Slumping Vinatieri needed earlier re-evaluation by Colts

Chances are if you're a football fan of a certain age, when you think of iconic NFL kickers, someone like George Blanda or Morten Andersen might come to mind. 

Otherwise you’ll almost certainly think of Adam Vinatieri. 

He was probably already a shoo-in Hall of Famer when he left the Patriots after the 2005 season, having played a significant role in three Super Bowl championships. The Tuck Rule Game is remembered by some (OK, the 2001 Raiders) as a miscarriage of justice, but it’s also notable for the 45-yard kick Vinatieri made in the snow in the final minute to send the game to overtime. He also nailed a 23-yarder in the extra frame to advance the Patriots to the AFC Championship Game.

Vinatieri hit two game-winning field goals from 40-plus yards in the final seconds of the Pats first two Super Bowl wins. Bill Belichick may be slightly biased in the matter, but his student of the game credentials are unquestioned. He’s rarely one for empty sentimentality, yet even he has said Vinatieri is the "greatest kicker ever."

Vinatieri’s time in New England was so legendary, it's easy to forget that he has spent more of his career in Indianapolis than there. And he hasn’t missed a beat for most of that span. He was on the Colts team that won the Super Bowl — and beat the Pats en route to it — in 2006. He became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer last season. Now at 46 years old, signs of decline are not only imminent but are quickly setting in.

Vinatieri may have had a decent 2018 regular season, but cracks were starting to show last postseason when he missed an extra point and a 23-yard field goal in the divisional round loss to Kansas City. That field goal miss was the shortest of Vinatieri’s career and the shortest of any playoff miss in over a decade.

One poor outing does not an undoing make, but there should have been more of an effort by the Colts to examine their options going into 2019. Vinatieri is the 10th highest-paid kicker in the league on a one-year deal. Due to name recognition and maybe even some sentimental value, it could have been harder than most to let him go, but perhaps Indy could have tried a little harder to make him earn the role going into this season.

So far in 2019, Vinatieri has struggled immensely in two games, missing three of five extra point attempts and two of three field goal tries. The dropoff can arrive that quickly in the NFL, especially when a player is in his mid-40s. Perhaps the stakes aren’t as high for the Colts because of the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck, but a team bent on a playoff run could be hurt direly in close games by a kicker unable to execute.  Despite his kicker's woes, Colts coach Frank Reich told the Indianapolis Star on Monday, "Adam’s our kicker. … He’s an instrumental leader on our team."

In the Colts' present situation, Vinatieri’s miscues have been less critical since the team is marginal at best, but the famed kicker might just stand in their way of an outside shot at contention. In Week 1, Vinatieri left seven points on the field in a game the Colts lost by six in overtime. On Sunday, he missed two extra points in a game the Colts won by two, though one more field goal by the opposition could have swung the game.

Vinatieri suggested to a reporter immediately following the contest that an announcement would come Monday. Many assumed it would be his retirement. It’s unfortunate if an all-time great feels the need to slink off, but that’s the price of playing until the wheels come off. The Colts don't necessarily have to allow him to do that, and they likely may have been more cutthroat with a player with less clout. One could argue a player like Vinatieri deserves that level of trust, and that’s understandable, but the Colts are fortunate not much harm has been done.