Timing is Everything for Matt Prater and Cardinals

It's not often when a story line surrounding a 10-3 football team making a playoff push highlights a kicker and a long snapper. 

However, that simply underlines an important aspect of what the Arizona Cardinals have been preaching this entire season: It takes every player on the roster to be a great football team. 

Yes, that even boils down to the kicker and long snapper, whose relationship is often overlooked. 

When Cardinals long snapper Aaron Brewer fractured his arm earlier this year, he was placed on injured reserve Nov. 11 after playing in the first nine games of the season. 

Kicker Matt Prater, in the three games played without Brewer, missed two field goals under 40 yards and an extra point.

Prater was 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts under 40 yards prior to Brewer's absence while converting all 34 of his extra-point attempts.

The timing between the snap and kick of the football is everything in determining whether or not a ball finds itself hurdling through the uprights, and the Cardinals had perfected it in the early portion of the season. 

Arizona possessed one of the top field-goal units in the league, and with Brewer activated from injured reserve Monday, the Cardinals hope to regain that status sooner rather than later. 

Prater, in his first game back with Brewer on Monday Night Football against the Rams, made two extra-point attempts and all three field goals, which included one 49-yard and two 53-yard kicks.

"It was nice just (to) get back comfortable with Aaron with like timing and rhythm. We worked so hard this offseason together, and just getting the reps so with him being hurt and missing time, we were trying to make up all that time in the offseason together with Beau (Brinkley) once he was here," Prater said to reporters on Wednesday. 

"I felt like we were making progress on that. I wasn't kicking as well as I should have obviously. But (I'm) thankful for Beau to come in and he did a good job for us. (I'm) happy that Brewer's back also."

Prater then took a deeper dive into how the relationship between kicker and long snapper translates on the field. 

"The timing and the rhythm of it is a huge part of it because we're expected to get from the snap to the kick in 1.3 seconds or less. And so when there's a change, whether it's a snap or hold or kick or the timing, you just get so used to working with someone with their rhythm and the consistencies," Prater said. 

"So when you change it up, it's tough where, I can almost, you know with Brewer, I don't even have to really look or think I know exactly when it's coming and just from playing with him in Denver for years and then this offseason to this season. Then when you change that, it's just the timing (that's thrown off) and especially the way I kick where I really try to attack the ball and I swing hard, basically on every kick. 

"So when the timing is different, I'm not as comfortable I would say and almost have like a little bit of hesitation where that just makes it tough to attack the ball. But Beau did a great job for us and so hopefully he'll be somewhere soon."

Although both Brewer and Prater previously spent time together in Denver, Prater's homecoming will be this week's road test for the Cardinals in a trip to Detroit. 

Prater, who spent seven seasons with the Lions prior to joining the Cardinals in the offseason, spoke about his return to Ford Field. 

"I'm always gonna be a Lions fan and love the organization. I think they're on the right path. The guys are 100% giving their best effort; they've just had some bad breaks," Prater said. 

"I think they lost one game on a 66-yarder. They've had some heartbreaking losses and I think they're close (to turning it around). They've got some talent (with) good young pieces they drafted and brought in. Yeah, I think they're on the right path and they're competitive. They're a lot better than their record for sure."