john matthew "matt" stover (born january 27, 1968) is a former american football placekicker. he played college football for louisiana tech. as of the start of the 2009 nfl season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the national football league. he is of greek origin and is christian. he has spent time with the new york giants, the cleveland browns, and the baltimore ravens, where he played for 13 seasons. he was signed by the indianapolis colts in october 2009 to replace injured kicker adam vinatieri. his signature celebration had his thumbs and pointer fingers pointed outward with his arms halfway or all the way in the air.