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I have built a long-standing brand— at least on social media that is— of being very anti-kicker when it comes to the NFL. While I will continue that good fight until the day I die, there are a few players who deserve recognition despite my disdain for the position. Two of those players are Hall of Famers at the position in Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen.
Stenerud played in 263 career games from 1967 to 1985 primarily for the Kansas City Chiefs where he made 373 kicks for a career average of 66.8% on field goals. Andersen played in 382 career games from 1982 all the way to 2007 primarily for the New Orleans Saints where he made 565 career kicks for a career average of 79.7% on field goals.
The two kickers are currently the only two players in the Hall of Fame at the position but they teamed up for an episode of the Great Dane Nation Podcast to talk about the greatest player to ever play at the position and who could potentially be joining them in Canton one day. Obviously, Colts’ legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri came up early in their conversation.
Vinatieri has appeared in 365 career games from 1996 to 2019. He has made 599 kicks in his career (an NFL record) for a career average of 83.8% on field goals. The two Hall of Famers had plenty of great things to say about the former Colts’ kicker. Here is what Stenerud had to say on the episode:
You have to go by era I suppose. I feel comfortable in my era, you should feel comfortable in yours (referring to Andersen) from being the best for a very long time, but Adam (Vinatieri) has all the records in the world including Super Bowls. He’s had big big games in the biggest games. For right now, there are three names that come to mind and they are Adam Vinatieri, Morten Andersen, and I’m a little older so that’s why I get mentioned in there as well.
I’ve had the benefit of listening to the show a bit early and I will say even someone as cynical as me when it comes to kickers came away having a good time listening to this show. The full episode drops on Wednesday, February 10th at 4:00 PM EST and I highly advise tuning in to this episode to listen to some insight and a great conversation about a Colts legend. Here is the link to the show when it goes live on Wednesday:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/vegasinsider/ep-23-jan-stenerud