Broncos' kicker complains new OT devalues field goals (merged)

[T.K.O.]

Broncos' kicker complains new OT devalues field goals
Posted by Michael David Smith on March 26, 2010 10:05 AM ET
In general, there's been favorable response to the NFL's decision to change playoff overtime so that a game can't be won on a field goal on the first possession. But one kicker who has won a game on a field goal on the first possession of overtime isn't thrilled.

"I kind of feel like it's taking kickers out of the game a little bit," Broncos kicker Matt Prater said, per the Denver Post.

Prater kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime against the New England Patriots in October, winning the game for the Broncos without the Patriots ever touching the ball and leading PFT's Mike Florio to write that the NFL's overtime system stinks.

It was exactly the result that the NFL doesn't want to see in the playoffs. But it was a result that Prater liked quite a bit.

"A lot of kickers, that's how you make your name is those overtime or last-second field goals," Prater said. "With that new rule, you don't have as much -- I don't know how to put it in words -- but it kind of takes away from what you do."
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i kinda see his point but he'll just have to kick it twice instead,he can still be the hero !:D

[Ravage!!!]

welcome to the life of a kicker. No one wants the game to come down to the kicker. Its not a glamorous job, but hey... not bad doe for kicking a ball.

[LordTrychon]

Who cares about what some idiot kicker has to say?

:laugh:

[LordTrychon]

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs446.snc3/25607_369615373802_577083802_3850015_7126987_n.jpg

[T.K.O.]

i think i will like the new rule (and it sounds like by kickoff 2010 it will be for reg. season as well)sure its great when YOUR team gets the coin toss and a sweet return and only needs to move the ball 26 yds to get in scoring range.
but when the entire season is on the line and all the team has worked for all year comes down to one flip of the coin,it really sucks to be on the other side of the coin .
i like the idea that the team that does'nt win the toss can still prove they are the better team and drive the length of the field and punch in a td for the win.
i'm sure for a year or 2 all fans will say "we would have won if not for that stupid new rule" etc...
but in reality with so much riding on a coin flip,it really is more fair to let the teams prove which has the most heart and gas left in the tank.
it makes it more likely that the best team will win and thats the whole point of the playoffs,getting the best team to the championship.so i'm all for it:salute:

[Grover]

Well, I think that Prater is correct in that it does devalue the Kicker a little bit.
But I think overall, it places more emphasis and value on Special Teams.

Teams will be much less likely to kick long field goals in OT. The risk is always that missing a long FG gives the other team excellent field position. But you might attempt it if making the FG means you win the game. Now, teams might be more likely to punt the ball in the hopes of pinning the other team back near their own goal line, because making a FG in ovetime now won't end the game.

So coverage units become MUCH more important in Overtime. It will be very interesting/shocking/exciting the first time that one team kicks a field goal in an overtime game to go ahead, and then the opposing team runs back the kickoff for a touchdown to win.

I hope we're on the right side of that one when it happens in a Broncos game.

[BroncoWave]

Well, I think that Prater is correct in that it does devalue the Kicker a little bit.
But I think overall, it places more emphasis and value on Special Teams.

Teams will be much less likely to kick long field goals in OT. The risk is always that missing a long FG gives the other team excellent field position. But you might attempt it if making the FG means you win the game. Now, teams might be more likely to punt the ball in the hopes of pinning the other team back near their own goal line, because making a FG in ovetime now won't end the game.

So coverage units become MUCH more important in Overtime. It will be very interesting/shocking/exciting the first time that one team kicks a field goal in an overtime game to go ahead, and then the opposing team runs back the kickoff for a touchdown to win.

I hope we're on the right side of that one when it happens in a Broncos game.

No, I'm pretty sure the rule is that only a FG on the FIRST possession won't end the game. Once both teams have the ball once, any score wins I believe. So if you were to punt, the other team could drive, get a FG, and win the game.

[T.K.O.]

i thought it was the first team to get 6 pts,i'll have to do some checking,but i dont think # of possesions has anything to do with it

[Orangeblood]

People are making too big of a deal about this. Since 1958 there have only been 27 overtime games in the postseason. And in all but five of those both teams got at least one possession.

[T.K.O.]

People are making too big of a deal about this. Since 1958 there have only been 27 overtime games in the postseason. And in all but five of those both teams got at least one possession.

yeah but the "word on the street" is that goodell wants to start it up in the reg season as well,and possibly this season

[BroncoWave]

i thought it was the first team to get 6 pts,i'll have to do some checking,but i dont think # of possesions has anything to do with it

Nope, the rule is that both teams must get a possession unless the team with the ball first scores a TD. Once each team has gotten it, it's back to regular OT rules.

[weazel]

so this guy is on the Denver Broncos in some capacity then?

[titan]

People are making too big of a deal about this. Since 1958 there have only been 27 overtime games in the postseason. And in all but five of those both teams got at least one possession.

I agree. I'm ok with the new rule but I don't think it'll have that big of impact.

Remember in "The Drive" game Cleveland won the overtime coin toss and got the ball after the broncos tied it up at the end of regulation. It didn't make a difference - Denver had all the momentum. The Broncos defense stopped the Browns, Cleveland punted, then Elway led the team to the winning field goal.

[Northman]

The new rule stinks. Wahh, booooo my team didnt get the ball because we didnt know how to play defense. Wahh, boooooo

[tsiguy96]

its almost equally a result of the refs so easily calling penalties, they dont want one of those ridiculous penalties to decide teh game. phantom PI in overtime? game over.

[UnderArmour]

Now watch us win a game because of the new OT rule in the post season.

[LawDog]

Now watch us win a game because of the new OT rule in the post season.

Win or lose, I'll be happy just to be IN the post-season...

[Northman]

Win or lose, I'll be happy just to be IN the post-season...

Yea, no shit. Baby steps first. :lol:

[Lonestar]

Broncos' Prater doesn't care for new overtime rule
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
POSTED: 03/26/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

In his two full seasons in the NFL, Matt Prater has had exactly one chance to attempt a sudden-death, game-winning field goal.

Last October, at home against the New England Patriots, Prater nailed that 41-yarder to win the game for the Broncos, who won the coin toss, before Tom Brady even got the chance to touch the football.

It is just the type of ending that NFL owners tried to prevent when they voted to change the overtime rules, starting with the 2010 postseason. In the case of a first-possession field goal, the other team would get a possession before the game ends.

"I kind of feel like its taking kickers out of the game a little bit," Prater said Thursday at a news conference at Dove Valley.

"A lot of kickers, that's how you make your name is those overtime or last-second field goals. With that new rule, you don't have as much — I don't know how to put it in words — but it kind of takes away from what you do."

Prater's point is valid. Just ask Garrett Hartley, who went from anonymous to famous overnight when he made the game-winning kick in the NFC championship game for the Saints.

Alexander dies.

Former Broncos linebacker Elijah Alexander has died after a nearly five-year battle with cancer. He was 39.

He was reported to have died Wednesday night at a Dallas hospital.

Alexander was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, in 2005, four years after his career ended in Oakland.

The former Kansas State player spent nine seasons with four teams. After one year with Tampa Bay in 1992, Alexander spent three seasons each in Denver and Indianapolis. He made 29 starts in 30 games for Oakland during the final two years of his career in 2000-01.

Draft party.

Long snapper Lonie Paxton is holding a charity celebrity bowling party coinciding with the first round of the draft on April 22. The event, which Paxton said will feature a number of his Broncos teammates, benefits the Active Force Foundation, which supports wounded U.S. soldiers.

"It's just a chance basically to have fun, meet some Broncos and learn about the things that I do in the community as well as talk to some soldiers who came back and hear their stories," Paxton said.

Paxton said he got the idea of hosting a charity event tied to the draft from Vince Wilfork, a former teammate in New England.

Anyone interested in attending should visit www.activeforcefoundation.org for ticket and sponsorship information.



Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14760846#ixzz0jLWO4PVr