INDIANAPOLIS �? felt fine during last weekend’s game at Los Angeles. Long snapper Luke Rhodes thought everything went off without a hitch Qadree Ollison Jersey , too.Then the NFL’s career scoring leader inexplicably missed three kicks, and the 24-year veteran long dubbed the best clutch kicker in league history started fielding questions about what went wrong in the Colts’ overtime loss. On Thursday, the questions were back.“Unfortunately, if you play long enough you’re going to have a lousy game every once and a while,” Vinatieri said. “One day you’re off, and you come back and figure out how to kick ’em straighter.”Sounds like a simple solution to, perhaps, the worst game of his career.But those bad days have been rare for the NFL’s career scoring leader. Never before had Vinatieri missed two field goals and an extra point in the same game �? two to the left, one to the right �? and it marked only the fourth time in his career he missed a field goal inside 30 yards.Naturally, Vinatieri blamed himself.“I just didn’t kick well,” he said. “There were a few things that didn’t go our way but the majority of them were my lousy kicking, so I totally let them down.”It didn’t take long for others to start contemplating whether father time had finally caught up to Vinatieri Brian Burns Jersey , the league’s oldest player now at age 46.He sat out part of the preseason with tendinitis in his left knee. He finished last season by missing two extra points and a field goal in the Colts’ final three games after contending with a lingering groin injury. Then came the performance nobody saw coming on a bright, sunny southern California day.“He was the same old Adam,” Rhodes said. “We had great warmups and stuff, he was extremely confident. But he’s done it so long, I know he’ll jump right back.”If stats are any indication, Rhodes could be right.Vinatieri’s field-goal percentages have hovered in the 80s or 90s for seven straight years and he’s produced eight of his 12 best single seasons since 2010. He’s missed just 19 extra points in the NFL, nine coming since the league voted to move line of scrimmage for the attempt from the 2-yard line to the 15.Here, in this locker room, everybody roots for Vinatieri.“He’s a great guy, his mindset is the same as mine,” 24-year-old All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard said. “He loves the game, he loves being in this locker room http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/greg-little-jersey , and you can tell. He doesn’t just go to meetings and things, he’s in here with us.”The players and coaches also understand Vinatieri didn’t win four Super Bowl rings, make two Super Bowl-winning kicks and two other memorable kicks in the snow at New England, or pass Hall of Famer Morten Anderson for the scoring and field goals titles without overcoming a little adversity.Vinatieri couldn’t bring down Desmond Howard or Devin Hester on their kickoff returns for touchdowns in the Super Bowl. Vinatieri finished the 2009 season on injured reserve after having surgery on his right knee. When the Patriots let him walk away in free agency following the 2005 season, he landed in Indianapolis’ domed-stadium where he’s now scored a franchise record 1,446 points and became the first player in league history to top 1,000 points with two teams.There was even that time, a month into his rookie season, when Vinatieri needed to make a 40-yard field goal in the wind and rain against Jacksonville to keep his job.He made it look as easy then, as coach Frank Reich expects this weekend at Tennessee (1-0), without Vinatieri’s personal stakes being so high.“I have watched him in pregame, I have seen him every day in practice. (I have) no concerns that there is any deteriorating of anything physically Will Grier Jersey , and certainly not mentally,” Reich said Monday. “This guy is the toughest mental athlete I have ever been around.”All he has to do is prove that one more time for the Colts (0-1).“I think every single day, every person is playing for their job,” Vinatieri said. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A game ball for his first victory as an NFL coach is on Mike Vrabel’s desk, and the Tennessee Titans got their first “Victory Monday” off of the season.The celebration is a bit short-lived while some key starters are rehabbing injuries.Yes, the Titans (1-1) found a way to beat Houston 20-17 for a much-needed split in their first two games after losing the longest game since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. Now they prepare for a trip to Jacksonville on Sunday and an early AFC South showdown with the defending division champ Tennessee swept last season before hosting the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 30.But Tennessee might be without starting quarterback Marcus Mariota for a second straight week, and only time will tell if any of the Titans’ top three offensive tackles might be available Sunday against the Jaguars (2-0) as well. Mariota still is having numbness in his right, throwing hand from hurting his elbow in the season opener.Mariota watched from the sideline, active and dressed. Vrabel said Mariota physically remains about where the quarterback was Friday or Saturday when the Titans decided to start backup Blaine Gabbert instead of Mariota.“I think and I’m hopeful that it’ll improve as quickly as possible,” Vrabel said of Mariota on Monday.That puts Gabbert in line for a second straight start, this against the team that drafted him at No. 10 overall in 2011 no less. It wouldn’t be his first game against his old team. Gabbert led Arizona to a victory last November over the Jaguars http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/christian-miller-jersey , and he said this isn’t his first rodeo.“I’ve been in a lot of different situations. I’m always ready to go,” Gabbert said. “Whether you’re a starter or a backup, 13-guy, you’ve got to have the same routine, week-in and week-out. Otherwise, you have nothing to fall back on when your number is called. I just stuck to my routine, prepared the same way as I always have, and just stuck with that.”Vrabel said right tackle Dennis Kelly, who has been filling in while starter Jack Conklin recovers from the left ACL torn in January, has been released from the hospital after dealing with an undisclosed illness. Vrabel said Conklin should do more at practice this week, while two-time Pro Bowl Taylor Lewan is progressing in the concussion protocol.“When that guy’s ready, we’ll put him in the game Jordan Scarlett Jersey ,” Vrabel said.The coach and his assistants showed in their win over Houston that they could find ways for the Titans to score points and move the ball even missing several key starters.The Titans used a fake punt for a 66-yard touchdown pass , and Derrick Henry ran the wildcat for a handful of snaps on Tennessee’s lone TD drive. Defensively, the Titans came up with four sacks and an interception. They also limited Deshaun Watson to a final completion that proved meaningless as the clock expired.Linebacker Brian Orakpo called it a great one, two, three punch.“I’m definitely excited for this team overall,” Orakpo said. “We finally came out on the right end, and we’re trying to get back to the winning ways. We still have a long way to go and a long road ahead of us, but I’m excited because it was a big divisional win and coach Vrabel’s first win. Very exciting.”