Kickers are players, too
Adam Vinatieri said the stereotype that placekickers aren't athletes isn't as prevalent as it once was. He said he made a tackle on Herschel Walker his rookie year with New England and Coach Bill Parcells "patted me on the head and said, 'You're more than a kicker.' It took me awhile to realize what he meant, but after that the players treated me a little different, like, 'He really wants to win this game, too.'"
Parcells apparently didn't feel so charitable about the kicker Vinatieri replaced in Indianapolis, Mike Vanderjagt. Vanderjagt didn't last a year in Dallas under Parcells, getting jettisoned at midseason for missing a couple of critical field goals. We don't know how many tackles he missed, but we know chasing down return men wouldn't have saved his job.