I was raised to think Adam Vinatieri could do no wrong.
I grew up believing in three certainties in life - death, taxes and Vinatieri in the fourth quarter. If ever there were living, breathing proof that clutch performers existed in sports, it was Automatic Adam. Michael Jordan could eat his heart out - the real Mr. Clutch was six inches shorter, a decade younger and a whole lot whiter.
That's what made Sunday night so weird for me.
Vinatieri's Colts did the unthinkable Sunday, dropping back-to-back games to fall from 7-0 on the season to 7-2. In two Sundays, they've gone from untouchable to unwatchable. It wasn't just that they lost to the Chargers, falling behind 16-0 in the first quarter and eventually dropping the game 23-21. It was the way they lost. Suddenly I'm wondering what happened to the Super Bowl champions.
Peyton Manning threw six interceptions - yes, six - including three in the first quarter. It wasn't just a career high; it was a Colts franchise record. The special teams allowed two return touchdowns in the first quarter. Colts were suffering injuries left and right - third-stringers were taking the field by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
And then there's Vinatieri. After closing the first half with a missed field goal attempt, leaving the Colts down 23-7 at the half, he had a chance at redemption near the end of the fourth quarter. A minute and a half left, down two, the game on the line. This is where he's always thrived.
Wide right.
It was Vinatieri's first two-miss performance in over a year - his last one came on Nov. 5, 2006, when he made his homecoming to Foxboro and missed two kicks amid the boos of his once-loyal Patriot faithful. Vinatieri was just as rattled Sunday night as he was then. I can see why.
The Colts just aren't the fearsome, dominant force that they once were in the AFC. With a struggling Manning (remember, he was sacked three times and fumbled twice against the Pats last week, too), a human Vinatieri and a host of injury question marks (Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark and now Dwight Freeney), the Colts finally look beatable.
As a Patriots fan, I'm currently more scared of the Steelers more than anyone, Indy included. While the Colts have lost back-to-back games and are buckling in the midseason grind, Pittsburgh has won three straight and just finished a season sweep of a resurgent Cleveland team.
Vinatieri has been iffy; Jeff Reed has been flawless. The injury bug strikes the RCA Dome every five minutes; it has steered clear of the Steelers. And Peyton Manning is on the verge of the unthinkable - falling out of the NFL's top 10 in passer rating - while Ben Roethlisberger is having a career year.
It seems that 2007 is incontrovertibly the Year of Tom Brady, which is unfortunate for Roethlisberger's breakout performance. In what other season could Big Ben throw for 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions and fly under the radar?
The 6'5" 240-pounder even ran his way to victory against the Browns Sunday. With the Steelers down 21-16 early in the fourth quarter, he made a 30-yard dash to the end zone to take the team's first lead of the game, and when the Browns pulled back ahead, he made a 15-yard run to set up his own touchdown pass to Heath Miller.
While Big Ben and the Steelers keep finding new ways to win, Tony Dungy's squad is moving in the opposite direction. This November, the Colts have found plenty of ways to lose.
Evans Clinchy is a junior majoring in English. He can be reached at evans.clinchy@tufts.edu
