Matt Prater, the Denver Broncos kicker, whose 64-yard field goal this season was the longest in NFL history, fears all kickers might get the boot one day soon.
A move to drop conversion kicks after touchdowns and a Pro Bowl game on Sunday that had no kick offs as an experiment has Prater, whose Broncos face the Seattle Seahwaks in this Sunday’s Super Bowl, worrying about his job security.
“One day, I’m sure they are going to get kickers out of the game completely in the direction it looks like they are going,” Prater said. “I try not to pay attention to all of that and it’s one of those things that is out of my control. I’m just going to keep kicking as long as I can.”
Taking some of the foot out of American football was what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had in mind last week when he said the competition committee could consider dumping extra points after touchdowns.
“The extra point is almost automatic,” Goodell said. “I believe we had five missed extra points this year out of some 1,200 [attempts].”
One idea would be having touchdowns worth seven points instead of six and a run-or-pass conversion worth another point, but teams that try to fail would lose a point off the touchdown.
“I don’t know why they would want to take out the extra point,” Prater said. “I don’t mind kicking them. There are some stressful extra points sometimes, like to tie the game at the end where if you make it they expect you but if you miss it everyone is all over you.”
Last Sunday at the Pro Bowl, in Hawaii, the game was played without kick offs, each team taking over at their 25-yard line after scores and to start each quarter.
Dumping extra points would not be the first punishment for kickers becoming too good.
NFL kick-off lines were moved back when kick offs began soaring out of the end zone with regularity. That changed in recent years when the kick-off line was moved forward to reduce the number of kick returns in a safety concern.
Goalposts were also moved from the goal line to the back line of the end zone to add distance to kicks as well as ease the safety dangers of the posts to players.
Another move to reduce field goals came when rival teams took the ball after missed field goal attempts at the spot of the kick, not the line of scrimmage, adding to the risk of a miss.
Not that Prater misses a lot. He made 25 of 26 field-goal attempts this season, including the record-setting 64-yarder against Tennessee on December 8.
“It was something I dreamed of doing,” Prater said. “It’s a big accomplishment to actually be the lone guy to hold the record. It’s a great experience. It’s something I’ll have for a long time.”
The old mark of 63 yards had been shared by four kickers but first set by Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints in 1970.
In all, five of the NFL’s nine-longest field goals have been kicked in the past three seasons.
“Game-winning kicks, you will never forget about that,” Prater said. “There are definitely some memorable kicks in key parts of games.”
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