One, almost two. Plus, he's one of the toughest QBs around. If he'd had any kind of decent receiving corp since '98, there'd probably be closer to more Super Bowls. Hell, had they not had the injuries this year, who knows.
Looks like the Dolts will be looking for a new kicker and Vanderjagt will be driving a Molson's truck before long. This franchise should have never left Baltimore. They've been cursed ever since.
I doubt that the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL would be unemployed for long. It looks like he and Dungy have sorted it out too. Dungy made it clear Thursday that players "buy into" his philosophy. He contacted Vanderjagt on Wednesday to gauge the veteran kicker's commitment. "If that is truly what he thinks and he doesn't want to play here because he doesn't think we can win, then he shouldn't be here," Dungy said. Dungy said that Vanderjagt didn't really react to the remark and has not asked for a trade or to be released. http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/019279-1041-036.html I don’t think that this was what MV was getting at all. He was expressing his frustration and making a comment about what he thought the team needed to do to move ahead. The Indy newspapers, however, have done an aggressive editing of the interview to spin it in a way that I would characterise as simply dishonest, so unfortunately it looks like he’ll have them as enemies now. There are a lot of other people agreeing with him, OTOH. VANDERJAGT RIGHT ON TARGET Sure, Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt isn't a real football player. Regardless, he's been around the game long enough to know that NFL championships aren't won by guys who say "please" and "thank you" more often than they say "eat sh-t" and "die." We figure plenty of purists will scoff at Vanderjagt for telling it like he sees it. Regardless, we think Vanderjagt is right on the money with his criticism of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and coach Tony Dungy. "Coach Dungy, he's just a mild-mannered guy," Vanderjagt said. "He doesn't get too excited, he doesn't get too down and I don't think that works either. I think you need a motivator, I think you need a guy that is going to get in somebody's face when they're not performing well enough." Amen. We reported throughout the latter half of the 2001 season that Dungy is simply too nice to take a team to the promised land. Concepts like loyalty and patience work well in normal business. But in the NFL, a heartless prick with single-minded ambition will get a helluvalot farther than Alan Alda. Really, the primary difference between the 2001 paper champions and the real ones from 2002 is that the fiery Jon Gruden took over for Dungy. Does anyone really think the Bucs would have gotten it done this year if Dungy hadn't gotten down the road? As to Manning, Vanderjagt leveled pointed criticism at his lack of enthusiasm for the game. "We need somebody who is going to get in people's face and yell and scream," Vanderjagt said. … http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.cfm I don’t fully agree with this take, though, because I really felt he was taking about positive emotion, getting pumped UP for a big game or a big play. I don’t have the quote handy but I don’t think he was too thrilled with Mora’s destructive slagging of his own team either. Anyway, if this goes sour and he is released, I think he’d look pretty good in a 49er uniform.
BTW, after Favre's first full five seasons in the league, he was 6-3 in the playoffs and had two league MVPs and a Superbowl title on a team that was 4-12 the season before he arrived... Peyton Manning? I believe "all talk, no walk" comes to mind... To even mention the two players in the same sentence is an insult to Favre...
To echo Grizzled's post, if Indy does have a major brain fart and drops Vanderjagt (and his career 85% accuracy rate), I guarantee you he'll have a new team within 3 days. There are many teams out that would love to have a consistent kicker like Vanderjagt. This is moot, though, since Indy's not going to release him, anyway...
The difference between this years bucs and Last years is OFFENSE pure and simple Johnson and Johnson played better this year Gruden is the superior Offensive mine Dungy [and HIS DEFENSIVE STAFF THAT GRUDEN KEPT!!!] are the superior Defensive minds DUngy just needed an OC The Colts lacked TALENT in the Defesive side of the ball Dungy will once again . . start accumulating that talent Gruden came to Tampa in Phil Jackson Like Fashion . . . their was no lack of Talent Rocket River
Did anyone hear Peyton Manning's comments regarding Vanderjagt during the Pro Bowl? He was being interviewed on the sidelines and when asked about Mike's comments, he basically laughed and said that the "idiot kicker" got liquored up before he ran off at the mouth on the Canadian cable TV show. He called him an idiot four times during the interview. Looks like Vanderjagt will be kicking elsewhere next season.
I can't believe Manning did that on tv. It was classic though. I wonder how the kicker feels now. HAHA.
I'm sure he feels fine. He's only the best kicker, %-wise, in NFL history. Plus, he'll probably be gone from that underachieving team next year.
