Sunday, February 10, 2002
[PRO BOWL]
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Jason Elam is used to dealing with inclement weather, and he's sailed many a football through the Aloha Stadium uprights. So the Broncos kicker who starred at Hawaii made no excuses for missing two of three field goals he attempted yesterday. Special teamers bail out Elam
By Dave Reardon and Nick Abramo
dreardon@starbulletin.com
nabramo@starbulletin.com
He's happy his teammates bailed him out in the kicking-game battle as the AFC beat the NFC 38-30 in the Pro Bowl.
It was a special day for AFC special teams.
"Except for me," Elam said. "I'm just glad we won. It was a rollercoaster kind of game, so hopefully the fans enjoyed it."
Some of them were disappointed that Elam missed on tries of 29 and 53 yards on a blustery day with winds in excess of 20 mph. The local hero was upstaged by the Eagles' David Akers, who made field goals of 29, 41 and 49 yards. Akers also took a shot at 62 yards -- one yard short of the NFL record held by Elam and Tom Dempsey -- but came up way short.
Punter Shane Lechler of the Raiders and punt returner Jermaine Lewis of the Ravens picked up the special teams slack for the usually dependable Elam.
Lechler blasted four punts for a 60.8-yard average, including a 73-yarder. Even with the wind, they were impressive.
"They were unbelievable, weren't they?" AFC coach Bill Cowher said. "It was like they were shot out of a cannon."
And Lewis was like a speeding -- and zigging and zagging -- bullet.
"It just worked out for me today," Lewis said. "I can't explain it. I saw the hole and I hit the hole, and I had a good feeling about returning the ball today."
Lewis, whom the Ravens have left exposed in the Feb. 18 expansion draft, averaged 33.3 yards on four kickoff returns. He also returned a punt for 8 yards. His blazing 54-yard catch-me-if-you-can runback led to the AFC's fourth TD and a 28-13 lead. His 34-yard return set up the AFC's first score.
Lewis, who ran the 100- and 200-meter dashes in high school and "won most of 'em" weaved his way for a 26-yard return on the last play of the first half.
The AFC did a good job on kickoff coverage, too, holding Steve Smith to an average of 15 yards.
The Colts' Ken Dilger, an injury replacement who also caught a touchdown pass, made three kicking-game tackles. Ian Gold, who made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player, made two tackles on punts and kicks.
Center Kevin Mawae from the Jets was appreciative.
"The special teams did a great job," he said. "Lechler, he gave us some good field position. We jumped on them early."