Adam Vinatieri described the best kick of his career, and little-known encouragement he got from Bill Belichick
"If it’s not us, I’m hoping it’s you."
Adam Vinatieri – the man who was once benched in college for a straight-line kicking defensive lineman – is on target to become the NFL’s all-time leading scorer as soon as this Sunday.
Needing just 10 more points, it would be a monumental achievement for the Colts kicker.
Still, New England fans will always claim him as one of their own for his distinguished tenure with the Patriots. And in a recent article for The Indianapolis Star with reporter Zak Keefer, Vinatieri offered a few career superlatives in his own words.
His personal choice for the “best” field goal of his NFL career was, surprisingly, not the famous snow kick in the 2002 AFC divisional playoff game against the Raiders. Instead, it was another one from New England’s run to its first Super Bowl win.
“Anytime you get a chance to win a world championship, and the last play of the game comes off your right foot, that’s an amazing thing,” Vinatieri explained to Keefer. “As a kid growing up, and as a kicker, that’s what you dream about.”
An interesting anecdote Vinatieri relayed pertained to a humorous pre-snap moment his Super Bowl-winning 48-yard field goal:
We got out there, and got lined up, and a guy by the name of Rod Rutledge [then a Patriots tight end] was playing left wing, and he’s talking mad trash to Dre’ Bly from the Rams. I’m not gonna tell you what he said … but I told my holder, Kenny Walters, to get him to shut up. Kenny shouts, “Shut the —- up!” That’s funny, because all this is going on in the biggest moment of your life. It just got quiet. I zoned in. I think your body takes over at that point. I’ve done it a million times, and I hit it pretty good. It left my foot and I knew.
Vinatieri acknowledged that the worst kick of his career also happened with the Patriots. In Oct., 1999, coincidentally during another Week 6 matchup with the Chiefs, his attempted game-winner clanged off the upright, no good. The Patriots lost, 16-14.
Adam Vinatieri after missing a last-second field goal against the Chiefs in 1999.
“That lost the game, and it just stung me,” Vinatieri said. “I still think about it 21 years later. It made me take nothing for granted in this league. Even now, we can destroy a team and if I go 5-for-6, I’m p—– off.”
At this point in his career, Vinatieri has played more games with the Colts than he did with the Patriots. And while he may have left New England with “a bitter taste in my mouth” due to the negotiation process, it didn’t prevent a nice moment with his old coach after the Colts’ dramatic comeback win over the Patriots in the 2007 AFC Championship.
“After the game, Bill (Belichick) actually told me, ‘If it’s not us, I’m hoping it’s you (to win the Super Bowl). Go get this thing.’ Not a lot of people know that Bill’s a pretty good guy. He doesn’t show it to the media, never in meetings. When he coaches you, he’s a hard-ass. But he’s got a human side to him he doesn’t usually let you see.”
