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INDIANAPOLIS – Adam Vinatieri has always heard the shouts of joy after his kicks split the amounts, but the more than 60,000 supporters present at the Colts' home opener match Indianapolis in 2019 against the Atlanta Falcons wanted to send a message while he was occupying the pitch for the first time halfway through the game. quarter.
Vinatieri was perhaps the hardest of the two games of his career at the opening of the season, but just like his head coach and his teammates, supporters this Sunday wanted Vinatieri to know that they were backing him . So after the Colts' first offensive attack stopped on Atlanta's 33-meter line, the crowd screamed even before the 24-year-old started jogging on the field.
In the end, the result of this attempt – a 48-yarder – was good. It does not matter if the ball bounced on the left before ricocheting again; One could say that Vinatieri has rebounded well and that the good fortune that he won at the time of the coup on Sunday set in motion a solid afternoon of work.
In total, Vinatieri participated in his five races on Sunday, which included two achievements and three more points attempts. His efforts were crucial as the Colts escaped with a three-point win, 27-24, over the Falcons to improve to 2-1 a year.
"For me, it was simply a matter of going back to the field, doing your job and doing what you expected of you," Vinatieri said after the match. "It's a very hot match and we needed every point. The guys played well and I'm happy to have contributed a little bit. "
Vinatieri scored one of his three placement attempts, and one of his two extra point attempts, in the overtime loss against the Los Angeles Charts to open the season before missing two more attempts extra points in the road win last week. on the Titans of Tennessee. But he had clear support from his head coach, Frank Reich, every step of the way.
"I just want it to be clear: Adam is our kicker, he's not only our kicker, he's also an instrumental leader on our team," Reich said of Vinatieri the day after the Titans' victory . "When we talk about tenacity and about our team and our program, there's probably no one who personifies that more than Adam, I just want to make sure it's clear."
It is perhaps not surprising that Reich had the usual answer to the question of Vinatieri's performance against the Falcons.
"Yes, I mean, that's what we had planned," Reich told reporters after the match. "We really felt good – just as planned."
Vinatieri's teammates also stood behind the future Hall of Fame. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett – who had his career-best Sunday with 310 assists and two touchdowns – echoed comments from his head coach when asked about Vinatieri's post-game performance.
"We are waiting for it," said Brissett. "You know, he's the best of all time for a reason, we all go through our points where things are not going our way, but I can honestly say that Vinny has not changed, his preparation has not He's always coming with a smile and doing his thing, and he's going to do things with Vinny. "
Vinatieri will continue to follow the same approach in this week's preparations for the Colts' game against the Oakland Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indy then goes to face the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday evening football before spending in his goodbye week.
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