Adam Vinatieri is out to prove it is football, after all, not armball.
As another Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning showdown looms in Sunday night’s AFC championship game, Vinatieri is poised to make liars of the historians who believe quarterbacks are more important than kickers.
While Brady gets the accolades for winning three of the last five Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, the record will show that Vinatieri field goals were the difference every time–20-17 over the Rams, 32-29 over the Panthers and 24-21 over the Eagles.
Now with Vinatieri on their side, Manning and the Indianapolis Colts are favored to reach their first Super Bowl–by a margin of three points, of course.
In playoff victories against Kansas City and Baltimore, the Colts have scored on eight field goals and only two touchdowns. This game very well could be Vinatieri vs. his rookie replacement, Steve Gostkowski, with Manning and Brady mere onlookers.
Probably not. Manning vs. Brady is pro football’s marquee matchup. In Indiana this is almost as good as Magic vs. Bird, except Manning has more catching up to do to keep the rivalry close.
Manning has won the last two showdowns with Brady, both in New England. But that got him only to 2-6 against Brady, and he’s still 0-2 in playoffs against the Patriots
The Colts lost the AFC title game in 2003 and the semifinal in 2004, both in Foxboro, Mass. For the first time, Manning gets Brady in the RCA Dome in the postseason. But the Colts must be careful what they wish for–Brady is 10-0 in domes.
The pressure remains squarely on Manning.
“People talk about your legacy,” Manning said Friday. “That really is a deep word for me. I’ve just focused on the fact we’re playing New England in a championship game. The Patriots defense gives you more to concentrate on than your own place in history, so that’s what I’m dealing with.”
Meanwhile, Brady was asked if he could imagine how much pressure Manning has to get the monkey off his back.
“I have no idea,” Brady answered.
Colts coach Tony Dungy can relate to Manning’s pressure because he has never made it to a Super Bowl either. He was fired in Tampa Bay the year before the Buccaneers got there under Jon Gruden. Dungy lost in the NFC title game in 1999 in St. Louis before losing to the Patriots in 2003. This is his first shot at home.
“I don’t know that [Manning] will be judged against Tom Brady,” Dungy said. “But every quarterback will be judged against Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr and guys who have won Super Bowls. That’s the way it is.
“We have appreciation now for Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason and Dan Fouts and guys who haven’t won it. But at the time, we talk about how many Super Bowls you’ve won. As time goes by, history is a little easier on you.”
With Vinatieri in place of Mike Vanderjagt, once labeled by Manning as “our idiot kicker,” Manning should enjoy an unfamiliar comfort zone.
Vinatieri missed only three field goals this season, two against the Patriots on Nov. 5, but he also made two in the Colts’ 27-20 victory.
The Colts paid him a $3.5 million signing bonus as part of a five-year, $12 million contract to sign as a free agent. The Patriots went with Gostkowski, who hit the winning points against San Diego last week.
Inside the RCA Dome over his career, Vinatieri is 23 of 23, including 12 of 12 this season.
“He’s not going to miss,” Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “You’re going to have to block the kick, especially playing indoors. We’re going to have to block a kick for him to miss one.”
Manning vs. Brady already is one of the great faceoffs in NFL history because this is their ninth game.
Dan Marino and John Elway, both drafted in 1983, faced each other only three times during the 16 years their careers overlapped. Detroit’s Bobby Layne and Cleveland’s Otto Graham battled in three NFL championship games in 1952-54 but played each other only five times total.
“The NFL has a funny way of highlighting the quarterbacks, like it’s Peyton versus Brady,” Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney said.
“That’s all right for the media, the fans and the game, but there’s a lot more going on out there than just two quarterbacks going at it.”
Such as Vinatieri, who considers this reunion less dramatic than his kicks.
“If you keep winning, inevitably your crossroads will meet,” he said.
Or did he mean crossbars?
