Some Struggle In Broncos First Scrimmage

By now you’ve heard that the Broncos scrimmage last night didn’t go so well from an offensive perspective. Kyle Orton was less than stunning while Matt Prater struggled with field goals. We just have to remember that it was the first official scrimmage of the year. I think it’s good we got a game in like that even before preseason. It gave coaches the opportunity to see weaknesses that only emerge in game-like situations, and now they can work on these issues this week in practice.

I don’t think Josh McDaniels was too surprised or concerned with what he saw on the field. He knows every player is going to make mistakes in the new system, and it takes some time to adjust to full speed situations. However, I do have an issue with Matt Prater missing field goals. A field goal is a field goal. I almost equate it with a free throw in basketball. All eyes on that one player, and it’s typically a head game. I know the kick has more factors to deal with such as weather conditions, and the snap and placement of the ball. However, if the kick is all you had to work on in practice, then you should be making close to all of them. If a basketball player only had to work on free throws in practice, you can bet that player would be at least a 92% shooter.

I think that the Broncos should’ve brought in a veteran kicker in the off season to give Prater someone to compete against. Right now, it’s him flying solo, job security in both hands. As we all know, there are too many games that come down to a game winning (or losing) field goal. It’s so hard to stomach a loss when your defense makes a stop in the 4th, giving the offense a chance to march the ball down the field to about the 25 yard line. At 4th and 4, the field goal unit comes onto the field to attempt a game winning kick with 3 seconds remaining. Kick is up and….????

What’s that situation going to look like with Prater right now?