Listen up if you want to tell the top place-kickers from the rest of the pack.
No, I'm serious. Footballs sound different coming off the foot of a Rob Bironas or a Matt Prater—two of my former teammates with league-best legs. Just try warming up as a quarterback and hearing the equivalent to 20 home runs cracking off a kicker's foot. It's jarring.
It's also damn impressive when they do it in live action. I was on the Buccaneers sidelines when now-Falcons kicker Matt Bryant cracked a 62-yarder to beat the Eagles. Jon Gruden didn't even call for him; Bryant trotted confidently out like he expected to make that kick.