It wasn't so long ago the Vikings were finishing the regular season 15-1 and heavy favorites to beat the Falcons in the NFC Championship game and get to the Super Bowl. But looking at the players on this year's squad, it may seem like a distant memory. Can the new crew do it again?

It seems hard to believe that only 32 regular season games have been played since the Vikings lost the NFC title game to Atlanta following an incredible 15-1 season. However, the Vikings locker room has felt that change more than many would imagine.

Of the 22 starters from that championship game, only seven remain with the Vikings -- a turnover of almost 70 percent. Of those players, only four are still with the offense -- Randy Moss, Cris Carter, David Dixon and Korey Stringer. On defense just linebacker Ed McDaniel and safeties Robert Griffith and Orlando Thomas remain -- and each of those three were seen as potential salary cap cuts in the off-season.

Can the Vikings overcome this much turnover? This year alone, the Vikings will have to replace starters Robert Smith, Todd Steussie, John Randle, Dwayne Rudd and Tony Williams, but, just as many fans thought that throwing Daunte Culpepper into the starting lineup last year without Randall McDaniel and Jeff Christy didn't bode well, many of those same naysayers are back questioning the Vikings’ future.

Don't buy into it. The Vikings are ready to make another run for the Super Bowl and, while it may be more difficult this time around with the combination of schedule and player losses, the coaching staff is confident that the rookies, free agents and backups being moved into starting jobs will make up for the losses in the offseason.

SATURDAY NOTES
* While wide receiver Chris Walsh is looking to come back to the Vikings and it appears close to happening, it probably won’t officially happen until after June 1 and it will have to be an incentive-laden contract. The Vikings know the veteran leadership Walsh brings to the special teams and he will likely be playing instructor to a number of rookies, both draftees and free agents, this year. The Vikings made a concerted effort in the offseason to bring in rooks with a special teams tag.
* Look for VU’s fearless leader Bob Lurtsema (we call him that in public, anyway) on ESPN on the evening of May 25, as he and other great personalities of the NFL in the 1970s are featured on "Lost Treasures of the NFL: The 70s." His big-time gig is toward the end. More on that next week.