ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP—Mike Shanahan grinned from ear-to-ear when he talked Saturday about the performance of Denver Broncos placekicker Matt Prater, the replacement for longtime favorite Jason Elam.
“What impressed you most?” quizzed the Broncos coach after practice. “Not missing or the 68-yarder?”
Prater was a perfect 11-for-11 kicking field goals including boots of 59, 68 and 54 yards. The 54-yarder with three seconds left came in a simulated game-winning drive.
“I kind of liked the last one to be honest with you,” Shanahan said. “We put all the pressure on him, the game-winning field goal and he made the kick.”
Prater is taking over for Elam, who darted from the Broncos in the offseason to join the Atlanta Falcons.
Elam’s numbers rival the best kickers in NFL history: 395 field goals, fifth on the career list, over a 15-year career in which he played in more games than anyone in Broncos history and piled up a franchise-best 1,786 points.
“Matt has been doing that pretty consistently since he’s been here,” Shanahan said. “So it didn’t really surprise anybody, but it’s nice to see him do that in his first live two-minute drill.”
As for Prater, he shrugged it off as all in a day’s work.
“It felt good to just show the team that I can do it and give them some confidence in me so in the game when I do have a chance to have a game winner,” Prater said. “I still have to do it in the game, there will still be some questions but hopefully I’ll get the opportunity and do well in the game.”
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EARLY OUT: Shanahan canceled the afternoon practice to allow the coach and about 10 members of the organization to fly to Canton, Ohio, to attend Gary Zimmerman’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“We had a good practice, with good tempo and one I think we got a lot done,” Shanahan said. “The players now have a well deserved day-and-a-half off after going eight straight days.”
As for his trip, he said he was looking forward to seeing Zimmerman and the ceremony.
“I talked about what a great asset he was to this organization,” Shanahan said. “A great person, a great football player and I’m looking forward to him getting his due.”
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OUT OF ACTION: The Broncos practiced without linebacker Boss Bailey for a second day. The veteran has experienced some inflammation in his right knee.
“The knee didn’t swell up and it’s just a fatigue factor,” Bailey said. “It’s the same knee and it’s just smart not to try to push it over the limit.”
Bailey joined the Broncos as a free agent from Detroit over the winter.
Safety Hamza Abdullah sat out with soreness in his groin. He made it through all but the last two periods of Friday’s morning workout before coming out with the injury.
Center Tom Nalen was kept out for a third straight day with soreness in his left knee.
Nalen had arthroscopic surgery on the knee on June 6. An MRI taken Thursday revealed no damage to the knee.
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APPROVED ABSENCE: Rookie linebacker Spencer Larsen was on excused leave while he and his wife, Ann, await the arrival of their second child.
“We sent him home to take care of that,” Shanahan said. “There are no guarantees there either. I’m not sure if they had it all the way or not, but she went to the hospital and hopefully everything is fine.”
