Adam Vinatieri

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Adam Vinatieri bigraphy, stories - American football player

Adam Vinatieri : biography

December 28, 1972 –

Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American football placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He has played in four Super Bowls, three with the New England Patriots and one with the Colts. Though he was on the roster for another Super Bowl appearance by the Colts in 2009, he was injured and did not play in the game. Vinatieri won Super Bowls in 2001, 2003, and 2004 with the Patriots, as well as 2006 with the Colts. He is the first kicker ever to win four Super Bowl rings.

Vinatieri has been called "Mr. Clutch" by the media due to his reputation for clutch kicking during his tenure in the National Football League. Mr. Clutch Nicknamed "Automatic Adam" for his accuracy, and "Iceman" for his poise under pressure, Vinatieri has converted several of the most crucial field goals in NFL history, including the game-tying and -winning kicks in blizzard conditions in the infamous "Tuck Rule Game", and game-winning kicks in the final seconds of two Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII).

Career

High School

Vinatieri was born the son of Paul and Judy Vinatieri, the second of four children. His younger brother Beau was a place kicker at Black Hills State University before graduating in 2003. Vinatieri attended Central High School (Rapid City, South Dakota) and was a letterman in football, wrestling, basketball, soccer, and track. In football, he earned first team All-State honors as a senior. He graduated from Central High School in 1991.

Before starting at kicker, Adam was quarterback and middle linebacker. When asked why he still isn’t one of those positions, he replied with a laugh "I quit growing."

College career

Vinatieri was originally recruited to kick for Army and attended West Point for two weeks in 1991 before deciding to return home to South Dakota. He was a four-year letterman at South Dakota State University as a placekicker and punter. While there, he won two Division II titles and he finished up his college years as the school’s all-time scoring leader with 185 career points.

Amsterdam Admirals

Vinatieri spent the fall of 1995 training to compete professionally. He received a tryout for the World League of American Football (later rebranded as NFL Europe), now defunct, and earned a roster position with the Amsterdam Admirals as a placekicker and punter. In that season the Admirals lost the World Bowl III against Frankfurt Galaxy.

New England Patriots

In 1996, Vinatieri was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent to be a place kicker. He played in New England for the first 10 years of his NFL career, during which he played in four Super Bowls, winning three. His first Super Bowl appearance was in his rookie season of 1996, when he played with the Patriots in their 35–21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. One of his kickoffs in the Super Bowl was returned by Desmond Howard a Super Bowl record 99 yards for a touchdown. In the 2001 playoffs, during a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders in the final game at Foxboro Stadium, Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 13–13 and send it into overtime. The Patriots won the game on another field goal of 23 yards by Vinatieri.

In Super Bowl XXXVI he kicked a 48-yard field goal on the final play to give the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl victory, a 20–17 win over the St. Louis Rams. Two years later, and in an almost identical situation, he kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to boost the Patriots to another championship (after missing one field goal and having another attempt blocked in the first half). This time, the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32–29, making Vinatieri the first player ever to be the deciding factor in two Super Bowl games (Vinatieri kept the balls used on both of these kicks).

Vinatieri led the NFL in scoring in 2004 with 141 points (31-for-33 on field goals, and a perfect 48-for-48 on points after touchdown or PATs). His best game of the season came against the St. Louis Rams, against whom he scored 16 points (4 field goals, 4 PATs), and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Brown on a fake field goal attempt (that pass gives him a career passer rating of 122.9).Sports Illustrated, September 24, 2007, p. 30 He went on to score a field goal and three extra points in the Patriots 24–21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.