Justin Tucker hit a 63-yard field goal in training camp practice, wowing those on hand.
But Tucker can go farther – a lot farther.
He says he hit a 79-yarder in pregame warmups in Denver when the conditions were perfect at the start of last season. And now Tucker's leg feels even stronger.
"I definitely feel stronger, and that's a credit to our strength and conditioning staff and the offseason program and the work that I was doing back in Texas," Tucker said.
Tucker said he tries not to think about the maximum distance he can kick. It all has to do with the conditions at the time of the kick. In warm weather in Denver's thin air, he can launch it a lot farther than in the cold winds of December, when his max could between 62 or 65 yards.
In his first two years in the league, Tucker's longest successful boot was 61 yards in the final minutes in Detroit last year to win the game. The 2013 Pro Bowler went 38-for-41 last year (92.7 percent).
Tucker doesn't have any competition this summer, but has been kicking extremely well in training camp.
"I guess now more than ever, I feel like I'm hitting as good a ball as I've ever hit," Tucker said.
Tucker won't need all of his power, but he will have longer extra-point attempts this preseason. The NFL is moving extra points back to the 15-yard line, making the old 20-yard extra point a 33-yard kick. For now, it's only for the preseason to give it a test run.
On Saturday, Tucker reiterated that he's not a fan of the rule change – or any rule changes – unless it helps make the game safer. But he's not letting it get to him.
Tucker hasn't missed an extra point since high school. He was perfect in college at Texas and he's been 68-for-68 in the NFL.
"I try not to think about that," Tucker said of his last miss. "But it was high school – maybe my junior year. Hate it.
"I don't think [the rule change is] really going to change anything that we do aside from just practicing, just the visual of seeing an extra point from a little bit further back. It's one of those things; it is what it is. If there is a rule change, we'll adapt and overcome."
