The greatest kicker in Denver Broncos history, Jason Elam, is as Ring of Fame worthy as they come. He played fifteen seasons for the Broncos and in his career missed just three extra points and kicked a 50+ yard field goal in every season in the league.
Eric Goodman, Les Shapiro and Tyler Polumbus of The Afternoon Drive talked with Jason Elam in the soundbite above about his career and what it meant to be elected into the Ring of Fame. As a former third round draft pick in 1993 by then head coach Wade Phillips, Elam is likely one of the few highly drafted placekickers who totally lived up to their draft status.
"I'll start with Jason Elam. A tremendous 15-year career [and the] all-time leading scorer in Broncos history, a tremendous contributor," Denver Broncos President and CEO, Joe Ellis, said of Elam. "I think he had 152 wins, which is second to only John Elway, if I'm right there as a Bronco. A great, great player for us and a well-deserved honor today to elect him into the Ring of Fame."
Elam was immensely honored by the election and continues to represent Broncos Country many years after his retirement from the NFL.
"It's a huge honor, probably the biggest individual honor I've ever received," Elam said of being elected to the Broncos Ring of Fame. "To be able to go in with John Lynch and Simon Fletcher, two great former teammates and great people, it's just a pretty amazing deal. I'm really happy for them and I consider it a great honor for myself. It's a really amazing thing to kind of look around at the people that are in the Ring of Fame. I don't feel like I should be named with those people. To have that honor and to have that kind of appreciation from the selection committee and from the Broncos is incredible."
Amazingly, Elam will become the third kicker elected into the Broncos Ring of Fame, joining Jim Turner and halfback/kicker Gene Mingo. That stat alone should be mind boggling, but all three men are deserving.
"You don't every really go there too much," Elam said on whether he ever envisioned being elected into the Ring of Fame. "You don't feel like anything like that is a shoe in at all. There are only [28] guys up there. Imagine all of the players that have played for the Denver Broncos—some absolutely amazing players that you see in that Ring of Fame, and so again, I just feel incredibly honored just to be mentioned with those guys."
Elam was also asked about his most dramatic field goal he ever made in his career. Most probably thought of Toro, Toro, Toro and Elam didn't disappoint.
"My last season in Denver against Buffalo, the season opener," said Elam. "That crazy hurry-up field goal situation we got ourselves in was probably the most dramatic kick I ever had. It was a pretty cool moment. We practiced that play for the whole entire training camp never thinking we were going to run anything like that and then the very first game we end up having to run it. We were able to pull it off and sneak out of Buffalo with a win. That was a pretty amazing kick. It's pretty cool how everything was executed on that play. That one just really sticks out in my mind."
All in all, I think every Broncos fan looks back on Elam's career with great fondness and respect. Reflecting on his illustrious career it becomes easy to see why he was an easy pick for this years class of Ring of Famers.
"Everybody knows all of the kicker jokes but I always tried to be a good teammate," Elam said of his career. "I wanted to be somebody that my teammates, my coaches, the fans and the organization could count on, on the field. But I also wanted to be a really good teammate to encourage the guys and let them know I was in their corner. I feel like that is a big role of a kicker. We don't just need to sit off all the time by ourselves during practice. We need to deliver on the field, but I also think that we need to be solid teammates and encouraging my friends there. I really hope I was able to pull that off. I had such a blast my entire career from start to finish and I got to play with some of the all-time greats. I wouldn't trade it for anything."