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Prater will face competition for Broncos' kicking job

Broncos have big shoes to fill with Elam's departure

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 31, 2008 at 5:47 p.m.

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There are three facts about the Broncos kicking game:

Somebody will kick for the Broncos in 2008.

Matt Prater certainly is a candidate for the job.

And he will have some competition by the time training camp opens.

"That's how it is," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "It all depends who's out there, but Matt's going to compete for the job. But we always compete for jobs no matter what the situation is, no matter who is on our roster."

The Broncos took a two-day swing at Olindo Mare, but he signed with Seattle, leaving the cupboard of veteran, proven and available kickers fairly bare at the moment.

Jason Elam, who Broncos owner Pat Bowlen on Monday called a "Ring of Fame player for the Denver Broncos," signed a four-year, $9 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons last week, ending his 15-year tenure with the team.

Elam's deal included $3.3 million guaranteed in the coming year. The Broncos' last offer likely would have been close in total dollars during the life of the deal but would have given Elam $2.4 million, or $900,000 less than Atlanta's, in the first year.

"Jason's a great player . . . ," Bowlen said. "That's just sort of the way things go in football. I can't complain about what Jason did if he wants to play one more year in Atlanta."

John Carney, who will turn 44 later this month, still is available. Also, Justin Medlock, who started last season with the Chiefs and later was signed by the Rams, has been given permission to find a trading partner to go to another team.

The Rams have signed Josh Brown in free agency and Medlock's agent, Frank Murtha, asked the team for Medlock's release but was denied. The team gave the former UCLA All-American permission to seek a trade.

READY TO GO: Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he believed the team will be in Denver for at least one day of joint workouts with the Broncos leading to the second preseason game for both teams.

The preseason schedule has not been finalized by the league but is expected to be released in the coming days.

Phillips said he thought both teams handled the workouts without incident last summer and wanted to do it again.

"We thought it was good from our end of it and I think they did, too," Phillips said. "It's not a competition against each other, it's working against each other. I've done things like this in the past and it's a big fight, you don't get anything done. But it wasn't like that."

The Cowboys are hoping to work in Denver on their way back from having training camp in Oxnard, Calif., and their preseason opener in San Diego.

A YES: Shanahan, who has been in favor of a coach-to-defense communication device in a defensive player's helmet the past two times it has come up for a vote, said he would recommend a "yes" vote again.

"It's a great idea," Shanahan said. "It's going to pass, I think. It's time for it."

It take 24 "yes" votes for the measure to pass. Last year, the measure got 22. A vote is expected Wednesday.

ETC.: The Broncos will open the season Sept. 8 in Oakland as part of a Monday Night Football doubleheader broadcast on ESPN. Minnesota will play in the early game at Green Bay. . . . The league released the compensatory picks for this month's NFL draft. The Broncos did not receive a pick.

Comments

  • March 31, 2008

    7:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ohyeahbroncos writes:

    Why do these older kickers keep floating around the leaque? Is it b/c teams are afraid to take go with lesser known players?
    Charlie Hebert is a kicker from Louisiana that is doing big thins at workouts this year. He could bring some life to the kicking competition this year:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtZVHd...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNTRk...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHJT9...

  • March 31, 2008

    8:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    aragornzxl writes:

    Broncos need a kicker. so what else is new?

  • April 1, 2008

    11:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    kmeissner writes:

    We should have went after Josh Brown. It's going to be weird to see a different kicker out there this year. But maybe we can get a kicker who can also handle kickoff duties. Kicking it to the 10 or 15 yard line isn't cutting it and our special teams isn't great anyway (except for Bailey, who had about 10 TD saving tackles last year).

  • April 1, 2008

    5:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    cutlerscrew writes:

    Considering we were among the best in the league moving the ball from the 20 to the 20 a kicker is not a huge concern. if our defense can keep the other team from scoring 28 pts a game we wont need all those "clutch" kicks and gamesavers. im not saying a good kicker isnt an important piece of the puzzle but its certainly not even close to the biggest concern the broncs have,ive always said it should never come down to the kicker if the teams firing on all 8!the young talent we have on offense will get the job done we just need consistant play from the running game to give cutler a chance to torch defenses,and find his GROOVE! im new here so if this is boring rambling let me know....in the mean time,i say get ready for a great year and the broncos return to dominance over the afc west!..im thinkin 12-4