Let the ride begin.
That’s what it’s going to be. A roller coaster. Some ups, some downs, some hits, some misses.
Welcome to the life of a young kicker in the NFL.
Matt Prater has been impressive during the Broncos’ training camp, but he clanked his first field-goal attempt Saturday night in their 19-16 exhibition loss to the Texans in Houston.
The kick came from 30 yards out. A gimme. A glorified extra point. Or not.
That’s the way it figures to go with Prater. The kid has a ton of leg. He figures to be a better kickoff man than Jason Elam was, even in Elam’s early years.
Field goals, however, could be a different story.
Prater told me something the other day that I found borderline unbelievable. Having played at a small school, Central Florida, he didn’t have a kicking coach in college. Thus, he’s behind the learning curve followed by most NFL kickers.
It showed in his numbers in college. He converted 15-of-27 kicks, about 55 percent, from 30 to 39 yards, but made 18-of-27 from 40 to 49 and two out of his three attempts from beyond 50.
In other words, strange as it seems, he was better from long distance than he was close in. The Broncos, of course, need him to be solid from every distance.
Can he be that kind of kicker? At times, yes. And at other times, no.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily sports commentaries on The Jimmy Page midday during the week. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
