Placekicker Adam Vinatieri (right hip) is available to play and remains on the Colts’ active roster but will not kick in the Super Bowl. Colts head coach Jim Caldwell said that veteran placekicker Matt Stover will handle all of the kicking duties except for kickoffs against the Saints.
The Colts have decided to go with Matt Stover at kicker during the playoffs instead of four-time Super Bowl winner Adam Vinatieri, regarded as the best clutch kicker in NFL history.
Coach Jim Caldwell explained his decision Thursday, saying Vinatieri had not fully recovered from midseason surgery on his kicking knee, and that Stover had done a “great job” since joining the team in October.
“I think the concern was health issues or whatever,” Vinatieri said. “I guess it makes sense. I didn’t necessarily care for the decision. Obviously, all of us want to be on the field as much as we can, but I understand the concerns.”
Vinatieri still could get his chance. The Colts will not put the 36-year-old South Dakota native on injured reserve and intend to carry both kickers on the active roster, meaning Vinatieri may yet kick if he can get healthy.
Some R&R seems to be in order for some members of the Indianapolis Colts as they have locked up home field adfvantage through the AFC playoffs. More on this and more from Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star:
* It was a much-appreciated late-season departure from the norm for Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden. He didn’t spend his weekend in zone coverage.
“Spent it on the couch,” Hayden said.
The upside of having so little rest and preparation time for a Thursday game at Jacksonville last week was having three days to recuperate before the New York Jets visit Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The weekend felt like a mini-bye week.
“It helps out a lot. You’re always banged up this time of year,” linebacker Gary Brackett said Monday.
Linebacker Clint Session said it’s a bigger boon mentally than physically. Left tackle Charlie Johnson agreed.
“You just get away, mentally get away from football, get away from the grind,” Johnson said. “You come back on Monday and you feel refreshed; you feel ready to finish the last two weeks and however long you play.”
Colts coach Jim Caldwell said that for some players, playing Sunday and again Thursday might have compounded injury issues. So the coaches and medical staff will evaluate those cases individually this week, but Caldwell echoed his players.
“Did we need those three days? You’d better believe it,” he said. “I think they’ll help us in the long run.”
* The Colts went 6-0 in what might be the best division in the NFL, top to bottom.
The AFC South is 23-9 in interdivisional games and 11-4 against the NFC. The league’s next best interdivisional record is 21-15, compiled by the NFC East, which has gone 7-7 against the AFC.
“I think the whole division might wind up above .500,” Brackett said. “That’s pretty competitive football.”
The Colts are 14-0, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston all 7-7. Philadelphia leads the NFC East at 10-4, followed by Dallas at 9-5. The New York Giants were 7-6 going into a Monday night game at Washington (4-9).
* WR Anthony Gonzalez and RB Donald Brown practiced Monday, when Colts president Bill Polian said on his radio show that the club hopes Gonzalez can be ready to play against the Jets. Polian added that K Adam Vinatieri will do some kicking later this week to see if he might be ready to go. Gonzalez has been out with a right knee injury since the season opener. Vinatieri has missed the past nine games while recovering from a knee injury and Brown has been out three games with a chest injury. CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) missed Sunday’s game and will be out this week and probably next week. . . . Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes during the Colts’ 35-31 victory at Jacksonville to run his season total to 33 and become the only QB in NFL history other than Brett Favre with five seasons of 30 or more. Favre has done it eight times and has 27 this season. . . . Caldwell said Friday that he wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL weighed in on Chad Simpson’s post-touchdown run up the tunnel behind the end zone at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Simpson kept going to celebrate his 93-yard kickoff return. So far, so good, he said Monday. Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey was fined $10,000 for celebrating a 35-yard interception return touchdown by sliding into the end zone at St. Louis on Oct. 25. Lacey appealed the fine and it was rescinded.
Colts Mr.Dependable, kicker Adam Vinatieri, had surgery on his right hip this week, but is expected to be ready for the regular season opener. Vinatieri was treated by the same doctor that operated on Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, Dr. Marc Phillipon.
The Colts have said little about a timetable for the kickers return, other than he should be ready to go on September 13th, opening day vs the Jaguars. “I kind of would fall back to Dr. Phillipon’s directions and he said he would be ready for the season,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “So we’ll follow his lead in that regard.”
The team said that Vinatieri had discomfort in his hip for more than a year and the pain had become more bothersome. Vinatieri made the winning kick in two of New England’s Super Bowl victories and made the tying and winning kick against Oakland in a blizzard during the Patriots’ first Super Bowl run. Vinatieri has four Super Bowl rings in 13 NFL seasons.
It is pretty much common knowledge that Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is still the NFL’s best clutch kicker, both while with the New England Patriots and with the Colts. Vinatieri sent the Patriots a reminder what he is still capable of doing when he hit a clutch 52-yard field goal, which allowed the Colts to edge the Patriots 18-15 Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The game, while big for both teams – especially Indianapolis – it had the feel of a contest that had very little at stake, which is understandable since Tom Brady wasn’t playing and none of the hype of games past. The game even had some twists to it, such as Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison serving as a punt returner and even typically conservative Patriots coach Bill Belichick calling for a halfback pass.
Early on, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning exposed the Patriots middle passing lanes and the Colts benefitted as on their second drive of the game, Manning directed a 15-play, 91-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard TD pass from Manning to WR Anthony Gonzalez to give the Colts a 7-0 lead. New England responded with a conservative offense which kept them close as Stephen Gotkowski kicked a pair of field goals to narrow the Colts’ lead to 7-6 at halftime.
The Patriots stuck to their “dink-and-dunk” offense in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 15-play drive, ending with a TD run by running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, giving New England a 12-7 lead. Manning rsponded like the Manning of old, using the short field with intermediate-to-long passes to stretch out the Patriots’ secondary while connecting again with Gonzalez with a 9-yard TD pass, giving the Colts a 15-12 lead. The Patriots tied the game at 15 on a FG by Gotkowski but Manning would take the Colts on a 48-yard drive which would set up the game-winning FG by Vinatieri.
Manning had one of his better games of the season, going 21-of-29 for 254 yards and 2 TD’s while Patriots QB Matt Cassel went 25-of-34 for 204 yards and an interception. The Colts’ rushing attack – or lack thereof – was led by Joseph Addai with 32 yards on 17 carries; Kevin Faulk led the Patriots with 60 yards on 10 carries while Green-Ellis added 57 yards on 15 carries and a TD.
Reggie Wayne led all Colts receivers with 5 receptions for 65 yards while Dallas Clark caught 4 passes for 64 yards; Gonzalez added 55 yards on 4 catches and two scores while Harrison caught 4 passes for 50 yards. Randy Moss led all Patriots receivers with 6 receptions for 65 yards. Indianapolis (4-4) plays again on Sunday when they visit Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers while New England (5-3) return home to face the Buffalo Bills – also on Sunday.
If you watched Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings, then you probably noticed like I did that it sure looked like the Vikings’ running attack and their defense was going to send the Colts away 0-2; but as I am sure you have heard more than once, appearances can be deceiving. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was harrassed most of the game, having been sacked twice while throwing 2 interceptions, yet he came up clutch when it mattered most as he led the Colts on a late 4th quarter drive which led to a game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 3 seconds remaining, leading Indianapolis to a narrow 18-15 victory over Minnesota at the Metrodome.
Somehow the Vikings wasted their time management and a very impressive rushing performance by running back Adrian Peterson in the first half, getting 5 field goals by placekicker Ryan Longwell and 3 punts – which seems to point the finger at their quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and his apparent lack of passing acumen. The Colts would come back in the second half with fireworks of their own around mid-third quarter, as Manning would hook up with wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez on a wide open 58-yard completion on 3rd-and-6, of which Gonzalez would lateral to WR Reggie Wayne as the ball was spotted at the Vikings’ 1-yard line. RB Joseph Addai would score from there, despite an unsuccessful challenge by Vikings head coach Brad Childress, narrowing Minnesota’s lead to 15-7.
The Colts in the fourth period would, with the help of Manning (no running game to speak of all game), drive down the field from their own 39 with passes of 17,12 and a 32-yard TD pass to Wayne; RB Dominic Rhodes would sneak in on a 2-point conversion, tying the contest at 15. In the final minute, Manning would on third-and-9 complete a pass to Wayne, which would set up the game-winning FG by Vinatieri. The Vikings would try to rally late, but a late pass attempt form Jackson to WR Bernard Berrian was overthrown as Berrian tripped in triple coverage.
Jackson had a mediocre effort once again, going 14-of-24 for 130 yards while Manning did markedly better, going 26-of-42 for 311 yards with a TD and 2 INT’s. Peterson had an excellent outing for the Vikings, rushing for 160 yards on 29 carries while catching 4 balls for 20 yards while Addai had only 20 yards on 15 carries for the Colts. Gonzalez led all Colts receivers with 9 receptions and a career-high 137 yards while Wayne added 5 catches for 93 yards and a TD. Bobby Wade caught 3 balls for 42 yards while Aundrae Allison added 37 yards on a pair of receptions. Indianapolis, now 1-1, hope to sustain some momentum as they return home to host the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 21 while Minnesota (0-2) will stay home and host the resurgent 2-0 Carolina Panthers – also on September 21.
Capping off a tremendous Hall of Fame Weekend, the Colts and Redskins entertained the fans at Fawcett Stadium on Sunday night to a little taste of preseason football, with the Skins outslugging the Colts 30-16. The story of the back and forth contest was the play of the four Skins QB’s, who are all learning the new system being put in by new head coach Jim Zorn and the fact that the Colts simply seemed to just want to leave Canton with no major injuries.
Jason Campbell, the teams starter this year, was sharp off the bat and on the night, going a perfect 5-for-5 for 61 yards and a TD to Antwaan Randle El from 20 yards out that opened up the scoring just over a minute into the game. Rookie QB Colt Brennan drew cheers when he came into the game in the second half, and didn’t dissapoint. He went 9-for-10 for 123 yards with two TD’s, and looked poised for his first action as a pro.
2nd year running back Marcus Mason, from Youngstown State, paced an effective Redskins running game as he ran for 98 yards on 18 carries (5.4 per carry) with a long of 19. He and Rock Cartwright were the only two ball carriers for the Skins, and they put up a total 156 yards on 31 carries. As for the Colts, preseason for them is just that – a time to simply get ready for the regular season and not get anyone hurt. They rested just about all major starters, including players like Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney and Marvin Harrison. One starter who did give the team a scare was RB Joseph Addai, who left after the second play with a head injury, but seemed all right by games end.
The Colts starters played just one series, and usual backup Jim Sorgi played one series and led the team on a field goal drive, going 7-for-10 for 66 yards. Former Jags QB Quinn Gray, who was a recent cut by the Texans, saw the most extensive action for the Colts, and went 10-for-19 for 160 yards with a TD to Onrea Jones from 30 yards out that gave the Colts a 10-9 lead with 5:57 left in the first half.
Indy led 13-9 at the half after an Adam Vinatieri field goal from 24 yards out to end the first half. Rookie kicker Adam Crossett kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it 16-9 Colts with 10:44 left in the 3rd quarter. That’s when Brennan made his debut, and he quickly made an impact. He tied the score witha nifty 20-yard TD to wide out Maurice Mann that made it 16 all. Then with 10:22 left in the 4th he threw a five-yard TD to Mason on the run that put Washington up for good.
Colts QB Jared Lorenzen, formerly of the Giants, took the helm for Indy in the 4th quarter, and threw a pick with 1:50 left that Skins corner Matterral Richardson took back 30 yards to close out the scoring at 30-16. Indy will head to Carolina to take on the Panthers on Saturday night.
