FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Adam Vinatieri has built a deserved reputation as perhaps the greatest clutch kicker in postseason history.
No one has more postseason field goals than the 42 Vinatieri has kicked in his career.
Vinatieri has two game-winning kicks in the final seconds of Super Bowls — booting a 48-yarder to propel the Patriots to a Super Bowl XXXVI win and a 42-yarder to lead the Patriots to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
But Vinatieri will not be active when the Colts play the Saints tomorrow in Super Bowl XLIV, something that’s agonizing for him.
Vinatieri, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and earned his fourth ring with the Colts three years ago, was replaced by Matt Stover before Week 6 this season because of a right hip injury.
So the 42-year-old Stover, the oldest player to play in a Super Bowl, will kick for the Colts tomorrow, not Vinatieri.
Stover, who was the kicker for the Ravens when they defeated the Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV, has made 14 of 16 field goal attempts, including all five in the postseason, since replacing 37-year-old Vinatieri.
Vinatieri, who returned to kick against the Jets on Dec. 27, said he believes he’s healthy enough to kick, but the Colts have opted for Stover, who they know is 100 percent.
“I don’t necessarily care for the decision, but I understand the circumstances. I understand the logic in it,” Vinatieri said. “I’m excited with the way the season has gone for the team, but this is a little bit of a letdown for me because as a competitor you want to be on the field. It’s a bittersweet feeling for me right now.
“Matt’s done a great job all year and I know he’ll do a great job this week, but as a guy that’s played in a bunch of these you definitely want to be out on the field. I’m in the bullpen right now, getting healthier every day.”
Stover said he feels for Vinatieri’s frustrating situation.
“I [have] empathy for him,” he said. “Adam is a good man.”
Stover said the situation hasn’t been awkward for the two, “because we’ve communicated about it.”
“We’re friends about it and we’ve been able to talk heart-to-heart about it,” Stover said. “He understands I didn’t come here to replace him or take his job. I came here to help this team win a Super Bowl. It just happens that at this point I’m the kicker.”
Stover, well aware of Vinatieri’s uncanny propensity to kick huge game-winning field goals, was asked if he dreams of being in position to kick the Colts to a Super Bowl victory.
“Do I think about it? Sure I do,” Stover said. “I have accepted that as a part of the game and I prepare for it so if it comes I’m ready to do it. Do I visualize? Absolutely. I have to because I have to prepare for it.”
Stover said it’s sometimes hard for him to imagine being in this position all these years after he came into the league struggling to merely find a roster spot.
“When I first started in the league my first goal was to make the team,” Stover said. “Then it was to try to stay for five years. After you get in the league for five years, it’s, ‘OK, let’s see if I can get to 10.’ The motto in the league is if you get 10 you win, because you’ve had two or three contracts and made pretty good money and got a great start on life.
“After the 10th year, it’s one year at a time, and that’s where I’ve been for a long time.”
As for Vinatieri, he’s merely hoping to get another taste of the glory he’s been fortunate enough to have had in the league.
“I’m hoping to have another opportunity,” he said. “This is the biggest platform and it’s a lot of fun to be out there with the lights and cameras and all the stuff going on. If I’m not on the field [tomorrow] I’ll be the best cheerleader I can on the sideline.”
Colts head coach Jim Caldwell said he’s been “blessed to have both” kickers.
“I saw a couple of weeks ago that both were (nominated) for the all-decade team,” he said. “You can’t get much better than that.”
SUPER FACT
Because of injury, Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will not get a chance to add on to his current Super Bowl records. Vinatieri is the all-time leader in extra points made (13) and field goals made (seven) in Super Bowl history.