Jason Elam, like most NFL kickers, looks the part of a coach or trainer more than a player.
He’s smaller in stature than most of the team and is the oldest player on the roster, by six years.
But 17 seasons in professional football have been kind to Elam.
His six-and-a-half page biography in the Falcons media guide details the record-setting numbers:
- Three Pro Bowl selections.
- Special Teams Player of the Year, 2001.
- Fifth in NFL history in field goals made (424) and points (1,915).
- First player in league history to score at least 100 points in each of his first 16 seasons — still the longest streak in the NFL.
- Record holder for longest field goal in a game (63 yards).
And that’s just the first few paragraphs.
No one doubts Elam’s ability, even as he nears the third decade of his tenure. Last season he missed just two field goals and made all of his extra point attempts (129 points on the season, second-highest total in Falcons history).
But he probably couldn’t quote all the numbers.
He’s busy “tweaking” his “swing,” figuring out the next edge to improve his game or cooking up any number of metaphors to compare the world of NFL kicking to other professional sports.
“I don’t think you perfect it,” he said Monday. “I don’t think you can ever stop learning. You’re always watching film and looking to try little tweaks here and there to see where it goes.
“Ultimately it’s like a golf swing. You tell yourself, ‘If I swing this way, the ball will go here.’ You learn to trust your swing.”
Elam said he didn’t trust his motion early in his career, but he’s closer than ever to that elusive goal. He admits he’s not perfect — he missed two field goals in 2008 and an extra point in the preseason opener — but he’s to the point of minor adjustments instead of major overhauls. Thoughtful practice instead of marathon kicking sessions.
“I’ve got to be careful with my body to make sure I’m in good, physical condition,” he said.
Elam is the only placekicker at Russell Falcons Training Camp. Many teams bring in an extra leg to work through special teams drills but the veteran said the coaching staff trusts his methods and lets him work though his cycle of kicking, working out, stretching and rest.
“They know how I like to prepare and they’re good with it,” he said. “I firmly believe I’m no different from a Major League Baseball pitcher in that they go every fourth day and they’re on a pitch count. Why is a kicker any different?”
Elam says he knew his extra point attempt in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against the Lions was off before he ever made contact with the ball.
He would have stopped his “swing” and called timeout if he could.
He liked the feel of the 46- and 41-yard field goals he made but the missed chip shot, which proved the difference in the 27-26 loss, just motivated him to continue what he’s never stopped doing.
Working.
“Fortunately it was a practice game,” Elam said. “Even if it’s a practice you’re more embarrassed than anything. It’s like that 3- or 4-foot putt. If those PGA guys miss those, they’re like ‘What happened?’ You realize you have to keep working on your swing and keep refining it.”
J. Michael Moore Feature, Preseason, training camp Detroit Lions, feature, Jason Elam, Preseason, Russell Falcons Training Camp
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