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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Adam Vinatieri has been Mr. Automatic

in Warum es dieses Forum gibt und wozu ich das mache 08.11.2019 07:59
von liny195 • 49 Beiträge

for most of his first 23 NFL seasons.When he wasn’t Sunday http://www.coltsfanshop.com/Ben-Banogu-Jersey , fans started wondering openly if the oldest player in the league might be slipping.The NFL’s career scoring leader missed his first extra point of the season to the right, his first field goal attempt to the left, and a 29-yard field goal attempt in the second half also to the left, all contributing to a season-opening 30-24 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.It’s the first time the 46-year-old Vinatieri has missed two field goals and an extra point in the same game, and only the seventh time he’s missed a field goal inside 30 yards. Naturally, Vinatieri blamed himself for the loss.“I feel lousy because the guys played their butts off against a really good Chargers team and they played well enough to win,” he said in the locker room. “I didn’t help them out.”At times, there have been signs of wear and tear.Despite dealing with knee tendinitis during the preseason, Vinatieri said last week he felt fine and he refused to blame Sunday’s misses on an injury. His field goal percentage has dipped below 90 percent in six of the last eight seasons and after making 196 consecutive extra points from 2010-2014, he’s missed nine since 2015.Part of the explanation: The league’s decision to move extra points back.The Colts aren’t worried.“He has been a really elite level guy and I shouldn’t just say was because he is — I see it every day in practice that he kicks,” coach Frank Reich said Monday. “I have no concerns of anything deteriorating physically and certainly not mentally. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around. So no worries.”The soccer stadium Vinatieri played in Sunday was the 51st of his career, and while it was a bright, sunny day, Vinatieri acknowledged last week he had heard field conditions were a “little rough” during the preseason. He didn’t talk about the field after the game.He wasn’t the only Colts player to commit a costly mistake.Rigoberto Sanchez had a punt partially blocked in the first half, which led to a San Diego field goal. Defensive tackle Denico Autry drew a personal foul call on the Chargers’ first field-goal attempt, prompting coach Anthony Lynn to take points off the board. San Diego cashed in on its second chance with a touchdown.Defensive end Justin Houston was penalized for being offside, negating Kemoko Turay’s third-down strip sack in the third quarter. Two plays later, Austin Ekeler broke two tackles and scored on a 55-yard TD reception for San Diego.So while Vinatieri’s missed kicks cost Indy seven points, the other miscues cost the Colts an additional 14 points.“We have the greatest kicker of all time. He didn’t have a good day Rock Ya-Sin Jersey ,” Reich said. “There were a lot of guys that didn’t. We all own what we put out there. That’s what we talked about in there. In every phase where you look at it, we all made a play, we all missed a play or two — that cost us.”WHAT’S WORKINGIndy’s pass rush was a big question coming into the season. It looked pretty good Sunday. The Colts recorded four sacks and consistently forced Philip Rivers off his mark in the pocket.WHAT NEEDS HELPPass coverage. Rivers threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns with nine completions of 16 yards or longer.STOCK UPRB Marlon Mack. He carried 25 times for a career-high 174 yards and had the longest TD run of his career, 63 yards. Reich’s goal: a top-five rushing offense. Mack might make it a reality.STOCK DOWNTE Eric Ebron. A year ago, he led all tight ends with 13 TD catches. He only had three balls thrown his way Sunday, catching one for 8 yards. A potential TD catch became an incompletion when he didn’t catch it cleanly.INJUREDWR Devin Funchess . Reich said the big receiver has already had surgery for his broken collarbone and is on injured reserve. He was injured while trying to make diving catch in the end zone late in regulation. Reich said he expects Funchess to return this season.KEY NUMBER120.7 — quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 21 of 27 with 190 yards, two touchdowns , no interceptions and a rating of 120.7 in his first start since December 2017.NEXT STEPSThe Colts expect Vinatieri to rebound and intend to spend this week cleaning up things in all three areas before visiting Tennessee. The Colts enter this offseason with a ton of cap space available, a handful of draft picks, and an arrow pointing straight up for a franchise that bounced back from the crater left by Ryan Grigson remarkably quickly. They got solid production from their rookies and second year players. They also did well with the free agents they signed in terms of both production and culture in the locker room. Something really cool was happening with this team in 2018, and the Colts’ front office has some interesting decisions to make this offseason, because they won’t want to mess with any of the progress that has been made. There are several players who are due to hit free agency, and our goal in this exercise is to take a look at some of them and determine if the Colts should re-sign them or let them walk. Ryan GrantPhoto by Michael Hickey/Getty ImagesThis one is as easy a call as there is on this list. Ryan Grant had a few decent games early in the season, but after he hurt his ankle and missed a few games starting in week 7, he became a complete nonfactor. He never had more than 2 catches after that point and was never targeted more than 3 times. Dontrelle Inman stepped directly into his role and took it over pretty seamlessly in week 8 against Oakland. When you factor in that Grant is 28 and unlikely to be making a leap at this stage in his career, it is pretty easy to wish him well and send him on his way.Verdict: GoPierre DesirPhoto by Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesPierre Desir made a strong case for his return over the back stretch of the 2018 season. He was an integral part of limiting arguably the best receiver in football, DeAndre Hopkins, to two very pedestrian games against the Colts. He also had the same kind of impact on Cowboys’ wide receiver Amari Cooper, who had been taking over games before the Colts shut Dallas down completely. Is Desir a long term answer at cornerback? No. He’ll turn 29 next season Khari Willis Jersey , and they will need players to step in and take over at some point. While there might be some cornerbacks hitting free agency who could provide a marginal talent increase, would it be worth it if they are a risk to the locker room’s cohesiveness? Given Ballard’s tendency to build from the draft, he will likely address the position there, but in the meantime, it makes sense to give Desir a reasonable deal and let him be a veteran presence in a very young defensive backs room.Verdict: StayAl WoodsPhoto by Bobby Ellis/Getty ImagesFor some reason I had it in my brain that Ryan Grigson had brought Woods in, and nearly gave him credit for a solid signing. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. Chris Ballard signed Woods, and it proved to be a big signing for the defensive line in terms of limiting their impotence against the run. Woods is one of the oldest players on the roster not named Adam Vinatieri, and having him present on such a young defense almost certainly provided some value. His role this season was significantly limited, especially when compared with 2017 where he was on the field for the majority of defensive snaps. At 32 years old and with a draft class littered with talented interior defensive linemen and a room full of promising young players already, it just seems like Woods is an unlikely candidate to return. Verdict: GoMatthias FarleyPhoto by Brian Bahr/Getty ImagesYou could be forgiven if you had forgotten about Matthias Farley just a little bit. He went to IR after the game against the Patriots, and given the Colts’ run after that point, much of what happened before got lost in the shuffle. Farley is an interesting case in terms of re-signing. He is just 26 years old, and has a ton of heart as well as being a locker room leader. While he isn’t the most athletic guy in the safety room by a wide margin, he also has a bit of that “it” factor that has reared its head with greater consistency over the past two season. He is a player who gets the most out of his ability. To use a term Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com uses, he is a “fairway” guy. He doesn’t have the high ceiling of some guys, but he doesn’t have the low floor either. I would love to see Farley back in that safety room to back up Malik Hooker.Verdict: StayAdam VinatieriPhoto by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesThis is one of the toughest calls out there. On the one hand, the guy is a complete legend. He holds the All-Time points record, and has been one of the most clutch kickers ever. On the other hand https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Le_Raven-Clark-Jersey , the guy is 46 years old. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt Vinny’s accuracy. He was as accurate this season as ever, and even knocked one in from 54 yards. However, I noticed something this year that I’m sure you did as well. He had some pretty ugly kicks at times, and I think they were due to a lingering injury. He injured his groin in the game against the Bills, and from that point on, there were several one-off kicks that just didn’t look right. Most went in, but seemed to clearly indicate a guy dealing with pain. That is normal for football players, but part of the reason there aren’t guys playing at 46 is because your body simply takes longer to heal than a 24 year old’s does. There is a very real concern that letting someone as prestigious as Vinatieri walk would come back to bite the Colts, and it could. However, Michael Badgley was the guy kicking backup to Vinatieri during training camp and preseason before landing with the Chargers and kicking 93.8% of his field goals and 96.4% of his extra points as well as hitting a 59-yarder. All those numbers best Vinny’s on the year, proving that not only are there guys out there who can be effective, but that the Colts have had them in their building. While it would be a truly tough call, and one that Vinatieri’s retirement might make irrelevant, I believe the right move for the Colts is to let him walk and sign someone to be the next generation place kicker for this team.Verdict: GoLet us know your thoughts in the comments, and check back for the second part of this series for some of the other major in-house free agents the Colts will need to make decisions on.

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