Pats fan or not, I think that we can all agree that Adam Vinatieri (much like Brady for quarterbacks) is the greatest in NFL history at his position. Way back in 2006, Bill Belichick thought that it was time to move on from Vinatieri so off he went to Indianapolis (where technically he still plays). After winning another Super Bowl-his fourth-and adding to his unparalleled legacy of clutch field goals, it's safe to say that is one of the most notable whiffs that Belichick has made roster-wise in his life. Think about it though, when he was drafted in the fourth round in 2006 (118th overall), Gostkowski was walking into an impossible situation. No matter what, he'd never live up to Vinatieri who had been at the forefront (which is ultra rare for a kicker-the red-haired stepchild of NFL positions) of New England's first three championships.
It's not Gostkowski's fault that while he was in Foxborough, the team became a juggernaut year after year so they weren't in nearly as many tight games, even in the playoffs. By extension, this also meant that he did not make too many notable (ie. game-winning) field goals because who remembers three points when the Patriots were winning by double-digits? The record shows that New England won three more Super Bowls while Gostkowski was here, he went to four Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro (the highest individual honor) twice. Would having Vinatieri have bought the Pats another title? Probably, you have to think that they could have won at least one of the three (two losses vs. the Giants and another vs. Eagles) since they were all decided by one score (eight points).
I'm not claiming to be the biggest Gostkowski fan and I will admit that particularly over the last few years when he got extra shaky since the league moved PATs back to 33 yards and it was no longer an automatic point, I had lost confidence in him. Like most moves with the Patriots, this was a cost-saving move since he was quite overpaid at this juncture in his career and he's 36 years old coming off a season-ending hip injury so he figures to only have a few decent seasons left at best. However, let's remember what a clownshow it was after he went down as Belichick cycled through three more kickers (Ryan Nugent, Kai Forbath and Nick Folk) before finally finding one to somewhat depend on. At best, New England's ceiling next season is most likely nine or ten wins tops. That means that the kicking game will take on more importance than it has in years since their offense is going to be weak, they'll struggle to score overall, they are sure to be in many close games and playing from behind more than they've been used to.
Gostkowski was a pro and never complained that he was put in such a tough spot from Day 1. You never called him the top kicker in the NFL but he had a great run where he was unquestionably one of the best. We can only hope that Stidham or whatever lucky guy is the long-term solution to "replace" Brady has as much success as Gostkowski did in New England. If we take a realistic look at the totality of Gostkowski's career as a Patriot, we can fully understand how difficult it is to replace a legend and now magnify that times a thousand since a quarterback has way more of a say in almost every final result than a kicker. Ugh, so how is your self-quarantining and social distancing otherwise going?
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