DENVER – Kenoy Kennedy met Mike Anderson head on at the line of scrimmage and sent the fullback flying backward with a shot to the face.

The hit was arguably the best of the Denver Broncos’ training camp so far. Perhaps more importantly, it was a sign that Kennedy won’t let last year’s suspension and fines for hitting affect him this season.

“That’s all behind me,” the safety said Tuesday. “It’s a new year and a new start. I forgot all about that. This year, hopefully, I can keep it quote, clean, and not get any fines.”

Kennedy had a reputation as a hard hitter at Arkansas and after being selected by the Broncos in the second round of the 2000 draft.

That aggressiveness got him into trouble last year.

Kennedy’s problems started with the first game, after which he was fined $7,500 for at hit on St. Louis’ Isaac Bruce. Next came a $10,000 fine for a hit on San Diego’s Fred McCrary in Week 5, and that led the NFL to warn Kennedy that similar hits would lead to a suspension.

The league held true to its threat a week later after Kennedy was called for a personal foul on a helmet-to-helmet hit to Miami’s Chris Chambers.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan used a video session with the media to show that Chambers’ head had been pushed forward by Broncos cornerback Denard Walker, but the league wasn’t buying it.

Kennedy was suspended without pay for a game, costing him about $25,000 and sending his season total to more than $42,000. Worse, it made Kennedy feel like the league had tagged him as a dirty player.

“Once you get that tag on you, they’re always watching you close,” Kennedy said. “You know that anything close, they’re not going to give you any mercy on it because they feel that ‘We told you once, the rest is on you.”‘

The suspension shook Kennedy. After being taught from a young age to play aggressively, he was being told that he was playing too rough. Instead of barreling into a play without worry, he started thinking about the position of his head and of the opposing player.

As a result, the violent collisions the Broncos had become accustomed to from Kennedy practically disappeared over the final nine games.

“I think he was a little tentative after getting fined a couple times,” Shanahan said. “He’s got to wipe that out of his mind and play football like he did before. I did think that bothered him a little.”

But with a new season comes a new outlook.

The suspension and fines still make Kennedy think about how he approaches hitting, but he’s not going to let it stifle his aggressiveness.

“I just kind of go in a little lower,” Kennedy said. “As a DB, if the ball is high you tend to play in high. Now I have to just go low, but I’m still going to play with the same intensity and lay guys out.”