KAM's approach to free agency

[MaroonBells]

Pretty good piece on KAM's approach to free agency. Crazy fun fact within: "The Vikings allowed more points in the final two minutes of the 2nd Quarter than any team in the history of professional football."

Vikings Central

@VikesCentral

Patrick Peterson said on his podcast that the Vikings biggest issue last year was “situational football.”

It cost us at minimum 3 games.
 

That comes down to coaching, this team is indeed ready to win now.

Minnesota Vikings

@Vikings

"The job isn't to win the bidding war. The job is to win the objective of building a team, the best team you can with the resources at your disposal." - Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

https://vikingsterritory.com/2022/freeag...gent-moves

[Guest]

Honestly, when I hear or see KAM talking or the wording and then I see Ryan Poles, the difference is vast. 

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
Honestly, when I hear or see KAM talking or the wording and then I see Ryan Poles, the difference is vast. 

True, but will it translate to W’s?

[Guest]

@Vanguard83 said:

@StickyBun said:
Honestly, when I hear or see KAM talking or the wording and then I see Ryan Poles, the difference is vast. 

True, but will it translate to W’s?

That's what its all about. But honestly, if fans don't give the new regime a little time to dig out of this salary cap hole, they aren't properly evaluating anything. Right now, they are strategizing both short and long term but their hands are tied as speak right now. There is a very real possibility that Minnesota will have to cut Hunter. CUT HIM. That isn't their fault, that is part of the burden from the previous regime....the result of a big swing and a miss they must now rebuild out of.

[Guest]

I will say the extent to which the cap is F'd up for the Vikings? Has left me very surprised. This year is about trying to right that ship  and hopefully results in a much healthier 23.  

[Guest]

The team's salary cap quagmire has created dueling agendas that make ownership's win-now objective a tug-of-war with reality.
The Wilf ownership executed a dramatic shakeup in football leadership after years of continuity and stability in what amounted to an abrupt organizational reset. But Mark Wilf promptly dismissed any notion of a rebuild, saying he expects his team to be "super-competitive" this coming season.

In words and actions since that day, the Wilfs have made clear that they believe two consecutive non-playoff seasons (and three out of the past four) can be blamed almost entirely on coaching, that it was a Mike Zimmer problem, not an indictment of Kirk Cousins or the roster.
Except, the salary cap quagmire left by General Manager Rick Spielman has created dueling agendas that make ownership's win-now objective a tug-of-war with reality.
The roster badly needs a massive infusion of young, less expensive talent. Jettisoning Zimmer and Spielman provided the perfect opening to give the new regime a blank canvas.
Ownership's demands to be super-competitive all but required another extension for Cousins, with the benefit of lowering his cap number, and run-it-back approach with the roster.
Turning the offense over to Kellen Mond, a drafted rookie or a veteran bridge quarterback would make the Vikings worse this season, potentially much worse, and the short term appears to be the Wilfs' priority.
On the flip side, the Vikings defense ranked among the NFL's worst, and the Star Tribune's Ben Goessling reports that the team is trying to trade Danielle Hunter, a premier pass rusher when healthy. A vulnerable defense unloading its best player at a marquee position doesn't sound like a recipe for being super-competitive.
The defense has major holes on the line and secondary, and new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and cap guru Rob Brzezinski are working every angle possible, including checking under couch cushions, to find money to upgrade personnel.
Their salary-cap situation is a mess. Adofo-Mensah is trying to solve that problem while understanding his boss wants to win now and the quarterback continues to consume a sizable percentage of the cap and the defense requires an overhaul and Hunter presumably wants a mega deal and … oh yeah, by the way, Justin Jefferson is going to command a blockbuster contract soon.
Again, this feels like a tug-of-war between present and future.
The Vikings are stuck in limbo, a state of mediocrity, which is a predicament that screams for a rebuild or reboot or however you want to frame it. Major changes to the roster are necessary.
The Wilf brothers seem to think differently. They are fans at heart. They likely see a roster that features Jefferson, Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Harrison Smith and Eric Kendricks and blame Zimmer for not squeezing more out of it.
Everything revolves around the quarterback. Nothing is more important to the organization's long-term success than getting that decision right. The Cousins extension buys time, two seasons, for the new regime to identify who they hope will become their franchise quarterback.
The Wilfs were owners for the draft selections of Tarvaris Jackson and Christian Ponder. They witnessed Teddy Bridgewater suffer a career-altering knee injury that started a chain reaction that included squandering a first-round pick for 17 games of Sam Bradford. They endured Donovan McNabb's bounce passes, the Josh Freeman debacle and Joe Webb starting a playoff game at Lambeau Field.
The owners are probably gun-shy about starting over at that position. Teams can't become paralyzed by the fear of the unknown or past mistakes.
The Vikings are banking on new coach Kevin O'Connell being able to pull more out of Cousins and the offense than previous coaching staffs. The defense is still a problem, though. And money is tight.
This entire discussion about the Vikings' approach to roster management comes down to one overarching question: What exactly is ownership's definition of super-competitive?
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-owne...600157321/

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
Honestly, when I hear or see KAM talking or the wording and then I see Ryan Poles, the difference is vast. 

Both have vastly different tasks. The Bears roster is one of the oldest, so the moves are probably, and have already been, more drastic. A field amputation if you will.

Kwesi's task is a bit more surgical. 

[Guest]

Because of what KAM is starting with, the expectations are basically clean up. It's not going to be easy and some of the decisions are going to be unpopular. I don't think it is reasonable or realistic to expect to everything to happen right now. On top of the other issues, Hunter is looking like an obstacle right now. Sad but true. He has been injured most of the past 2 years. And I get that injuries are part of the game but he and his agent are being unreasonable and unrealistic in their expectations. He is going to be part of the tough decisions one way or the other. I usually side with the player but he is wrong on this one.

[Guest]

Chip missed the mark in a few spots.

First, the cap is not an issue. This is a patently false narrative. The Saints just cleared $90 million in cap room without cutting a single player. We've cleared $20 + with the same tactics. 

We've got about the 6th youngest roster in the NFL with about the fewest position players over 30. This notion that we need to infuse a bunch of young inexpensive talent is also patently false.

One thing the team will benefit the most from is having a HC who doesn't want an offense that was last effective in the 80s and doesn't fucking hate his QB and GM.

[Guest]

I saw major red flags on Zimmer in 2016 and knew he was never going to win the prize then.  Zygmunt ran him out for five more years and a contract extension, but now ding dong the witch is dead and it's gonna start coming up roses, lol.  

Nothing has impeded the football success of this franchise in the 17 years Wilf has owned it more than clueless guys named Wilf.