After this past season, the Colts may have realized they only needed one more thing: a clutch kicker. The Colts signed one of the best clutch kickers in NFL history in Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri was not offered the franchise tag again by the New England Patriots, because it would have cost them $3 million. Vinatieri will replace Mike Vanderjagt, who missed what would have been a game-tying 46-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Vanderjagt was regarded as one of the league's most accurate kickers.
Vanderjagt had been with the Colts since 1998 and has made 217-of-248 field goals for an outstanding 87.5 percentage. Although Vinatieri has not been as accurate, he has certainly been more clutch. He will also be kicking indoors more often now, a drastic change from the cold New England weather.
Vinatieri helped lead the Patriots to their Super Bowl victories in recent years. In his career, Vinatieri is 263-of-321 in field goal tries.
Vanderjagt has also caused some trouble with the Colts. A few years ago, Peyton Manning called him an "idiot kicker". After missing the kick this past season in the playoffs, he went on the David Letterman show and made a 46-yard field goal.
The Patriots have lost several key players in the offseason, and it'll be tough to find someone at the kicker position that they can rely on.