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The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis.
Morten Andersen, nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Following a career from 1982 to 2007, Andersen holds the NFL record for regular season games played at 382. He also ranks second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544). In addition to his league accomplishments, he is the Saints all-time leading scorer at 1,318 points. Andersen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Along with Jan Stenerud, he is one of only two exclusive kickers to receive the honor.
Travis Lamont Taylor is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 2000s. Taylor played college football for the University of Florida. A first-round pick in the 2000 NFL draft, he played professionally for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams of the NFL.
Martin Gramatica is an Argentine former player of American football who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats winning the Lou Groza Award and twice earning All-American honors. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft.
Antoine Duane Winfield Sr. is an American former football cornerback who played for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors and winning the Jim Thorpe Award. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft and played five seasons for the Bills and nine seasons for the Minnesota Vikings. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection as a member of the Vikings.
Olindo Franco Mareoh-LIN-doh MAR-ay; is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at MacMurray College and Syracuse. Mare, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1999, has also played for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.
Russell Erxleben is an American former professional football player and investor. A highly decorated college kicker for the University of Texas, Erxleben was a three-time All-American punter and set the record for the longest successful field goal in NCAA history at 67 yards, which is still tied today. He was unexpectedly selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft as a combination kicker and punter, where he remains the highest drafted punter and the second highest kicker in NFL history. Erxleben only spent six years in the NFL and was widely described as one of the Saints' biggest draft busts. He later became a currency investor, and was convicted of securities fraud in 1999. Although he was released in 2005, he was once again convicted of investment fraud in 2014 and sentenced to 90 months in federal prison.
Garrett Hartley is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Later that year he became the placekicker for the New Orleans Saints, for whom he set an NFL record for most consecutive successful field goals to start a career, and then became the first kicker in NFL history to convert three field goals of more than 40 yards in the Super Bowl. The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, beating the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Oklahoma.
The 2008 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 48th in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Brad Childress. They won their 17th NFC North division title with a 10–6 record, the first time since 2000 that they made the playoffs with a winning record; however, they finished behind the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers and had to play in the wild card round of the playoffs. They were paired with Childress's former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, who won 26–14. Second-year running back Adrian Peterson led the league in rushing with 1,760 yards.
The 2008 season was the New Orleans Saints' 42nd in the National Football League (NFL), their 33rd playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome and their third under head coach Sean Payton. The Saints improved on their 7–9 record from the 2007 season with an 8-8 record, however, they would miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season. This was the only season under Drew Brees that they finished last in the division. Despite this, Brees became just the second quarterback to throw for over 5,000 passing yards and won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.
The 2009 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 49th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Brad Childress. The Vikings improved upon their 10–6 record and defended their NFC North title from 2008, their first successful defense of a divisional title since they won six NFC Central titles in a row between 1973 and 1978. They beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, but lost the NFC Championship Game 31–28 in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, missing out on what would have been their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XI in 1976. This year's NFC Championship Game is also dubbed by Roger Goodell as the "Bountygate Game" which resulted in several players and coaching staff receiving 12-month suspensions three years later. The Vikings had 10 Pro Bowlers and four All-Pros on their roster, both league-highs for the season.
Jamarca Deshaun Sanford is an American former professional football safety. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft as the 231st pick. He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels at the University of Mississippi.
Kai August Forbath is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus All-American honors and winning the Lou Groza Award in 2009. He played in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.
Blair Richard Walsh is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. Walsh played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Vikings in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft.
Jake Daniel Elliott, nicknamed Jake "the Make" for his kicking ability, is an American professional football placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Memphis Tigers. He was part of the Eagles' Super Bowl LII championship team against the New England Patriots. He holds the record for longest field goal by a rookie in NFL history.
William Lutz is an American professional football placekicker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia State Panthers.
Ryan Mack Ramczyk is an American professional football offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, and was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Ramczyk attended four different schools before transferring to Wisconsin–Madison in 2014, where he became an All-American lineman for the Badgers in the 2016 season.
Greg Joseph is a South African–American professional football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida Atlantic, and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Later that year, Joseph made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns. He has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers.
The 2020 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 60th in the National Football League (NFL), their fifth playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their seventh under head coach Mike Zimmer. This was the Vikings' first time since 2005 that long-time assistant Kevin Stefanski was not part of the Vikings coaching staff, as he left to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns on January 12, 2020. After going 1–5 in their first six games for the first time since 2013, the team failed to improve upon their 10–6 record from 2019 after a Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and failed to match their 10–6 record after a Week 14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention following a week 16 loss to the New Orleans Saints, and ultimately finished 7–9, their first losing season since 2014. The Vikings conceded 475 points during the season, the third-highest total in franchise history, although they also managed to score 430 points, also the third-most in team history.
References
- ↑ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.