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Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell still confident in Matt Prater

By Phil Watson

Aug 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater (5) during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 21-16. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater (5) during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 21-16. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Lions are on their third kicker of the season, but coach Jim Caldwell says the team is still confident in Matt Prater after he missed two kicks in his debut Sunday.

Pro Bowl kicker Matt Prater joined the Detroit Lions this week and immediately performed up to the level of his predecessors.

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That is to say, he missed two of his three attempts in Detroit’s 17-3 win at Minnesota on Sunday.

Prater was signed last week after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He made a 52-yard field goal just before halftime, but clanked a 44-yarder off the left upright and missed a 50-yarder to the left.

But coach Jim Caldwell said the Lions are happy with what they saw.

"“I think (with) wind like we had (Sunday), you’re going to have an issue,” Caldwell told reporters, per the Detroit Free Press. “He kicked a 52-yarder, which was great. We have all the confidence in the world in him. I mean, the guy’s got a great track record. We feel good about him.”"

Prater is the Lions’ third kicker this year. Detroit’s kickers—Nate Freese, Alex Henery and Prater—have missed 10 of their 15 field-goal attempts this season.

Freese had the job out of training camp and for the first three weeks of the season and was just 3-for-7, missing all four of his attempts from 40 yards or longer.

The Lions then signed former Philadelphia Eagles kicker Alex Henery and in two weeks, he was 1-for-5, making a 51-yarder and missing from 52 yards in a win over the New York Jets. In the Lions’ 17-14 loss to the Bills on Oct. 5, Henery missed from 44 yards and 47 yards and then missed from 50 yards out with 26 seconds left, just before Buffalo’s Dan Carpenter won it for Buffalo with a 58-yard kick.

Prater, 30, was released by the Broncos after his suspension was over. Last year, he was 25-for-26 on field goals and made all 75 of his extra-point attempts. His 150 points were second in the NFL.

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