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Matt Prater - Top Kicker? (1 Viewer)

tombonneau

tombonneau

Footballguy
Grabbed Prater off the WW this week as I think Denver is going to have a top offense this season (and the Mile High air doesn't hurt.)

Bronco homers, how much faith does Shanny have in this kid? Any chance it's a Stephen Gostowski situation where BB opts to go for the first vs. a FG? Or does Shanny have confidence in him?

I saw he was 9 for 11 in the preseason, which is pretty good.

There were quite a few solid options out there for Ks on the WW, but I feel Prater has the most upside.

 
Guy can make them from long range. If I recall correctly, he made a 68 yarder with plenty of room to spare in camp. Accuracy was the big question heading into camp but aside from missing his first preseason kick and another in game 2, he has been solid.

 
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tombonneau said:
Grabbed Prater off the WW this week as I think Denver is going to have a top offense this season (and the Mile High air doesn't hurt.)

Bronco homers, how much faith does Shanny have in this kid? Any chance it's a Stephen Gostowski situation where BB opts to go for the first vs. a FG? Or does Shanny have confidence in him?

I saw he was 9 for 11 in the preseason, which is pretty good.

There were quite a few solid options out there for Ks on the WW, but I feel Prater has the most upside.
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Ratface let Elam walk, that should say enough. And yes, if Prater can keep the mental side on track, he'll be a solid K this year. HUGE leg (68 yarder in practice IIRC). Let's see how he performs w/ a game on the line. FGs when you're up 30 are a lot easier.

 
thecardiackid said:
tombonneau said:
Grabbed Prater off the WW this week as I think Denver is going to have a top offense this season (and the Mile High air doesn't hurt.)

Bronco homers, how much faith does Shanny have in this kid? Any chance it's a Stephen Gostowski situation where BB opts to go for the first vs. a FG? Or does Shanny have confidence in him?

I saw he was 9 for 11 in the preseason, which is pretty good.

There were quite a few solid options out there for Ks on the WW, but I feel Prater has the most upside.
Click to expand...
Ratface let Elam walk, that should say enough. And yes, if Prater can keep the mental side on track, he'll be a solid K this year. HUGE leg (68 yarder in practice IIRC). Let's see how he performs w/ a game on the line. FGs when you're up 30 are a lot easier.
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Shanahan made Elam a fair offer - Falcons just threw more money at him, from what I've heard. IMO, Elam was extremely clutch, and an asset to the team. However, he hasn't kicked off for years - the Broncos have either had the puinter doing KO or kept a second kicker on the roster just for kick-offs. Neither seemed to work - despite the thin mountain air, there were precious few touch-backs last year. I don't have data, just going by memory.

IMO, that's a big deal, and may explain why Elam wasn't offered more.

Regarding Prater and Shanahan's confidence in him - who knows? This isn't something I've seen commented on a whole lot (other than Prater won the job fairly early in TC, but not sure if there was a healthy competition or not).

One thing that is for sure though - the Broncos are going to be a better red-zone team this year than last year. This O will score TD's, not get to the 15 and stall out like they did much of last year. I followed some trends this pre-season, and Denver threw in the red zone during pre-season significantly more than they did in 2007 pre-season and 2007 regular season. Last year I had the feeling that Shanahan didn't trust Cutler to throw in tight quarters - instead he tried to force the run, and as evidenced by 10 rush TD's, it didn't work to well. This year, the leash is off.

 
moleculo said:
thecardiackid said:
tombonneau said:
Grabbed Prater off the WW this week as I think Denver is going to have a top offense this season (and the Mile High air doesn't hurt.)

Bronco homers, how much faith does Shanny have in this kid? Any chance it's a Stephen Gostowski situation where BB opts to go for the first vs. a FG? Or does Shanny have confidence in him?

I saw he was 9 for 11 in the preseason, which is pretty good.

There were quite a few solid options out there for Ks on the WW, but I feel Prater has the most upside.
Click to expand...
Ratface let Elam walk, that should say enough. And yes, if Prater can keep the mental side on track, he'll be a solid K this year. HUGE leg (68 yarder in practice IIRC). Let's see how he performs w/ a game on the line. FGs when you're up 30 are a lot easier.
Click to expand...
Shanahan made Elam a fair offer - Falcons just threw more money at him, from what I've heard. IMO, Elam was extremely clutch, and an asset to the team. However, he hasn't kicked off for years - the Broncos have either had the puinter doing KO or kept a second kicker on the roster just for kick-offs. Neither seemed to work - despite the thin mountain air, there were precious few touch-backs last year. I don't have data, just going by memory.

IMO, that's a big deal, and may explain why Elam wasn't offered more.

Regarding Prater and Shanahan's confidence in him - who knows? This isn't something I've seen commented on a whole lot (other than Prater won the job fairly early in TC, but not sure if there was a healthy competition or not).

One thing that is for sure though - the Broncos are going to be a better red-zone team this year than last year. This O will score TD's, not get to the 15 and stall out like they did much of last year. I followed some trends this pre-season, and Denver threw in the red zone during pre-season significantly more than they did in 2007 pre-season and 2007 regular season. Last year I had the feeling that Shanahan didn't trust Cutler to throw in tight quarters - instead he tried to force the run, and as evidenced by 10 rush TD's, it didn't work to well. This year, the leash is off.
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Last year DEN struggled with just their basic offense, let alone the red-zone. So, it's not like they were one a express train to the nearest red zone anyway. That being said, I think the improvement from the DEN PK, who now is Prater, will be that DEN's offense seems to have found it's grove. May it be Cutler, the RB group, or finding WR's that can run & catch. Point being, since they appear to be moving the ball more...they will kick more balls as field goals and as extra points. If you add that Prater has shown to have a very strong leg and is keeping his cool, it only gets better.So, yes...Prater should be a top 10 PK easy. Top 5 might not be out of whack to imagine either.

 
According to Mike Herman's Kickology, Denver has had a top-10 kicker in all but 3 seasons since 1990. This relates to both the greater ease of kicking in Mile High Stadium's thin air and due to the coaching style/philosophy of coach Shanahan.

See Kickology located on the articles page for more details if you really want to dig into Prater's prospects more.

I drafted him in every league this year based on the material in Kickology and due to his strong leg in training camp. I think he's a lock for top 10 and close to a lock for top-5 finish in 2008.

 
Mark Wimer said:
According to Mike Herman's Kickology, Denver has had a top-10 kicker in all but 3 seasons since 1990. This relates to both the greater ease of kicking in Mile High Stadium's thin air and due to the coaching style/philosophy of coach Shanahan. See Kickology located on the articles page for more details if you really want to dig into Prater's prospects more. I drafted him in every league this year based on the material in Kickology and due to his strong leg in training camp. I think he's a lock for top 10 and close to a lock for top-5 finish in 2008.
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:lmao: Wish I had thought to check that out before week 1; would have signed him and won my game. Better late than never though, eh?
 
In reference to the ESPN Karabell sucks thread, they Espn fantasy crew have Prater the last kicker on the list for this week.

 
Couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in a Falcons uni last year, made us bring Mort out of mothballs again.

<grumble, grumble>

 
PatrickT said:
Couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in a Falcons uni last year, made us bring Mort out of mothballs again.<grumble, grumble>
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I'm interested in hearing the details of this transformation (if it is in fact a genuine one), if anyone is in the know.
 
HoTnickZ said:
PatrickT said:
Couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in a Falcons uni last year, made us bring Mort out of mothballs again.<grumble, grumble>
Click to expand...
I'm interested in hearing the details of this transformation (if it is in fact a genuine one), if anyone is in the know.
Click to expand...
I think it just boils down to him being a rookie kicker, got a case of the shanks, fixed them, and found a way back on a team. He was highly ranked out of college as I recall, and was known to have a cannon leg. He went 1 for 4 in Atlanta, costing us the JAX game, and got cut after week 2.
 
so u would want Prater of Den in home against SD

or

some1 veteran like J.Kasay Car at home against Chi ?

This is an interesting question that I would like to see other opinions on as well. CAR O seems to be improved and any O that is RB based tends to bog down more in the red zone allowing for more FG attempts. One can say the same about DE as well. I'd lean toward Prater but I think this is a toss up. Anybody else?

 
Riptide said:
so u would want Prater of Den in home against SDor some1 veteran like J.Kasay Car at home against Chi ? This is an interesting question that I would like to see other opinions on as well. CAR O seems to be improved and any O that is RB based tends to bog down more in the red zone allowing for more FG attempts. One can say the same about DE as well. I'd lean toward Prater but I think this is a toss up. Anybody else?
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Great discussion here and believe or not, I was just contemplating the same thing before I saw this thread. I dropped Scobee for Kasay because of Jags trouble of moving the ball and Panthers seem better equipped to do so. However before I picked up Kasay I was considering Prater because of all of the good news reports I've heard about him.Hoping someone out there can provide more info as to who they believe will have the better season.
 
Hmm I drafted PDawson but was worried about weather later in the season. Then after seeing the CLE offense I thought I better get someone from a team with a better chance to get it in the redzone. I thought Rackers was a good choice due to Warner starting and the inability to have a powerhouse running game (old Edge) but now I'm thinking Prater may have been a better choice.....

 
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There was an article here, I think maybe the year before last, that showed that the top kickers after week 3 historically end up in the top at the end. That may seem obvious, but before that I was always pretty dismissive of a guy I'd never heard of putting up a couple good weeks at the beginning of a season.

Because of that article I dumped Crosby for Folk last year, and he won me two games.

 
Prater's misses in the preseason were bad misses -- the kind of shanks you almost never see from guys like Gould and Vinatieri. I'd be careful about extrapolating too much from one performance in his case. I think he'll outperform some drafted kickers, like Graham, Scobee and Brown (and perhaps Gostkowski), but I wouldn't drop Kaeding, Folk, Crosby or Vinatieri for him.

 
Does a top rated offense always equate to best kicker? Was Gostowski (sp) the top kicker last year? I'd rather have a guy get 3's and 4s from FGs than 1's from PATs.

 
What is everyon's impression of Kasay? I just picked him up. I really don't pay that much attention to kickers but I've lost games due to bad kicker performance so I'm trying to learn more.

Also somone dropped Vinatieri. Is he a must pickup?

 
Not to rain on the Parade ...

Although it is a small sample size, Prater was 1 for 4 with Field Goal tries last year, and a guy 95 years old took his job from him in Atlanta [Morten Andersen].

Denver may have helped him with his mind and mechanics over the last several months, because he is 2 for 2 this year, but that is also an extremely small sample size. Buyer beware ...

 
the spanker said:
What is everyon's impression of Kasay? I just picked him up. I really don't pay that much attention to kickers but I've lost games due to bad kicker performance so I'm trying to learn more.Also somone dropped Vinatieri. Is he a must pickup?
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Is this the new kicker thread?
 
Dancing Bear said:
Not to rain on the Parade ...

Although it is a small sample size, Prater was 1 for 4 with Field Goal tries last year, and a guy 95 years old took his job from him in Atlanta [Morten Andersen].

Denver may have helped him with his mind and mechanics over the last several months, because he is 2 for 2 this year, but that is also an extremely small sample size. Buyer beware ...
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I know the pressure isn't the same but how were his pre-season numbers? Didn't he miss a couple, and then basically not miss again? He seems like the streakiest of kickers.
 
HoTnickZ said:
Dancing Bear said:
Not to rain on the Parade ...

Although it is a small sample size, Prater was 1 for 4 with Field Goal tries last year, and a guy 95 years old took his job from him in Atlanta [Morten Andersen].

Denver may have helped him with his mind and mechanics over the last several months, because he is 2 for 2 this year, but that is also an extremely small sample size. Buyer beware ...
Click to expand...
I know the pressure isn't the same but how were his pre-season numbers? Didn't he miss a couple, and then basically not miss again? He seems like the streakiest of kickers.
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I think he missed the first try of the first preseason game and the first try of the second preseason game.
 
:blackdot:

Got me a BOATLOAD of bonus points today for the long FGs!

4/5 on the day, including a 51-yarder and a 56-yarder. Kid has dynamite in his shoe.

 
gbill2004 said:
Prater seems to have slowed down a bit as of late. Is he still the concensus top fantasy kicker this season?
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Doubtful, he's not going to be getting the same opportunities. Denver is a bad team, arguably the worst defense in the league = playing from way behind and not many field goals (Look what the C- Patriots did).
 
gbill2004 said:
Prater seems to have slowed down a bit as of late. Is he still the concensus top fantasy kicker this season?
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Denver's offense has slowed down a bit. They still have the pieces to be an explosive offense and they have the type of defense that pretty much assures they will need to score early and often. Add in his ability to hit the long field goal and I'm hanging on to Prater.
 
Buffaloes said:
gbill2004 said:
Prater seems to have slowed down a bit as of late. Is he still the concensus top fantasy kicker this season?
Click to expand...
Denver's offense has slowed down a bit. They still have the pieces to be an explosive offense and they have the type of defense that pretty much assures they will need to score early and often. Add in his ability to hit the long field goal and I'm hanging on to Prater.
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In leagues that award points for longer FGs, Prater is still a top tier K IMO.
 
In leagues that just give out 3 points per FG regardless of distance, Prater is droppable.

I picked up Lindell as his replacement, not worth hanging onto him

 
No reason for me to think he'll be above average for the rest of the season. Dropped him remorselessly before last week, and would certainly not clog a roster spot to eat his bye.

 
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