Matt Prater named Special Teams Player of the Month for September
by John Bena on Sep 30, 2009 7:36 PM MDT
in Broncos in the News
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Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater will be named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Wednesday.
Prater's selection as AFC Special Teams Player of the Month is the first such award of his three-year NFL career. It marks the first time in four seasons that a Bronco has won the award (P Todd Sauerbrun, October 2005) and only the fourth time a Denver player has received the nomination since it was initiated by the NFL in 1993.
Prater helped the Broncos to a 3-0 record and a first-place standing in the AFC West in September by converting 7-of-9 field-goal attempts, including all three tries from beyond 40 yards. He posted AFC bests in touchbacks (7), touchback percentage (46.7) and kickoffs reaching the end zone (13) to help Denver lead the conference in lowest opponent average starting position after kickoffs (20.6-yd. line) for the month.
A former standout at the University of Central Florida, Prater finished the month with the third-most points (26) in the AFC among kickers (4th most among all players). He improved to 6-of-7 for his career on 50-yard field-goal attempts with a 50-yarder in the season opener at Cincinnati (9/13) and made all three field-goal attempts, including a 48-yarder, last week at Oakland (9/27).
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great job Matt
totally agree with this…field position for our opponents has been terrible, and cooler heads have prevailed when judging the two FG misses.
Jason
The Hanging Curve
by poorboywilly on Sep 30, 2009 7:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
great KOS
wind really hurt him…has a boot though…good job Matt
Dawkins/Hillis Bad @ss' for life
by BDAWKisaBRONC on Sep 30, 2009 7:44 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
he still scares me.
Love his distance of course! Don’t want to trust him with the game on the line. Didn’t he lose us one or two last year?
Crazy-Hard position though. Here in the northwest O mare is suddenly a bum after proving himself over and over…
by Whidbey Bronco on Sep 30, 2009 7:52 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
A lot of players lost us one or two games last year
HILLIS
by robbo650 on Sep 30, 2009 8:02 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
word
Conversation nonstarters: hoping McDaniels fails, comparing Bears to Broncos, Cutler to Orton, apples to oranges, and casual drinkers to Raiders fans.
by broncosmontana on Sep 30, 2009 8:02 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
and we don't have them any more...
by Whidbey Bronco on Sep 30, 2009 9:37 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
word!
"Take what you can. Give nothing back!"
by Colorado_Kitten on Oct 1, 2009 10:21 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nope
Not one game. We won the close games. when we lost it was usually a drubbing.
by SlowWhiteGuy on Sep 30, 2009 9:41 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've never understood the angst
It could be just me, but let’s be fair – Prater is an unusually gifted kicker. In his first year, with lousy coaching, he overdid. From that point on, despite the armchair psychology that you read, he had issues due to pain and leg fatigue. It happens, and until the kicker can take a month or so off, it won’t go away. They’ve been monitoring him carefully so that it won’t happen again, and he trained in the offseason so that the leg is even stronger going into 2009.
So, a couple of misses over a month, both in high, swirling winds, and he’s a problem? The award should make it clear to everyone – this guy is a great find for the Broncos and will give us a better chance to win every week.
Hillis/Moreno in '09
by Emmett Smith on Sep 30, 2009 10:15 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs
Of the games the Broncos lost by fewer than 14 points:
Prater was 1-1 in a 7 point loss to Jacksonville.
Prater was 1-2 in a 9 point loss to Miami (his make came from 50 yards out, his miss from 49)
Prater was 3-4 in a 7 point loss to Buffalo (his makes came from 23, 30, and 43; his miss came from 54 yards out)
Of his other 7 misses, 3 came in games the Broncos won and 3 in games the Broncos lost by 20+ points, and one came in the 14 point loss to KC.
It’s hard to blame any losses on Prater. With as little support as he gets here, I have to wonder what would happen if he ever DID lose us a game.
Mike Nolan is my hero.
by jack_ on Sep 30, 2009 11:21 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for this!
His performance has always justified the organization’s confidence in him in my opinion.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. A. Einstein
by Ponderosa on Sep 30, 2009 11:46 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Didn't see it coming
but I’m thrilled he got recognized for quietly excelling! Let’s hope this feeds success for the rest of the season…
Conversation nonstarters: hoping McDaniels fails, comparing Bears to Broncos, Cutler to Orton, apples to oranges, and casual drinkers to Raiders fans.
by broncosmontana on Sep 30, 2009 8:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Remember when I told you all he'd be solid this year?
I’m not saying anything, but I’m just sayin….
"FLAG! Fail on the field. Re-do." -Disco_Stu
by Joe Medina on Sep 30, 2009 8:19 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs
Yep, and I was right there with ya...Just sayin' 2
by BroncoSense72 on Oct 1, 2009 5:48 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just sayin'
+3. And I was confident enough to wait until the late rounds and draft him in both of my FFL leagues.
It is amazing how many people mistake a certain hip snideness for sophistication. -- Thomas Sowell
by Trogdoor on Oct 1, 2009 9:17 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol
me too. The “experts” still don’t give him anything, but he’s the fifth highest scoring kicker in my league
Jason
The Hanging Curve
by poorboywilly on Oct 1, 2009 10:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
In My League He is a FA
When you can do the common things in life in a uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
- George Washington Carver
How do you keep the Broncos Humble?
"Just show them the film. Show them the film." - Josh McDaniels
by Kfustud on Oct 1, 2009 4:25 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
When are all 3 levels of our game going to come together?
RIGHT NOW! Think about all of the changes from one season ago, and you just HAVE to say …WOW!
I love where this team is headed!
It is better to keep silent, and appear to be wise, then to ramble on and remove all doubt! The Wisest Man, Solomon.
by metalman5050 on Sep 30, 2009 8:24 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Congrats Matt.
"You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough, in the second half you give what's left." – Yogi Berra
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; We grow old because we stop playing." -- George Bernard Shaw
Breaking jaws or the NFL in Oakland who cares? Fall on your pirate’s sword - Ponderosa
by KaptainKirk on Sep 30, 2009 8:32 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
LOL!!! is my first reaction
….this would be the last thing i saw coming….pretty random
by Calibroncoboy on Sep 30, 2009 8:49 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
its like a LOL right in the face of the pundits
CentSports free 10 cents to bet with , completely ad-supported, no personal info check it out
Tom Brandstater -nstater +y =Tom Brady 13-3 baby
by RiG on Sep 30, 2009 9:00 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Advanced NFL Stats
has an article evaluating the Value of a Touchback.
Makes me wonder if this isn’t why McD had so much faith in Prater this off-season.
by SlowWhiteGuy on Sep 30, 2009 9:52 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Its got to be
I think Prater’s touchback ability is the main reason McD didnt bring in any competition in the offseason. A touchback is very valuable, and very few kickers in this league can kick it as far as Prater, and replacing him would have been a downgrade in that area. Think of all the other teams that carry an extra kicker just for kickoffs, this gives Denver the luxury of an extra roster spot.
On To Victory!!!
by alacumba!! on Sep 30, 2009 10:16 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good article, SWG - thanks
Hillis/Moreno in '09
by Emmett Smith on Sep 30, 2009 10:17 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
The two he missed...
Were relatively short kicks but were in crazy crosswinds during the same game. A lot of great kickers might have missed those. I say Prater has worked out his issues and is pretty money right now. Congrats to him.
by TheMastermind on Sep 30, 2009 10:27 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Yep
The sideways carry on one of those kicks was insane. You can wonder about whether he should have allowed for it but how do you know how much it was gusting?
I’m glad Prater got this. His ability to hit the end zone on a consistent basis has been insane.
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."
"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams
by orange&blue_aussie on Sep 30, 2009 10:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Watch the flags on the goal posts.
They hang straight down, and then whip out to 90 degrees. There’s no way to compensate for 5 gusting to 40.
by Velveeta on Oct 1, 2009 5:25 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
true that
I was there…the wind was insane and very gusty! At least half the kickers in the league don’t make those kicks.
"Take what you can. Give nothing back!"
by Colorado_Kitten on Oct 1, 2009 10:37 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
i have always supported prater
remember like elway, elam was a legend for so many seasons. i think prater has done an exceptional job in following him. i love his leg strength, wouldn’t be surprised if at some point he kicks the longest fg in nfl history.
by golfdoc on Oct 1, 2009 1:04 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
This is great!
Especially after getting booed in the Cleveland game. Hope it helps people to wake up.
Richard Seymour is a girl.
by pubkeeper on Oct 1, 2009 9:05 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Yay!
Go Prater and well earned!
"Take what you can. Give nothing back!"
by Colorado_Kitten on Oct 1, 2009 10:37 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Kind of suprised me
After missing 2 field goals in the blustering winds against Cleveland but Prater has been awesome on his kickoffs and 2 of his 3 games were away from the friendly mile high air of Denver
by OrangeCrush4082 on Oct 1, 2009 10:47 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Bad Angles
Maybe someone can help me with this, but it appeared to me that Prater nailed “field goals” on kick-offs in each of the past two weeks. Did any here have better angles or commentary that would confirm or deny this?
"Don't feed the trolls. Remember to be polite. And please show self-restraint in comment length!" -Me, to myself, because I need constant reminding.
by Disco_Stu on Oct 1, 2009 12:18 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
he did
and one went into the stands. That was insane. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before
by milehighnation on Oct 1, 2009 3:55 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
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