I don't plan on cheering any Colt players.
I'd love to know what version of 'revisionist' history Mo refers to. The two missed kicks in the Carolina superbowl, the constant bad kick-offs and the missed kick in the Broncos playoff game; the missed kicks all through 2004, and the 17th ranking last year amoung kickers are FACTS. No revision required.
He didn't miss in XXXVIII because he's losing leg, he missed the first because he lost his footing on a painted field, the second was blocked. Lucky for us he was savvy enough to switch cleats before making the third since it was a game winning kick. FYI he was a 93.9% FG kicker in 2004. Scored 141 points to lead the NFL in scoring. Even threw a TD pass to Troy Brown, the same guy Brady overthrew on a gimme TD in Denver on the play just before Adam missed the FG. We should probably have let Brady walk too. He didn't rank in the top 5 in his position and Cassel is much cheaper and has a higher QB rating. .
Adam's best days are behind him, and the idea that the Pats should have wrapped him up years ago is silly. They tried to but Adam was never content with the offers. He made tons of 'franchise' money and then was offered the biggest contract EVER for a kicker by the Pats. He blew it off to sign with the Colts and didn't even check back to see if the Pats would go there, yet we have all these apologists claiming that Adam was mistreated. He is being WAY overpaid now, and he was WAY overpaid ever since 2004, he wasn't worth the money and didn't help us win games. No revision here, just a reality check.
Among his 19 game winning FG's with seconds remaining he had two in games last season, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Without those wins we face a must win game for the Division against the Dolphins in week 17. Do you expect players here to take whatever they are offered? He was "franchised" twice in 4 years but only played under the tag once. The first time he signed a three year deal within a week that was not nearly to be the highest paid but was the first ever fully guaranteed contract for a kicker. Coming off that deal they franchised him again, coming off the best season of his career, but this time there was no deal to follow. Most players pitch a fit when franchised. Adam said it was no big deal. When FA finally arrived this year Jonathan Kraft leaked on a radio show that the team had offered Adam a deal that would keep him the highest paid kicker in the league. He fibbed to put it politely, because within a few days the word also leaked out that the deal they offered included NO BONUS OR GUARANTEED MONEY. Basically they offered to franchise him without the protection of an actual franchise tag. I resent Jonathan playing the spin game to set Adam up as the bad guy in the fans eyes if he left. Adam never said it because he has too much class to whine, or rip the FO on his way out of town, or diss the franchise or it's fans, but their offer was an insult. Still he had nothing but good things to say about them and us. What pissed some off is he had the nerve to say nice things about his new team too. LOL He took responsibility for his decision and confirmed he did not give them a chance to match. The Colts offer was contingent on that, and he gave Polian his word if they gave him that deal he would not simply try to use it for leverage. And the Colts are saving money on kicking this year - about $1.5M compared to what they paid Vanderjerk to kick FG's and some stiff to handle KO because he couldn't.
We are better off getting a cheaper and stronger kicker, but some people in NE think this guy is a god for making a couple of great kicks in 2001. They believe that no other kicker could have done that and they make claims about 'revising' history when some of us just want a decent kicker for a change. Somebody who can be relied on to make 50 yard kicks, and strong kick-offs. Somebody who wouldn't have choked in Denver or against the Panthers.
You sound like a fan who came to this recently. You really do. No kicker can be relied on to make 50 yard kicks, even those kicking indoors as opposed to in a bad weather outdoor divisions. Kickers are like closers - they can have it and lose from season to season. Consistency and reliability is what coaches value. Career wise Adam is the 5th best kicker in NFL history. And a field position coach like BB isn't inclined to go for it at that distance anyway. Adam's kickoffs were plenty strong including 10 touchbacks, and outside of NE where those he's being compared to kick he routinely adds 3-5 yards to his average. Mare's career average KO numbers are just 2 yards longer. Adam routinely kicks 3-5 yards farther in Miami. Wait til you see his numbers kicking 8+ games a year in domes and mild climates kicking in the AFC South vs. East. You'll see why guys like Rackers who was run out of Cincy can seemingly morph into league leaders kicking 14 of 16 in domes or warm weather venues. And of course some kickers likely find additional means to develop more leg beyond change of scene or experience due to the marvels of modern science.
The best we can hope for Gostkowski is he survives his rookie season without blowing chunks in a crucial situation, because if he does this passionate fan base turn on him like a pack of dogs. He certainly is cheaper since he was the only PK selected in a weak 2006 draft. He's never kicked in the elements in December and January in a venue remotely like Gillette. Nor has he even kicked in a college championship game in his young life. But I'm sure he'll be fine because after all, he's our kicker now. And he was a pitcher too, which some feel really helps, even with an era over 7. And if he falters we've always got Dramatica who we know can kick 'em from 50 off a tee on a vacant practice field with his physical therapist cheerleading.
The jilted lovers I see are the Adam apologists who don't seem to understand that the Mike Comptons' of the world were just as important on a play by play basis in winning in 2001.
Bull****, but if it makes you or Mike feel better just keep telling yourself that. If AV doesn't make that kick to tie the Oakland game, and then the one to win it, nothing Compton ever did here means squat. Ditto the 48 yarder to win the first Superbowl. It's also entirely possible Bledsoe is still here and Brady and Belichick have moved on.
The fact that we get called out around here for wanting to boo the Colts shows who the jilted lovers are, and who amoung us is ready for the next generation of kickers who have not yet priced themselves out of NE.
Adam didn't price himself out of NE. They were apparently only too happy to pay him two and a half million a year, just didn't want to give him a signing bonus that would have made him cheaper on the cap now but more likely to see his paychecks continue beyond on a year to year basis. Seems from your viewpoint though you want to boo a guy who wasn't any good anymore anyway who went somewhere else because we didn't want to pay him either. So what's to boo??? LOL
I wish Adam well, I don't plan on cheering for any Colts, and I'm glad we won't be overpaying for a kicker anymore. Just like we didn't overpay for Mike Compton, a guy that spent much more time than Adam on the field. We never had these extensive polls when Compton went to the Jaguars, funny how that works.....
