Posted on: Saturday, October 9, 2004

Elam's excellence easily overlooked in Denver

By Eddie Pells
Associated Press

DENVER — So, what does a guy have to do to get a game ball around here?

Jason Elam had every right to ask that question in the week after he made a 49-yard field goal, a 50-yard field goal, the game-winning field goal and was named the AFC special teams Player of the Week.

Oh, and all that came three days after his wife gave birth to their fourth child.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said forgetting to give the University of Hawai'i alum a game ball after last week's 16-13 win over Tampa Bay was nothing intentional, just a mere oversight — an oversight he regrets.

"For him to come in under those circumstances and have a couple clutch kicks is really a credit to him," Shanahan said. "He's a winner. I love the way he handles himself and the way he works."

Elam, whose 23-yarder in the fourth quarter gave Denver the winning points last week, says he's kicking the ball as well as he ever has in this, his 12th season in the NFL.

His whole career has been in Denver, and he has long passed the stage all kickers go through during which they must prove they belong. He's 10 for 11 in field goals this season and leads the AFC in scoring. One reason Shanahan may have overlooked Elam last week is that games like last week's are fairly common.

With 1,350 points, Elam has long surpassed Jim Turner as Denver's all-time leading scorer. A few more years like the one he's having and he could easily make the list of all-time greats.

"I don't really care about setting records," Elam said. "I'd like to play as long as it's fun. I feel good. I feel strong. As long as it keeps going like that, I'd like to keep going."

Asked if he felt lucky to have a kicker like Elam, Shanahan said, "I don't feel like we're lucky, because we know how good he is. That's why we kept him and signed him to a long-term contract, and a very lucrative contract (that included a $2.6 million signing bonus)."

But about that game ball?

Although Elam took no offense in being overlooked, he conceded that game balls and Player of the Week awards certainly do mean something to him.

"It's always flattering," he said. "You're going to stay in the league if you keep doing that."