INDIANAPOLIS — Adam Vinatieri’s weekend preparations have already kicked into full force.
He’s working with wet footballs, determining his best footgear and getting ready for another potentially big day in messy weather. It’s become a trademark of the NFL’s best clutch kicker.
Vinatieri has figured out how to thrive in pretty much every element: rain, wind, sleet, snow, ice and mud.
So it would be fitting if Vinatieri breaks Morten Andersen’s career record for field goals in a rainy, windy Washington this weekend.
“They’re fun in their own way,” Vinatieri said. “I would prefer decent weather and clean games, if you will, but it’s fun sliding around out there and doing that stuff. It makes your job a little more difficult, but whatever the weather is, we’ll be ready to go.”
Bet on it.
Vinatieri doesn’t spend much time worrying about forecasts because the South Dakota native has produced some of his best work in the worst of times.
Nobody will forget the two kicks he made in the Snow Bowl, or “Tuck Rule” game, to help New England beat Oakland in a divisional-round playoff following the 2001 season.
It helped the Patriots capture their first Super Bowl.
Last year the oldest player in the league made a seemingly impossible extra point to force overtime in a December blizzard in Buffalo and helped keep the Colts within striking distance just 13 days later in monsoon-like weather in Baltimore.
Last week, in the controlled environment of Lucas Oil Stadium, the 45-year-old kicker calmly made 3 of 4 field goals to move within striking distance of Andersen’s career mark (565). Vinatieri is at 562. He’s also 47 points away from breaking Andersen’s career scoring record.
“Records are fun to talk about,” said Andersen, who scored 2,544 points in his NFL career. “Do they define you as a player? I don’t think so. But they can motivate you. I think Adam is more like me, he’s in the now and he wants to win, but he’s earned the right to celebrate it.”
Technically, Vinatieri already has more field goals than Andersen, who finished with 583 including playoff games. Vinatieri is the NFL’s postseason record holder for scoring (234) and field goals (56); he has 618 counting the postseason, including two Super Bowl winners in the final minute.
But his favorite kicks don’t even show up in the league’s official count.
“Obviously, none of the playoff ones count in these, but the most memorable are those when it’s the playoffs, and games are on the line and seasons are holding by a string,” Vinatieri said. “So yeah, I would say the Super Bowl, those two, and the one in the Snow Bowl game. Those are probably my top three if I had to rank them.”
He’s played with two of the league’s greatest quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and a third, Andrew Luck, who might join the list one day.
He’s won four Super Bowl rings, was the only unanimous selection on the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team, and has participated in a league-record 225 victories.
STEELERS: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed practice again Thursday due to an issue with the right elbow he injured the next-to-last offensive snap in a Week 1 tie with Cleveland. He did not practice Wednesday and second-year quarterback Josh Dobbs took all the snaps with the starters on Thursday.
TITANS: Tennessee limited Marcus Mariota at practice and gave more work to backup Blaine Gabbert. Mariota practiced fully Wednesday after an injured elbow knocked him out of Tennessee’s 27-20 opening loss in Miami, and Coach Mike Vrabel said the quarterback should play Sunday in the home opener barring any setbacks.
CHARGERS: Defensive end Joey Bosa will miss Sunday’s game at Buffalo because of a bone bruise to his left foot.
Coach Anthony Lynn said the team will be cautious before bringing the third-year lineman back.
Bosa first injured the foot during training camp, which caused him to miss the preseason. He then reinjured it during practice Sept. 5.
Bosa has 23 career sacks in two seasons, including an NFL-record 19 in his first 20 games.
FALCONS: Running back Devonta Freeman was held out of practice again, leaving his status uncertain for Sunday’s game against Carolina. Tevin Coleman would start if Freeman can’t play.
HALL OF FAME: Tony Gonzalez, the most accomplished tight end in NFL history, Ed Reed, Champ Bailey and London Fletcher are first-year eligible players among the 102 modern-era nominees for the class of 2019 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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