First off, I appologize.  I posted this earlier, and accidentally erased it.  So here is take two.

  I have been thinking about our kicking game in Denver, and the question keeps running though my mind, "is Prater really that bad"?

  I did some research on this and thought I would post what I found.  I looked at the first year of several kickers in the league, and narrowed it down to two comparisons:

Matt Prater      1-29  30-39  40-49    50+  total  FG%  Year

                          7-8       8-9     5-11    5-6   25-34   73.5   2008

Jason Elam       1-29  30-39  40-49     50+  total  FG%  Year

                        11-12   7-7    4-10      4-6     26-35   74.3   1993

Neil Rackers     1-29  30-39  40-49  50+  total  FG%  Year

                           5-5    5-9       2-7       0-0   12-21   57.1   2000

                           4-6    8-11     4-9       1-2   17-28    60.7   2001

  There are some kickers that had worse first year kicking stats than Prater, and are doing well in the league right now (Josh Brown had a 73.3% in his first year, Matt Stover stayed in the 72-73% range for his first three years).

  There are great kickers that had bad years even after good years. Adam Vinatieri kicked 73.5% in 2003, and our beloved Jason Elam was very hit and miss, kicking 75% in '96, 72.2% in '97, 75% in 2000, 72.2% in '02, and 75% in '05.

  In conclusion, Prater has really only kicked one full season in the NFL.  He has huge potential with that cannon leg of his.  Only time will tell if he is a stable kicker in this league, and if he is, I would rather he stay in Denver than go elsewhere.  I just hope his potential comes to fruition soon.