Is Indianapolis Colts’ Kicking Competition Most Important Camp Decision?
INDIANAPOLIS — When the Indianapolis Colts reviewed their shortcomings in finishing 7-9 last season, coaches had to wince at the problematic kicking game which for more than two decades had been a special-teams staple.
Fifteen missed kicks, including six extra points, were hard to believe. Future NFL Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri had all but one of those in 12 games before being placed on injured reserve with a right knee injury that required surgery.
When Colts players report to the team facility for training camp on Tuesday, they will have two kickers on the roster — second-year Chase McLaughlin and undrafted rookie Rodrigo Blankenship.
Let the kicking competition commence. Who wants to follow a legend?
Blankenship arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday and actually had the opportunity to meet Vinatieri, who recently put his Northside home up for sale.
Neither Colts general manager Chris Ballard nor head coach Frank Reich said they talked to Vinatieri in the offseason. Ballard phoned once, but Vinatieri missed the call while hunting. It became increasingly obvious as the offseason unfolded that the team had moved on from the 47-year-old kicker.
McLaughlin earned a one-year tender after making five-of-six field goals and all 11 extra points while filling in for Vinatieri in the last four games of 2019. Blankenship, the Lou Groza Award winner for college’s top kicker, received a $20,000 signing bonus to take on McLaughlin for the job.
Both have strong legs. Question is, which will be more accurate in camp?
McLaughlin, who had stints with the Chargers and 49ers prior to joining the Colts, made all three of his kicks from 50 or more yards as a rookie. But he was 18-of-23 overall with five misses from 40-49 yards.
Blankenship, known as “Rec-Spec” for his thick-rimmed glasses, developed quite a fan following at Georgia, where he made 27-of-33 field goals as a senior, including three-of-five from 50-plus yards (one miss was blocked). His career field-goal percentage of 82.47 is a school record. He didn’t miss one of 200 extra points in four years.
It would be an understatement to just say the Colts need to improve in the kicking game. While the team had other issues — an offense that struggled to throw the ball down the field and a defense with a spotty pass rush that failed to protect three fourth-quarter leads — the inability to make kicks was as much of a detriment as anything else.
The Colts were 5-6 in one-score games. That record most assuredly would have been better if Vinatieri were healthy and the “Mr. Clutch” everyone counted upon the previous 13 Colts seasons in a 24-year, record-setting NFL career. It started in the season opener, when the Colts lost to the Chargers in overtime. Vinatieri missed two field goals and an extra point.
He missed a potential game-winning field goal at Pittsburgh that was blamed on a bad hold with the laces facing him. An extra-point miss loomed large in a home loss to Miami. The Colts and Tennessee Titans were tied at 17 in an important AFC South Division clash on Dec. 1, which turned when a Vinatieri field-goal attempt was blocked and returned for a go-ahead touchdown. The Colts failed to secure the outside edge by sustaining a block.
Since arriving in Indianapolis in 1984, the Colts have had five Week 1 kickers in Raul Allegre, Dean Biasucci, Cary Blanchard, Mike Vanderjagt, and Vinatieri.
Will McLaughlin or Blankenship become the sixth?
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
