Chicat
01-12-2005, 12:38 PM
Vanderjagt: Patriots are 'ripe for the picking'
FOXSports.com
The idiot kicker is back.
Indianapolis' Mike Vanderjagt provided a nice bit of bulletin-board material for the New England Patriots after proclaiming the defending Super Bowl champs to be "ripe for the picking" according to a report in the Boston Herald.
"I think they're not as good as the beginning of the year, not as good as last year. And I think they're beatable," Vanderjagt said. "We have to play well. There's no question about that. But I think we're going to come back (to Indianapolis) Sunday night going to the AFC title game."
The quote was reminiscent of Colts tight end Marcus Pollard's comments last season.
After winning a pair of playoff games to set up a showdown with the Patriots in the AFC title game, Pollard said if the Colts continued to play that way, the NFL should "just hand us the rings."
And we know how that played out. Peyton Manning threw four interceptions and the Patriots won 24-14 en route to their second Super Bowl win in three years.
But Vanderjagt has a history of sticking his foot in his mouth. Two years ago, he publicly admonished Manning in an interview, claiming the quarterback needed to show more emotion. In response, Manning called his teammate an "idiot kicker" and claimed that Vanderjagt was possibly "liquored up" during the interview.
Maybe that's why the Patriots didn't appear to be too offended by Vanderjagt's comments.
"You're asking me to comment on what a kicker said?" linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "It doesn't really concern me, OK?"
"It doesn't mean anything. It's all talk," linebacker Willie McGinest said. "No games are won doing interviews. If Vanderjagt feels confident that he's guaranteeing victories and all that, that's great for him. But there are going to be a whole bunch of plays he's not going to be out there for. The rest of the guys are going to be out there dealing with it."
FOXSports.com
The idiot kicker is back.
Indianapolis' Mike Vanderjagt provided a nice bit of bulletin-board material for the New England Patriots after proclaiming the defending Super Bowl champs to be "ripe for the picking" according to a report in the Boston Herald.
"I think they're not as good as the beginning of the year, not as good as last year. And I think they're beatable," Vanderjagt said. "We have to play well. There's no question about that. But I think we're going to come back (to Indianapolis) Sunday night going to the AFC title game."
The quote was reminiscent of Colts tight end Marcus Pollard's comments last season.
After winning a pair of playoff games to set up a showdown with the Patriots in the AFC title game, Pollard said if the Colts continued to play that way, the NFL should "just hand us the rings."
And we know how that played out. Peyton Manning threw four interceptions and the Patriots won 24-14 en route to their second Super Bowl win in three years.
But Vanderjagt has a history of sticking his foot in his mouth. Two years ago, he publicly admonished Manning in an interview, claiming the quarterback needed to show more emotion. In response, Manning called his teammate an "idiot kicker" and claimed that Vanderjagt was possibly "liquored up" during the interview.
Maybe that's why the Patriots didn't appear to be too offended by Vanderjagt's comments.
"You're asking me to comment on what a kicker said?" linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "It doesn't really concern me, OK?"
"It doesn't mean anything. It's all talk," linebacker Willie McGinest said. "No games are won doing interviews. If Vanderjagt feels confident that he's guaranteeing victories and all that, that's great for him. But there are going to be a whole bunch of plays he's not going to be out there for. The rest of the guys are going to be out there dealing with it."