Bill Belichick explained what impressed him most about Adam Vinatieri
"He certainly doesn’t fit the classic profile for a kicker. He is more of a football player."
Bill Belichick doesn’t usually offer lavish praise, but there’s very little that’s usual about Adam Vinatieri at this point. As a kicker in the NFL, Vinatieri – now in his 23rd season – has reached the summit of the league both individually and as a member of four Super Bowl winning teams.
On a conference call ahead of Thursday’s Colts-Patriots matchup, Belichick was asked about what stands out in his mind about Vinatieri.
The Patriots’ coach, generally reserved in his descriptions, offered a lengthy answer. He began discussing Vinatieri’s 45-yard field goal in the snow to help the Patriots get to overtime (where they eventually won) in the famous “Tuck Rule Game” against the Raiders in 2002. It was the last NFL game played in the old Foxboro Stadium.
“I would say it was by far the greatest kick I have ever seen,” said Belichick to Indianapolis media. “The conditions were very difficult. There were probably three to four inches of snow on the ground. It was a soft snow that kind of didn’t go away. I mean, there was no way to get around it. The magnitude of the kick was significant. It’s got to be the greatest kick of all time, certainly that I’ve seen.”
Belichick then offered Vinatieri the highest praise for a kicker: That he is, in fact, a “football player.”
“He was a great player here and has been a great player for the Colts, great person. He works hard. He certainly doesn’t fit the classic profile for a kicker. He is more of a football player. He’s physically and mentally tough. When he was here, he trained and worked out with all the players. There was no special program for him as a kicker or anything like that. He embraced that.”
For Belichick, Vinatieri’s greatness extended beyond his main task as a player (kicking), and to less-heralded roles.
“He had a great relationship with his teammates because of the way he worked, how competitive and mentally and physically tough he was and how he was willing to help out in other areas of the team – scout team and things like that. Whatever the team needed he was always great about that. He was a clutch, dependable player in his role. So, you can’t ask for much more than that. He has had a fabulous career.”
That said, the Patriots coach sees Vinatieri in a class by himself.
Certainly, in my opinion, the greatest kicker in the game. Not just for his longevity and production but again, the magnitude of some of the kicks that he made and the difficulty – particularly the one that you mentioned.
But there were many besides that – the kick in the Super Bowl and the kick in the Carolina Super Bowl. So, I mean there were just big games after big games that we couldn’t – back in 2001, it seemed like every game came down to the last possession or the last kick. Every point was critical. Those games we won in 2001 and 2003 – especially in the early part of the year in 2003 – were all close games and tough ones. Adam came through for us with some enormous kicks.
Congratulations to him and to the great career that he has and honestly it doesn’t seem like there is much sign of him slowing down. The ball continues to go right in the middle of the uprights. It never curves. It doesn’t hook. It just goes straight down the middle. So he just has an unbelievable level of consistency.
Vinatieri won three Super Bowls with the Patriots from 2001 to 2004 before leaving for the Colts in 2006. That season, he helped Peyton Manning and Indianapolis win Super Bowl 41.
In Week 4 of the 2018 season, Vinatieri officially broke Morten Andersen’s all-time record for NFL field goals.
