When the Colts headed into the 2019 season, the last thing they figured on worrying about was the kicker position. It wasn’t simply that they had pressing concerns to address, not least among them the retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck. It was that they had Adam Vinatieri, the National Football League’s leading scorer of all time, to lean on. If he stands three digits clear of second-running Morten Andersen, it’s because he has been about as automatic as they come in terms of producing points.
Unfortunately for the Colts, Vinatieri has been anything but automatic this season. In fact, he has been a veritable crapshoot, negatively accounting for outcomes because of his inability to get leather through uprights with consistency. Yesterday, he flubbed yet another extra-point attempt early in the fourth quarter that could have increased the hosts’ lead to three. Instead, the failed attempt forced them to go for a touchdown while down four at the Dolphins’ 17-yard line late in the match. Previously, he had miscues against the Chargers and the Steelers that cost them wins.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, yesterday’s miss was Vinatieri’s fifth of the year with the scores separated by three points or less, and sixth overall. Not coincidentally, he has likewise failed to capitalize on five field-goal tries. Still, he insisted on the aftermath that his confidence wasn’t shaken. At all. “It’s not a matter of that,” he contended. “It’s a matter of executing.” Meanwhile, Colts head coach Frank Reich remained steadfast in his support of the embattled kicker. “I believe this guy, mentally, to be one of the toughest guys to ever play.”
Then again, there can be no second-guessing the results. Vinatieri should have made the extra point yesterday, especially since he was at familiar Lucas Oil Stadium. (For the record, he did tie Andersen’s league mark for field-goal attempts at 709 with a 39-yard shot that extended his own mark for made FGs to 596.) And, certainly, a loss at home against the lowly Dolphins was inexcusable. The absence of vital cogs Jacoby Brissett and T.Y. Hilton notwithstanding, the Colts had no cause not to win. Instead, they got a reason for their loss. And having this missed out on getting to the top of the AFC South, they may well have a decision to make, fast.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
