Tuesday, August 11, 1998

Associated Press
Jason Elam, top, shown here celebrating with
teammate Dedrick Dodge after kicking a field goal
in the Super Bowl, says he feels better than ever.

---

Broncos’ Elam
hopes legwork
pays off

After a rigorous off-season
regimen, the former Rainbow
standout has looked impressive

By Clay Latimer
Rocky Mountain News

Shortly after the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl victory seven months ago, Jason Elam booked a flight to New Orleans.

Not to party.

Not after the season he had endured.

Elam's 51-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers salvaged a troublesome season, but it didn't pacify one of football's most ambitious kickers.

To guarantee his future in Denver, Elam decided he should go to New Orleans to overhaul his body.

The former University of Hawaii star lost 13 pounds of fat, gained seven pounds of muscle, strengthened his tender hip, built up the rest of his body and emerged with a new mind-set for his sixth NFL season.

It apparently paid off in the exhibition season opener Saturday, when he kicked field goals of 41 and 25 yards in the Broncos' 20-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

"I feel as good as I've ever felt in training camp," Elam said. "I'm not even remotely sore, and I'm always sore, even though I don't do a lot in training camp.

"I always have to take a day off. I was even hurting my rookie year. But not this time. It's amazing, absolutely amazing."

Kickers and punters from across the country travel to New Orleans to consult with Mackie Shilstone, a personal trainer who was recommended to Elam by Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen.

Elam was concerned about persistent pain from groin and hip flexor injuries he suffered against Atlanta on Sept. 28. He missed the New England game the following week and lost trust in his once-flawless leg swing.

As the season progressed, Elam regressed, and his future suddenly was up in the air.

"When you're not performing well, questions kind of creep into your mind: 'How much time do you have? How patient are they going to be?' " Elam said.

"I turned on the radio and the first call-in was saying: 'Jason Elam is the Achilles' tendon of the Broncos.'

"I was better physically two weeks after it happened, but for whatever reason, the swing was just never the same. It's tough to get it back, and I never really got it back until right until we were going into the playoffs.

"I watched so much film, but I guess when you get hurt, that muscle memory kind of gets lost. Your body just doesn't want to do it for a while. I don't know if it's because you're tentative or because you're paranoid about doing it again. But that's the reason I did all this stuff in the off-season, to get ready so it won't happen again."

After talking with Andersen about seeing Shilstone, Elam flew to New Orleans.

"Mackie has worked with so many kickers and punters and he's prolonged a lot of careers," Elam said. "He isolated on my hip, but he looked at everything that might be a contributing factor. He made me realize from a scientific point of view that my body composition is a lot different than it was five years ago.

"Your body composition changes all the time. You have to keep up, stay on top of things."

In training camp, Elam's booming kicks have reminded observers of the 51-yarder he hit against the Packers, the second-longest field goal in Super Bowl history.

"I'm hoping all this is going to pay off," Elam said. "It's warm now, your body is fresh, but in September you're starting to run down, it's cold."