Kick in the pants

From the sound of it, the Colts’ victory over the Ravens is a huge upset. Never mind that the Colts of Indianapolis has Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Adam Vinatieri. Apparently, the Ravens’ defense is just as stellar with big-name players, but I’ve always believed that the team that controls the ball controls the game.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

At least that appeared to be the case in the Colts’ victory over the Ravens even though no touchdowns were scored in the 15-6 decision. From a periphery it looked as if Manning controlled the game just enough to put Vinatieri in position to boot the ball through the uprights… five times.

So as we wait for the Eagles and Saints to start here’s the question to ponder – is Vinatieri the best kicker ever? Certainly no other player has made more clutch kicks in the biggest of games. Does anyone else even come close?

For what it’s worth, the best of Vinatieri’s money kicks was the one in the snow to beat the Raiders during the famous “In-the-Grasp/Snow Bowl” game in 2002.