ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jeff Wilkins watched most of the preseason on the sidelines, waiting for the right moment to warm up for the real season.
That time has come and Wilkins put in his most extensive workout Wednesday since the Rams reported for camp in early August. He will work with the first team during St. Louis' preseason game Saturday at Kansas City as he builds toward the regular season opener Sept. 10.
“I do enough so I feel comfortable and I feel good,” he said. “Then you try and shut it down.”
Wilkins, handling the bulk of the kicking work during practice, was a highlight Wednesday as the team inches closer to paring 10 players from its roster by Tuesday. They might make a cut sooner than that, however.
As for Wilkins, finding the happy medium between preparing for the season and not overextending himself beforehand has been crucial in past seasons. He used to kick extensively during training camp, preseason practices and games and his leg was often worn out and somewhat ineffective by the latter part the season.
Former coach Mike Martz decided a few years ago to limit the work Wilkins did before the season opener and now, in his 13th season overall and 10th with the Rams, the kicker was pleased new head coach Scott Linehan followed suit.
Linehan said it made sense not to mess with the proven approach even if letting your No. 1 kicker sit for the bulk of training camp does not fit the norm of the league.
“The proof is what he's done in the past,” Linehan said. “He came in one camp (several) years ago and kicked a whole bunch; kicked in preseason, kicked himself out of very good rhythm.”
Starting Wednesday, the goal for Wilkins became finding his stroke and getting in sync with holder
Dane Looker and long snapper
Chris Massey. The trio has worked together the past four years.
Looker said he and Wilkins talked following Wednesday's practice and agreed plenty of room remained for improvement but the groove should be found before the final preseason game. Remy Hamilton has handled most of the kicking prior to this week and while that allowed Massey and Looker to work together, it did not translate to an easy transition when Wilkins took over the duties.
“You can hold it for different guys,” Looker said, “but when you don't have the center, the holder and the kicker all working in tandem for at least a couple of preseason games, you really don't get in the flow you're looking for.”
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