Adam Vinatieri
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| Adam Vinatieri | |
|---|---|
| Image:Vinatieri1.jpg Vinatieri Preparing to Kickoff with the Colts | |
| Date of birth | December 28, 1972 |
| Place of birth | Yankton, South Dakota |
| Position(s) | Placekicker |
| College | South Dakota State University |
| Pro Bowls | 2003, 2005 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1995 1996-2005 2006-Present | Amsterdam Admirals New England Patriots Indianapolis Colts |
Vinatieri is generally considered the best clutch kicker in the history of the National Football League. Nicknamed "Iceman" for his incredible poise, Vinatieri has converted several of the most pressurized field goals in NFL history. With his impressive professional resumé, many football analysts believe that Vinatieri will eventually land in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a realm typically unfriendly to placekickers (only one pure placekicker, Jan Stenerud, is currently enshrined).
He is the second of four children. He has two familiar family ties. His great-great grandfather is Felix Vinatieri, who served as General George Armstrong Custer's bandmaster. He is also a third cousin to the famous daredevil, Evel Knievel.
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[edit] High School Years
Vinatieri attended Central High School (Rapid City, South Dakota) and was a letterman in football, wrestling, soccer, and track. In football, he garnered first team All-State honors as a senior. Adam Vinatieri graduated from Central High School in 1991.
[edit] College career
Vinatieri was originally recruited to kick for Army and attended West Point for several weeks in 1991 before deciding to return home to South Dakota. He was a four-year letterman at South Dakota State University as a placekicker and punter. He finished up his college years of football as the school's all-time scoring leader with 185 career points scored. (His younger brother Beau was a place kicker at Black Hills State University before graduating in 2003.)
[edit] Life after college
He spent the fall of 1995 training to compete professionally. He received a tryout for the World League of American Football, now known as NFL Europa, and earned a roster position with the Amsterdam Admirals as a placekicker and punter.
[edit] New England Patriots
In 1996 he was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent to be a place kicker. He played in New England for the first 10 years of his NFL career, during which he has played in four Super Bowls. His first Super Bowl appearance was in his rookie season of 1996, when he played with the Patriots in their 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI.
In the 2001 playoffs, during a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders in the final game at Foxboro Stadium, Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 13-13 and send it into overtime. The Patriots then won the game on another field goal of 23 yards by Vinatieri. That 45-yard kick in driving snow is regarded as one of the greatest clutch plays (and greatest kicks) in NFL history.
In Super Bowl XXXVI he kicked a 48-yard field goal on the final play to give the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl victory, a 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams. Two years later, and in an almost identical situation, he kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to boost the Patriots to another championship (after missing one field goal and having another attempt blocked in the first half). This time, the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, making Vinatieri the first player ever to be the deciding factor in two Super Bowl games (Vinatieri kept the balls used on both those kicks).
Vinatieri led the NFL in scoring in 2004 with 141 points (31-for-33 on field goals, and a perfect 48-for-48 on points after touchdown or PATs). His best game of the season came against the St. Louis Rams, against whom he scored 16 points (4 field goals, 4 PATs), and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Brown on a fake field goal attempt (that pass gives him a career passer rating of 122.9). He went on to score a field goal and 3 extra points in the Patriots 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
To date, Vinatieri has kicked 19 game-winning field goals with less than one minute remaining (out of 20 attempts; his lone miss came in 1999), including those mentioned in the postseason. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, he had a career field goal percentage of 81.9 percent (263/321), fifth highest in NFL history. His career long is 57 yards.
He has a reputation as a toughnosed defender on kickoff returns. In his third season with the Patriots, 1998, Vinatieri made 6 tackles and 1 assist on 71 kickoff returns: i.e., he was directly responsible for stopping almost 10% of his own kickoff returns. Throughout his first 10 seasons, he made 20 tackles and 7 assists. 726 of his kickoffs were returned during those years, but only 2 were returned for touchdowns.
In his time in New England, he was very active in his home town and state which includes helping Christian athletes, D.A.R.E., and the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau. He also is a spokesperson for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island's teen anti-smoking contest. His hobbies include hunting, riding motorcycles and golfing. He is married, and has two children.
Vinatieri finished his 10 seasons with the Patriots as the team's all time leading scorer with 1,156 points.
[edit] Indianapolis Colts
After the 2005 season, the Patriots chose not to place the franchise tag on Vinatieri as they had the year before, allowing him to become a free agent. He had visited with the Green Bay Packers, but left without a contract offer. On March 22, 2006, Vinatieri signed with the Indianapolis Colts after the Patriots chose not to counter offer. Vinatieri replaced Mike Vanderjagt who was signed by the Dallas Cowboys. Vinatieri was signed to a five year contract and received a $3.5 million signing bonus. Upon receiving the offer from the Colts, Vinatieri left a message for Bill Belichick to see if New England would work out a deal with the pro bowl kicker. To this day, Vinatieri claims he is still waiting for Belichick to return his call.[citation needed]
On November 5, 2006, Vinatieri returned to Foxboro as a Colt. He missed 2 field goals in his first appearance against the New England Patriots, but the Colts still triumphed 27-20. Vinatieri was perfect up to that game in field goal attempts for the year.
[edit] Career Stats
These statistics are accurate as of December 3, 2006.
| Season | PAT | PAT Pct. | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ | FG-FGA | FG Pct. | Long | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 39/42 | 92.9% | 1/1 | 9/10 | 8/8 | 8/14 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 27/35 | 77.1% | 50 | 120 |
| 1997 | 40/40 | 100.0% | 0/0 | 11/11 | 7/9 | 6/8 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 25/29 | 86.2% | 52 | 115 |
| 1998 | 32/32 | 100.0% | 3/3 | 8/8 | 9/14 | 9/12 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 31/39 | 79.5% | 55 | 125 |
| 1999 | 29/30 | 96.7% | 1/1 | 14/14 | 5/7 | 5/9 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 26/33 | 78.8% | 51 | 107 |
| 2000 | 25/25 | 100.0% | 0/0 | 11/13 | 8/9 | 7/8 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 27/33 | 81.8% | 53 | 106 |
| 2001 | 41/42 | 97.6% | 1/1 | 8/8 | 7/8 | 7/12 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 24/30 | 80.0% | 54 | 113 |
| 2002 | 36/36 | 100.0% | 0/0 | 6/6 | 12/12 | 8/10 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 27/30 | 90.0% | 57 | 117 |
| 2003 | 37/38 | 97.4% | 0/0 | 16/17 | 4/8 | 5/8 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 25/34 | 73.5% | 48 | 112 |
| 2004 | 48/48 | 100.0% | 0/0 | 13/13 | 7/7 | 11/12 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 31/33 | 93.9% | 48 | 141 |
| 2005 | 40/41 | 97.6% | 0/0 | 7/7 | 9/10 | 4/6 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 20/25 | 80.0% | 49 | 100 |
| 2006 | 26/26 | 100.0% | 1/1 | 3/3 | 9/10 | 6/7 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 19/22 | 86.4% | 48 | 83 |
| TOTALS | 393/400 | 98.3% | 7/7 | 106/110 | 85/102 | 76/106 | 8/18 | 0/0 | 282/343 | 82.2% | 57 | 1239 |
[edit] Honors and awards
[edit] External links
Indianapolis Colts Websitede:Adam Vinatieri fr:Adam Vinatieri
