Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater is one of the best in the NFL at his position, and has amassed several team and personal accolades over the course of his career.
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However, just like most of his teammates around him, he’s not off to the best of starts in the 2020 season. He’s missed two of five field goal attempts so far, one from 55 yards and another from a distance of 57 yards.
And according to special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs, Prater is particularly hard on himself when he’s not performing up to his own expectations.
“I don’t know if you guys have had a chance to talk to Matt or not since the game, but I would just tell you that he’s probably two or three times harder on himself than I am on him,” Coombs said Tuesday. “He’s a perfectionist. He expects to make every single kick that he attempts, whether it’s 30 yards, 55 yards or 65 yards. That’s just his mindset. He goes out and he wants to make the kick.”
However, according to Coombs, the veteran isn’t discouraged, and is going to continue to grind away in an effort to improve.
I mean he wanted to kick the ball before (Green Bay) had the penalty and it was going to be 62 (yards),” Coombs said. “I’m sure he would have been (angry) if he would have missed from 62. That’s just the way he’s wired. He’s a competitor. He’s no different than the rest of these guys. He’s frustrated with himself.
“I don’t think he’s discouraged,” Coombs continued. “I think he knows his number is going to continue to be called. I don’t feel any differently about him than I did two weeks ago. Those are two tough kicks, especially this past week. The conditions weren’t great and everything else wasn’t perfect, but Matt will be the first one to tell you he expects to make it and he’s frustrated that he didn’t.”
The Lions will take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and will look to get into the win column for the first time.
