It's not about how he performs in random clutch situations vs. the performance of kickers in all situations though. It's comparing him to others who have faced similar opportunities and performed consistently in those over time.
HOF'er Jan Stenarude I believe still holds the record for late game winners, but he compiled it over many more seasons. Adam already had just a couple of less over about half the career span before he left here. And he did it while kicking in what was long felt to be one of the worst kicking environments wind and weather wise in the league in old Foxboro Stadium and in the AFCE.
He also now leads all kickers in post season kicks made, is second in # of game winning kicks ever made, and top 5 in career accuracy for kickers with over 100 attempts. Others can be equally clutch in limited short term opportunities. The key with Adam is consistency over time, and that speaks to a level of mental toughness that seperates the randomly lucky from the consistently "different". Sports psychologists have studied him and determined he has an inherent capacity to slow down the situation that surrounds him much like his former QB does. Doesn't mean either wouldn't ever fail in pressure situations, just that they are far more consistently likely not to than is average.
Unfortunately for all the statistical advantages he should gain kicking for a dome team, the drawback could be the mentality of that team vs. the one he left and how that impacts him. Last year after being injured early he basically kicked them into the AFCC. From whence they were able to win a ring. This year he's been a little less consistent. And he's going to have to work through that on a team that seems more inclined to point fingers however subtley publicly and likely privately as well rather than being privately accountable while publicly maintaining each others backs. Here he had a tremendous support system who had such a strong belief in him as not just a kicker but a football player and playmaker (not to mention themselves as an organization). Now he's working with an organization with a very different mind set, a subtle inclination to panic under stress, some ego and temperement issues that can flash on and off the field with Manning and Polian, as well as a hugger coach who is third in the chain of command whose efforts to mitigate any appearance of discomfort with the kicker will (comparatively speaking) end up sounding more like damning him with faint praise. Whenever Adam's performance ilicited questions in the past, BB's succinct response was he's money and there is NO OTHER kicker I would rather have when a game is on the line. Bill never publicly acknowledges individual struggles anyway. Just won't go there. Kinda like you don't dignify a rumor by discussing it. If he felt compelled to comment at all he would likely point out all the other blown opportunities in that game like 6 picks and 2 kick returns for scores, and failure to execute a two point conversion not to mention poor coaching, questionable roster management, and situational confusion and clock mismanagement on the part of the HC.
Totally different management style to Indy where they tend to share feelings that perhaps are better privately held and managed in house. Unfortunately they do that to spin and deflect any potential criticism away from Manning and Polian, even if it means St. Dungy falling on the same sword some of his 52 other players are getting skewered with.
It will be interesting to watch this dynamic play out over the next several months into next season. Adam is likely to find himself in a situation he's never faced before where he's second on the list of excuses for failure behind injuries. And that may well effect his mental edge going forward. He never had the QB here wave him off the field, or a HC who wasn't fully prepared to execute situational football without concensus, let alone before a miss.
I also wonder if the asterisk talk has gotten to him, particularly since he's not part of the group responding to that on the field. And locker rooms being what they are, he's likely heard some maddening comments in his own locker room and certainly is aware of the Dungy commentary. That for him is tantamount to people he now works for and with putting an asterisk next to what was widely held to be the career of the second PK inducted into the HOF.
