METAIRIE, La. -- How quickly things change in the NFL.
We’re coming up on the five-year anniversary of the NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, and only 14 players remain on their combined rosters as they head into Sunday’s Week 3 matchup back in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Vikings have six players left, not counting reserved running back Adrian Peterson. The Saints have just eight players, including two who left and came back (center Jonathan Goodwin and receiver Robert Meachem).
The Saints “feel” a lot more like the same team, though, with coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees still directing one of the NFL’s most potent passing offenses.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has experienced far more turbulence. Since 2009, the Vikings have switched coaches twice (from Brad Childress to Leslie Frazier to Mike Zimmer). And they’ve used a total of seven starting quarterbacks in the past four seasons, with first-round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater likely to make it eight sooner than later.
The Saints have returned to the playoffs three times in the last four seasons, with a combined regular-season record of 42-24. The Vikings have returned to the playoffs only once, with a combined regular-season record of 25-40-1.
The disparity would be even greater if not for the Saints’ 7-9 campaign in 2012, during which Payton and others were suspended for allegations of running a bounty program -- including a specific bounty on Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in that January 2010 NFC championship game.
Both Favre and Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma are currently out of the league -- as is kicker Garrett Hartley, who nailed the game-winning field goal in that 31-28 thriller.
Another Saints hero from that game, cornerback Tracy Porter, has played with three other teams since then.
Here’s a look at the players who remain:
Saints
QB Drew Brees
OT Zach Strief
WR Robert Meachem
C Jonathan Goodwin
Vikings