Vinatieri, defense give Indianapolis a leg up
BALTIMORE -- There were 12 million reasons Adam Vinatieri signed with the Indianapolis Colts last spring. The one reason the Colts wanted him was on display last night.
Adding even further shine to his legend, Vinatieri converted all five of his field goal attempts -- including a personal-best postseason kick of 51 yards -- to power the suddenly defensive demons from Indianapolis to a 15-6 AFC divisional playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Call it what you will -- a three-hour sleeping pill for the 71,162 at M&T Bank Stadium who were treated to just 505 total yards, six turnovers, nine punts, or a game that belonged under the call letters MLS and not NFL -- just so long as you agree that it further established Vinatieri as the sport's grandest big-game kicker. What isn't open for debate is this -- he now ranks as the most proficient kicker in postseason history, for after successful kicks of 23, 42, 51, 48, and 35 yards, the onetime Patriots hero now has 34, surpassing Gary Anderson (32) on the career list.
"You just feel like you're going to make it every time when he goes out there," said Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, whose Colts will watch today's Patriots-Chargers game to find out where they go next week. If the Chargers win, the Colts will travel to San Diego for the AFC title game a week from today. If the Patriots win, the Colts will host New England.
Not that Dungy and Co. were worrying too much about their travel plans, not after a stirring victory that not only validated their free agent pursuit of Vinatieri, but silenced those critics who held the Colts' defense up to ridicule just a few weeks ago, back in a stretch during which they went 3-2 and yielded an average of 25.8 points per game.
Doom and gloom was predicted, but the team color -- blue -- was not reflective of the team's mood.
"Our expectations," said Dungy, "were the same as last year, even when no one else thought so."
People will start to rethink things now that the Colts have stifled a playoff foe for a second straight week. Unlike a week ago when they yielded one touchdown to the Chiefs, the Colts kept the Ravens out of the end zone, thanks in part to a fierce pass rush and a secondary that handcuffed the lads in purple.
"They did a lot of things that were successful," said Baltimore tight end Todd Heap, who could not say the same about his club, though in truth neither offense provided many highlights. Indianapolis's vaunted league-leading offense totaled just 261 yards as All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning (15 of 30, 170 yards) had pedestrian numbers that were nearly identical to Baltimore's Steve McNair (18 of 29, 173). Each was picked off twice, but McNair's first one was the most damaging, with the Ravens third and goal at the 4 midway through the second quarter.
"You just can't do it," said Baltimore coach Brian Billick, who watched McNair try to force a pass into Heap in the end zone at a time when the Colts held a 6-3 lead. Instead, defensive back Antoine Bethea stole it.
It set in motion what would serve on this night as some inspiring offensive football -- 65 yards on 13 plays that chewed up 6 minutes -- at which time Vinatieri proved that while it's great to be good, it's even better to be lucky. His 51-yarder hit the crossbar and bounced through for a 9-3 lead.
"Points are at a premium [against] them," said Vinatieri of the Ravens, the league's top-rated defense. "You just try not to let all the implications and all the extra hype and all that stuff try to get to you."
Two Super Bowl-winning kicks prove Vinatieri is able to do just that, but still to be questioned is what happened to Baltimore's offense. Only wideout Mark Clayton (six catches) and Heap (three) served as legitimate targets for McNair, though the quarterback hardly helped his cause in the fourth quarter.
Trailing, 12-6, the Ravens got the ball back when Ed Reed made the second interception against Manning, but on third and 9 from the Indianapolis 39, McNair made a bad read on a pass attempt to Demetrius Williams, who was cutting across the middle. It never got there, for cornerback Nick Harper stepped in and stole it.
"We had a great game plan," said Harper, whose jarring tackle of Heap earlier in the game had caused a fumble and set up the second Vinatieri field goal. "We knew that they were going to come out and run a lot of short routes."
Harper's interception came with 10:18 to play, but what followed was a 13-play, 47-yard march that more importantly devoured 7:16 of the clock. It concluded with -- as if you didn't already guess it -- another Vinatieri field goal, though Colts tight end Dallas Clark will have to take someone's word on it, because he didn't watch.
"I just go to the bench, because it's pretty much going to be good," said Clark. "He's amazing."
File that under old news -- at least in New England.
