National Football League

Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater 'not too thrilled' with PAT change

Published May. 20, 2015 3:25 p.m. ET

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Kickers have responded to the NFL's decision to push extra-point attempts back to the 15-yard line with mixed reactions. Minnesota's Blair Walsh, for example, told Matt Vensel of the Star-Tribune that he's embracing the new challenge.

Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater, on the other hand, isn't as pumped about the rule change.

"I wasn’t too thrilled (when I heard), but it’s something where what can I do about it?" Prater told Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman. "I’ll have to deal with it and make them all."

All kickers agree that 33-yard extra points will be tougher to make, no longer automatic. A heightened focus will be required even in perfect conditions; a PAT could become downright nerve-wracking in foul weather.

"It’s a lot," Prater told the Lions website about how big a change this is. "Especially late in the year when you’re playing games late in the year in Green Bay and Chicago. Some of those places where the field is a little beat up late in the year and it’s cold and windy.

"That’s when I think it’s going to affect guys, more so than guys who are in a dome or in California or Florida."

The roof at Ford Field will protect Prater for only eight games this season, so Lions fans may be on edge when the team scores on the road.

(h/t Detroit Lions)

Photo Credit: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images