Vikings' top players of the decade

So I'm back, moved in to my new apartment in Dallas, complete with the two most vital ingredients for keeping me sane:

1) Internet; and
2) Coffee

All is well.

What is a little troubling, though, is that the Dallas Cowboys are now 2-0 since I moved down here. Hopefully, they'll be 2-1 soon. But I'll worry about that later. For now, I'll stick with something easier. With the regular season over, I thought I'd use Pro-Football-Reference's Player Season Finder, I thought I'd look up the Vikings' top contributors during the 2000s. It'll be a fun look back at seasons past and some of the leaders might surprise people.

Passing Yards
1) Daunte Culpepper -- 20,162
2) Brad Johnson -- 4,635
3) Brett Favre -- 4,202
4) Tarvaris Jackson -- 3,643
5) Gus Frerotte -- 2,847

Passing TDs
1) Daunte Culpepper -- 135
2) Brett Favre -- 33
3) Tarvaris Jackson -- 21
3) Brad Johnson -- 21
5) Gus Frerotte -- 18

It's a sign of how much the QB position has been a revolving door since Culpepper left that Favre rates so highly on these lists after just one season. No other Vikings QB threw for more than 1,000 yards or 10 TDs in the decade.

Passing Interceptions
1) Daunte Culpepper -- 86
2) Brad Johnson -- 19
3) Tarvaris Jackson -- 18
4) Gus Frerotte -- 17
5) Brett Favre -- 7

And yet Favre ranks fifth on this list, one ahead of the immortal Spergeon Wynn. These are crazy times we live in.

Rushing Yards
1) Adrian Peterson -- 4,484
2) Michael Bennett -- 3,174
3) Chester Taylor -- 2,797
4) Daunte Culpepper -- 2,470
5) Robert Smith -- 1,521

Honestly, I was a little surprised to see AP at the top of this list, after just three seasons with the team. It's been an even longer road for the team to find a replacement for Robert Smith than it has been to find a replacement for Daunte Culpepper (which, admittedly, isn't over).

Receiving Yards
1) Randy Moss -- 6,416
2) Cris Carter -- 2,145
3) Sidney Rice -- 1,849
4) Nate Burleson -- 1,789
5) Jermaine Wiggins -- 1,659

Then again, it's been an even longer road to find a replacement for Randy Moss. Sidney Rice isn't exactly on his level, but in becoming the Vikings' first 1,000-yard receiver since Burleson in 2004, he's definitely the best we've had in a long time.

Touchdowns
1) Randy Moss -- 62
2) Adrian Peterson -- 41
3) Daunte Culpepper -- 29
4) Moe Williams -- 23
5) Chester Taylor -- 21

Moe Williams sighting! Visanthe Shiancoe is 6th with 19. Cris Carter owns the Vikings record with 110 TDs, something Peterson might already have his sights set on.

Points
1) Ryan Longwell -- 448
2) Randy Moss -- 374
3) Gary Anderson -- 275
4) Adrian Peterson -- 246
5) Daunte Culpepper -- 182

Just think: if we hadn't signed Ryan Longwell, Gary Anderson would probably still be kicking for the team...

Sacks
1) Kevin Williams -- 48.5
2) Lance Johnstone -- 41.0
3) Jared Allen -- 29.0
4) Ray Edwards -- 21.5
5) Chris Hovan -- 17.0

Amazingly, Chris Hovan is still in the NFL. Well, he's in Tampa Bay...

Interceptions
1) Darren Sharper -- 18
2) Antoine Winfield -- 15
3) Corey Chavous -- 14
4) Brian Williams -- 12
5) Brian Russell -- 11

Ex-Packers Sharper and Longwell lead two categories, and Brett Favre looks good in all the passing categories. I'm not sure what that says, other than nyah-nah-nah-nah-nah!

And finally...

Yards per punt
1) Chris Kluwe -- 44.40
2) Mitch Berger -- 44.21

Nobody else even managed 100 punts or 40 yards per punt in a Vikings uniform. Maybe they should have played more World of Warcraft.