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The six straight wins that opened the Minnesota Vikings' season have been obscured by the shockingly disappointing conclusion.
A day after an incredible collapse against Arizona kept them out of the playoffs, the stunned Vikings tried to discern how such a promising start could end in such a bitter manner.
Not to mention how an 11-point advantage with less than two minutes to play over the lowly Cardinals could lead to such a crushing loss.
``Three seconds from winning our division,'' running back Moe Williams said softly, repeating the comments of several teammates who filed through the practice facility on Monday with glazed eyes.
Indeed, Minnesota led the NFC North for all but the last play of Sunday's 18-17 loss to Arizona. Ticket master. Then Cardinals quarterback Josh McCown took the snap with 4 seconds left at the 28-yard line and found Nate Poole at the edge of the end zone for the winning pass.
``It's hard to accept and stomach and believe that it ended that way,'' said coach Mike Tice, who was a coach of the year candidate after the start, but not after a 3-7 finish.
Instead, on a day when several of his peers were fired, Tice was faced with questions about his own future after the Vikings became only the second team in NFL history to start 6-0 and miss the postseason.
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``The program is in better shape than it was when I took it over two years ago,''
Tice said, admitting surprise there was speculation about his job security.
``Is it part of the deal? Yeah, it's part of the deal. The expectation level
of our football team was raised when we went 6-0.''
Tice, who replaced Dennis Green in January 2002, has one year left on his contract. He was 6-10 last season and this was the Vikings' first winning season since 2000, when they reached the NFC championship game.
Tice spoke with owner Red McCombs on Monday morning, but they didn't discuss his status.
Players had no problem offering support.
``I think he's a great coach, a great motivator,'' free safety Brian Russell said. ``I think it's a pretty unanimous feeling for us to want him back and want him here a whole bunch of years. We can put some great runs together. But that is not my decision.''
McCombs previously said Tice will return in 2004, but he's long been known as a man who can quickly change his mind. He issued a rather obscure statement from his San Antonio office, expressing pleasure that Vikings fans filled Sun Devil Stadium on Sunday, but offering no insight into anything else.
``We have the most loyal fans in the NFL,'' McCombs said. ``Although the loss was a heartbreaker, the Vikings played their hearts out. We'll be back at the drawing board getting ready for next year.''
There are areas still in need of improvement, but Minnesota appears to be in good shape. There will be plenty of salary cap room for signing free agents, and an excellent 2003 draft yielded several key contributors.
The defense, though finishing 23rd in the league in yards allowed, showed marked improvement. It helped coordinator George O'Leary land a head coaching job at Central Florida, two years after revelations of resume inaccuracies led to his resignation at Notre Dame.
Quarterback Daunte Culpepper cut down on his turnover problem from 2002, and the offense ranked first in the league.
``It's just terrible that
you fight that hard all year long just trying to stay alive and lose it like
that,'' Culpepper said. ``But on the upside, we've got to keep moving forward.
We've got to use this season as a learning experience.''