Vinatieri not kicking himself

FOXBOROUGH -- The last time Adam Vinatieri faced the Miami Dolphins, in a 24-10 victory Oct. 10 at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots kicker missed a 47-yard attempt wide right to end a string of seven consecutive successful field goal tries.

It's been Vinatieri's only miss so far this season.

Only four kickers in NFL history have gone an entire season without missing a field goal attempt, the last being the Colts' Mike Vanderjagt, who converted all 37 of his kicks last season.

In the midst of the most successful season of his nine-year career, Vinatieri has emerged as the most accurate kicker in the league this season, converting 28 of 29 attempts through 13 games, including the last 21 in a row. It ranks as the second-longest streak in team history. Vinatieri converted 25 in a row from Nov. 24, 1996, to Nov. 9, 1997, to establish the franchise record.

"The confidence level has been pretty good this year," said Vinatieri, who converted a season-high five attempts in a 29-6 home victory Nov. 14 against Buffalo. "Everything feels great and everyone's doing a good job. We all kind of build confidence in each other -- offense, defense, and special teams. I know the fellas up front are going to do a nice job and Lonie [Paxton, the long snapper] and Josh [Miller, the holder] are going to do a good job, and it just builds confidence and it just makes my job that much easier."

Asked if he was at all superstitious before facing the Dolphins -- the only team he has missed against this season -- on Monday night, Vinatieri smiled and shook his head.

"I don't think so, not at all," he said. "The only thing I make sure I do before a game is get plenty of time to stretch out and loosen up. I don't like to feel rushed or anything as far as that. But I think that's [the same way with] every player at every position. I don't have any lucky socks or any of that stuff. I don't get into any of that stuff at all."

Sick call
Strong safety Rodney Harrison showed up on the team's injury report yesterday as probable for Monday night. Harrison missed a portion of yesterday's practice with the flu . . . Asked if he was heartened by the upgrade in cornerback Ty Law's condition from out to doubtful this week, coach Bill Belichick said, "Well, he is better than he was. He should be. It has been six weeks. So, we are headed in the right direction. What will happen, when he will be able to play, if he will be able to play, that is day to day. We won't know that until he is able to do it. But it is better now than it was last week, which, again, it should be after this amount of time." Law broke a bone in his left foot in New England's only loss this season, at Pittsburgh Oct. 31 . . . After the Patriots were caught by a fake field goal, which Cincinnati converted for a touchdown last Sunday, Belichick was asked if opponents would be less likely to pull a similar stunt now that the team would be on guard for such trickery. "I don't know," he said. "You could go both ways on that. They know that we know that they know that we know, so you could play that game all day. You've just got to be ready for that stuff every week." . . . Acton-Boxboro coach Bill Maver was named Patriots High School Coach of the Year in recognition of his team's undefeated (13-0) season and its fourth consecutive Super Bowl championship. The Colonials defeated Chelmsford, 28-6, in the Division 1A Super Bowl Dec. 4, to record their 50th consecutive victory. The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation will donate $2,000 to the Acton-Boxboro football program in Maver's name, in addition to the $1,000 donation for Maver's previous Coach of the Week selection.