Throwback Thursday: Minnesota Vikings 2000s All-Decade Team

Minnesota Vikings football in the 2000s was a lot like Minnesota Vikings football in the 1980s. Not very good. They made it to NFC Conference Championship games at the beginning and end of the decade but the middle years were often difficult. Despite those difficulties, the 2009 team that fell a play short of the Super Bowl was one of the most fun teams in franchise history. The Vikings employed four head coaches in the first decade of the new century. That's one fewer than they employed in the previous four decades. Here's the Vikings 2000s All-Decade Team

Quarterback

Daunte Culpepper

Running backs

Adrian Peterson
Chester Taylor

Receiver

Randy Moss
Sidney Rice
-It's disappointing that Rice's single solid season is enough to pair him with Moss. After decades of strong receiving groups the Vikings trotted out a sad group of receivers after Moss was traded.

Tight end

Visanthe Shiancoe

Tackles

Bryant McKinnie
Korey Stringer

-Right tackle is a tough one. Mike Rosenthal? Ryan Cook? Phil Loadholt showed great promise as a rookie in 2009. Stringer gets the nod for his final season. RIP Big K.

Guards

Steve Hutchinson
David Dixon

Center

Matt Birk

Defensive ends

Jared Allen
Ray Edwards

Defensive tackles

Kevin Williams
Pat Williams

Linebackers

Chad Greenway
E.J. Henderson
Ben Leber

Cornerbacks

Antoine Winfield
Cedric Griffin

Safeties

Corey Chavous
Brian Russell

Kicker

Ryan Longwell

Punter

Chris Kluwe

The next Vikings All-Decade team will be up in about four years.