and have been dominate stopping the run. They are averaging 50.4 rushing yards allowed per game and haven't allowed 100 yards rushing in a game this season.

THE BAD

The passing defense is ranked 27 overall and their secondary is a patch work assembly of cast-off and aging vets. They do have the #1 overall pick who is learning on the job but he needs help.

2nd HALF PREDICTION

If they can match their 1st half record, they finish 10-6 which would be the best record in francise history. They only have 2 games versus winning teams so if they can improve the passing game and defending the pass...they have a decent shot to finish 11-5 which should put them in line for a division crown.

Good stuff CJ, Glad your feeling better................................MM

Team sets francise record for wins in 1st full season of new ownership.

New owner C. J. Frederickson promised a new direction for this francise after 20 seasons of losing. He completely flipped the roster in the off-season and focused on bringing a winning mentality to this team. The team has been growing together all season and has been led by the defense which ranks #1 in stopping the run. The offense has been slow to come around but the team has gained confidence during the season with 5 of the 10 wins being by 1 score or less.

What's next? If the team can go on the road and beat 0-14 Green Bay, they secure just the 2nd playoff appearance in club history. If they win their last 2 games, they will win the division and still have a shot to get a 1st round bye!

Detroit plays the Rams and Minnesota benefits no matter who wins. A Rams win means the Vikings clinch the division with a win versus Green Bay and if the Lions win then a 1st round bye becomes more possible assuming the Vikings handle their business.

The bottom line is we enter week 15 not wondering where in the top ten we will be drafting but looking at very real playoff scenarios, division title and a possible bye.

It's definitely a new direction!