Mike Vrabel knows all too well how valuable former New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri was during his team’s first title run.
The former Patriots kicker is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was recognized among the other inductees Thursday night.
Here in New England, the long-time kicker, who donned the #4 for the Patriots, was a key part of all three of their first title runs. Vinatieri hit a game-deciding kick in each of the three Super Bowls, including the 48-yarder he drilled as time expired to win the club’s first title.
However, that 45-yard kick in the snow with just 0:32 seconds remaining in the game against the Raiders to force overtime in the Divisional Round still goes down as one of the most incredible moments head coach Mike Vrabel has ever seen.
“The kick in the snow, that’s probably the greatest feat, one of the greatest feats I’ve ever seen on a football field,” said Vrabel, who also finished with a combined three tackles that night. “You could barely run, let alone approach and kick a football that length. Obviously, we talked about everybody means a lot to the team. During those years that I was here, Adam was certainly one of those players that meant a lot to the football team and to our success.”
Having played with Vinatieri until the kicker’s departure to the Colts following the 2005 season, Vrabel spent enough time with Vinatieri to appreciate not only those clutch kicks, but just also how consistent he was.
“Well, you always knew that when he kicked, they were going to go in,” said Vrabel. “I think that was just what we always thought and knew. If we got into those types of situations.”
As Vinatieri stood on stage, the photo behind each of the players on Thursday night saw him wearing a Colts uniform. He kicked for 24 years in the NFL, having spent 10 years in New England and 14 years in Indianapolis before his retirement in 2021.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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