http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/01242006/news/84356.htm
Patriot aims
By Adam Leech
[email protected]
EPPING - Adam Vinatieri lined up his shot; blocking the outside noise and ignoring the on-lookers that surrounded him, intensely watching each move.
And like so many times before, the most clutch-kicker in New England Patriots history was dead on.
"That’s really good," said George Harris, director of training at Sigarms Academy, looking over at the cardboard man 30-feet away with a bullet hole through his chest.
An avid hunter, Vinatieri stopped by the Academy on Friday to try out the latest line of Sigarms 9 mm handguns. He will spend part of the Patriots offseason in Argentina hunting, which he said is his other passion.
"I think I was born with a gun in my hand," said the South Dakota native. "Professionally, I’m a kicker, but when the offseason comes I love to be outdoors and unwind."
Vinatieri, who passed Gino Cappelletti this season to become all-time leading scorer in Patriots history, and his team are in unfamiliar territory. For the past two seasons the Patriots spent the third week in January getting ready for their next opponent - on their way to their third world championship in fours year.
But last Saturday, the Patriots season, and dreams of being the first NFL team to three-peat, ended abruptly at the hands of the Denver Broncos.
"It’s kind of a weird feeling," he said. "Obviously, I want to still be playing. We’ve had so much success in past years, this year was kind of a let down."
Too make it worse, the game, which ended 27-13, was totally uncharacteristic of what Patriots fans and Vinatieri have become accustomed to. The Patriots turned the ball over five times and saw crucial mistakes from veteran mainstays Tom Brady, Troy Brown and Vinatieri, who missed a 43-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter.
"It was strange because in the past we’ve been the team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes," he said. "You can’t make that many bad plays and still win the game, especially against a team like Denver."
Vinatieri said he had no predictions on who will win the Super Bowl this year and, quite frankly, he doesn’t want any of the remaining teams to win.
"I might not watch any of the games," he said. "It’s been us hoisting up the trophy the past two years and I don’t want to watch someone else hoist up our trophy."
Vinatieri, a free-agent, also gave no prediction on whether he would be back on the Patriots next year, as it will depend on how negotiations go.
"If it’s my choice, I’ll be back," he said.
At the shooting range, Vinatieri got lessons from Harris after shanking a few shots. Harris likened shooting guns to kicking as he gave the future Hall-of-Famer pointers.
"When you’re getting ready to make a clutch kick, you eliminate all outside distractions and stay within your own world, right?" Harris asked. "We do the same thing."
Vinatieri thanked Harris for the spending time with him and even offered to teach him how to kick a field goal, which Harris declined.
And though he’s not going to win a fourth Super Bowl this year, he said he is enjoying the offseason so far.
"It’s nice to have time with my kids and my wife," he said. "So it’s bittersweet."
This page has been printed from the following URL:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/01242006/news/84356.htm
Patriot aims
By Adam Leech
[email protected]
EPPING - Adam Vinatieri lined up his shot; blocking the outside noise and ignoring the on-lookers that surrounded him, intensely watching each move.
And like so many times before, the most clutch-kicker in New England Patriots history was dead on.
"That’s really good," said George Harris, director of training at Sigarms Academy, looking over at the cardboard man 30-feet away with a bullet hole through his chest.
An avid hunter, Vinatieri stopped by the Academy on Friday to try out the latest line of Sigarms 9 mm handguns. He will spend part of the Patriots offseason in Argentina hunting, which he said is his other passion.
"I think I was born with a gun in my hand," said the South Dakota native. "Professionally, I’m a kicker, but when the offseason comes I love to be outdoors and unwind."
Vinatieri, who passed Gino Cappelletti this season to become all-time leading scorer in Patriots history, and his team are in unfamiliar territory. For the past two seasons the Patriots spent the third week in January getting ready for their next opponent - on their way to their third world championship in fours year.
But last Saturday, the Patriots season, and dreams of being the first NFL team to three-peat, ended abruptly at the hands of the Denver Broncos.
"It’s kind of a weird feeling," he said. "Obviously, I want to still be playing. We’ve had so much success in past years, this year was kind of a let down."
Too make it worse, the game, which ended 27-13, was totally uncharacteristic of what Patriots fans and Vinatieri have become accustomed to. The Patriots turned the ball over five times and saw crucial mistakes from veteran mainstays Tom Brady, Troy Brown and Vinatieri, who missed a 43-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter.
"It was strange because in the past we’ve been the team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes," he said. "You can’t make that many bad plays and still win the game, especially against a team like Denver."
Vinatieri said he had no predictions on who will win the Super Bowl this year and, quite frankly, he doesn’t want any of the remaining teams to win.
"I might not watch any of the games," he said. "It’s been us hoisting up the trophy the past two years and I don’t want to watch someone else hoist up our trophy."
Vinatieri, a free-agent, also gave no prediction on whether he would be back on the Patriots next year, as it will depend on how negotiations go.
"If it’s my choice, I’ll be back," he said.
At the shooting range, Vinatieri got lessons from Harris after shanking a few shots. Harris likened shooting guns to kicking as he gave the future Hall-of-Famer pointers.
"When you’re getting ready to make a clutch kick, you eliminate all outside distractions and stay within your own world, right?" Harris asked. "We do the same thing."
Vinatieri thanked Harris for the spending time with him and even offered to teach him how to kick a field goal, which Harris declined.
And though he’s not going to win a fourth Super Bowl this year, he said he is enjoying the offseason so far.
"It’s nice to have time with my kids and my wife," he said. "So it’s bittersweet."
This page has been printed from the following URL:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/01242006/news/84356.htm
