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Eddie Kennison was one of the Rams most diligent workers this off-season


MACOMB, Illinois (AP) -- The NFL's fastest man is trying to outrun his past.

Eddie Kennison can't wait to show the St. Louis Rams he's no one-year wonder. The wide receiver was one of the NFL's top rookies two years ago, with scintillating efforts in both pass catching, where he had nine touchdowns, and in punt returns, where he had two touchdowns.

Last year, his numbers went down -- way down. His most memorable moment was an embarrassment, when he had one player to beat on a punt return and instead stepped out of bounds.

About the only thing he didn't lose was his title as fastest man in the league. Of course, the league didn't hold competition last year.

"I was ready for it," Kennison said. "Maybe next year I'll have a chance to run in it again."

He was ready for more than that. This offseason, Kennison, a first-round draft pick in 1996, was one of the Rams' most diligent workers in their conditioning program. He did resistance training with a parachute apparatus. He added weight to help him get off the line of scrimmage, which was a problem last year.

"The season I had last year, that kind of spoke for itself," Kennison said. "I don't know what it was, and I couldn't tell you what the cause of it was."

Kennison doesn't like to talk about his lost season. But he freely acknowledges he needs to do a lot better.

"I don't want to live in the past, and I won't do it," he said. "Today starts a new era."

Kennison sees the next few weeks as a proving ground.

"I've had a lot of free time during the offseason to really get mentally ready for camp," he said. "I worked my behind off during the offseason to get physically strong, and hopefully this camp will show that."

He says he's not worried about the competition. The Rams signed Ricky Proehl as the third wideout, and to push Kennison for a job.

"I think Eddie is a hell of a player with a lot of talent," Proehl said. "If he's playing well, we're going to be a better team."

Kennison and Isaac Bruce were one of the league's premier tandems in his rookie season. Bruce led NFL receivers with 1,338 yards on 84 catches and Kennison had 54 catches for 924 yards.

Last season, Bruce missed four games with a hamstring injury. Kennison was hampered a bit by his own hamstring injury and struggled both before Bruce went down and after he came back.

Now he's trying to prove himself again.

"I remember Eddie our rookie year and he was an attacker," quarterback Tony Banks said. "This year in minicamp he's been better than he's ever been."

The only question in coach Dick Vermeil's mind is whether Kennison can improve his pass-catching skills. He said for a receiver with soft hands, Kennison drops too many.

"But in terms of his effort and commitment, it's been excellent," Vermeil said.

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