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After missing two field goals and three extra points in the first two weeks of the season, talk of retirement for 46-year-old kicker Adam Vinatieri suddenly became all too real. However, since the Indianapolis Colts convinced him to stay, he has missed just one field goal and no extra points, as pointed out by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
Vinatieri has seemingly made big kicks since the dawn of time — the game-winning Super Bowl kicks in 2001 and 2003 for the New England Patriots and has done plenty more in Indy. His sudden kicking woes to start the season came as a surprise. Unsurprisingly, however, he has propped himself back up.
The Colts' trust in Vinatieri has paid off. Though, it wasn't quite tough to invest trust in Vinatieri, who, as coach Frank Reich puts it, is “one of the mentally toughest players to ever play the game.”
Said Reich on Sept. 24, via NFL.com's Adam Maya:
“You trust him. You trust your guys. The good news is, it’s easy to have belief and conviction about the person and the player that Adam Vinatieri is. This guy, as a kicker, you would have to talk about this guy as one of the mentally toughest players to ever play the game. That’s what it takes to do what he’s done.”
If Vinatieri were to finish the season, he would become the third player in NFL history to play a game at the age of 47. His 47th birthday comes a day before Indianapolis' regular season closer on Dec. 29.
