Quotes from Adam Vinatieri

People think kickers in general kick field goals. But kickers are actually good athletes; we run and work out just like the rest of the football team.

Three surgeries on the same limb, that's a tall order.

Ask a receiver, can we take his gloves off because he's catching the ball too well? Nobody is going to be overly happy about that.

I get to put on a helmet, go out in front of 70,000 people and play a kids game. And they pay me to do it.

When you get one blocked and another partially blocked, you've got to see if you're hitting them low or what.

I think anybody that has had a bad game, or, I dunno, I guess if you go out golfing and you hook a couple balls, are you thinking about it until you get it figured out?

I'm always my worst critic.

If anything, make a 50-yard field goal worth four points instead of three.

I've played with some of the best that have ever played, obviously. I don't know if there is anybody that is a better technician than Peyton Manning. Tom Brady is another quarterback that I was fortunate enough to play with for a bunch of years.

I'm enjoying watching my kids grow and play sports. That's a ton of fun.

I don't know if I'm a clutch hunter, but I'm an avid one.

Yeah, at the end of the year you always sit back and you evaluate, and unless you have a perfect season with no misses there is always room for improvement.

I don't ever take an extended period off between minicamp and the start of training camp.

I first learned about kicking under pressure in 1996, my rookie year with the Patriots. I was signed as a free agent by a team that already had Matt Bahr, one of the best kickers around. To win the job, I had to show coach Bill Parcells that I could make kicks when they counted. That process started in training camp.

I know my body needs to have the proper nutrition so that I can keep kicking at a high level. The same goes with sleep.

Will I still get a slice of pizza? Will I drink a beer or two? Absolutely. You still have to live, but I try to do things in moderation.

I really don't want to be a journeyman.

Anytime I'm on the field, I need to make every kick that's in front of me.

A lot of people can kick a ball a long way, but sometimes you get in a little funk and you work your way out of it.

I've kicked a lot of balls over the years.

I would compare kicking to being a closer in baseball. This whole game gets played, or the cake is made in front of you, so to speak, and you have to turn around and put the icing on the cake.

The older you get, the more difficult it is to keep your body right.

There's a lot of fun things about this sport, but trying to hoist that trophy at the end is what we all play for.

I have to make sure I get eight hours of solid sleep a night.