Colts find perfect excuse to toss Vanderjagt under the bus

By John Onan  |   Monday, March 27, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Indianapolis Colts
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Despite the fact that former Indianapolis Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt was statistically the most accurate kicker in NFL history, it was no secret to anyone familiar with the team that the Colts have at times considered getting rid of the man that star quarterback Peyton Manning dubbed "our idiot kicker". One such time, for example, was after Vanderjagt criticized both Manning and head coach Tony Dungy on the heels of a 41-0 playoff loss to the New York Jets in 2002.

Vanderjagt seemed to redeem himself and gain back his star status with the club the following year when he became the first kicker in league history to connect on all his field goal and extra point attempts, but that didn't last very long. He would soon get himself in hot water again in 2004 in preparation for a postseason rematch with New England by stating they were "ripe for the picking."

After the Colts proceeded to lose to the Patriots, it was just a matter of time before the team would cut him loose. The only problem though, was that Vanderjagt was still one of the best players at his position and the Colts couldn't just sign anybody off the street to do the job at Vanderjagt's level.

Enter Adam Vinatieri. All he did was help lead the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl wins in four years by booting the gamewinner each time he was called upon. For some peculiar reason, the Patriots decided that Vinatieri was worth making the highest paid kicker in the league and so they allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent earlier this month.

But let's get back to Vanderjagt for a moment. He sealed his fate with the Colts by badly missing a 46-yard attempt against the Pittsburgh Steelers in this past season's AFC Divisional Playoff game that would have forced overtime. As Manning, Dungy, and the rest of the team were left with a bad taste in their mouth by how the 2005 year ended, Vanderjagt proceeded to make a joke of the situation by appearing on "The Late Show with David Letterman" by successfully booting the same 46-yarder in a Manhattan parking lot with Letterman serving as the holder.

The timing couldn't have been better for the Indianapolis Colts to say goodbye to "the idiot kicker", as the Patriots decided that $3 million a year was too much to pay Vinatieri. They had put the franchise tag on him the previous two offseasons, but this time around New England general manager Scott Pioli opted to let Vinatieri leave. As a result, he signed with possibly their biggest rival.

It's way too early to tell if this decision will come back to haunt the Patriots, but if the 2006 AFC Championship comes down to them and the Colts with Vinatieri trotting onto the field for a game-winning field goal attempt, the answer could be perfectly clear.
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