Let's talk Kickers

[Grateful Parrot 0]

I know kickers for the most part don't rate very high in FF, but I would like to know some of the methods you experts use in picking kickers. I try to go with most consistant inside the 40 on teams that don't fair well in redzone scoring. How do you guys pick them?

[DaveJ 0]

Pick a team that has trouble scoring but can move the ball....

 

Rackers won me a few games last year, so you can't overlook a kicker who has a fantastic year.....

[Rookie QB 0]

You either want a kicker on a bad team (Neil Rackers) or a kicker on a great offensive team (Shayne Graham).

[sjanson 0]

Just sit back and laugh when the two biggest morons in your league take Rackers and Vineteri in the 7th round. Then take the best available kicker on the worst team with your last pick.

[Parja 0]

Draft one at random with an early bye week. Come bye week, drop him, and grab the best available on the waiver wire.

[Parkers99 0]

This is a somewhat complicated method, but I've found it works for me:

 

#1) Cut a piece of yellow construction paper into 32 identical strips

#2) Using a silver ink caligraphy pen, write each kickers name on each strip

#3) Place the strips in a bowl made of Oak ( I use my wife's salad bowl)

#4) sacrifice a chicken and sprinkle its blood into the bowl.

#5) close your eyes, throw the names into the air

#6) Open your eyes and choose the first player's name you see

 

 

I've found this method to be very effective in determining the #1 FF kicker once out of every 32 times I try it.

[Riddlen 1]

I hear Dave Rayner might win hte Packers job, he could be a sleeper.

[Kellys Heroes 0]

I wait to the last couple of rds - when about 10 or so are gone and draft a K who plays in a dome. I do pick a little early; but I wait until the big names are gone. The last draft I did I picked Wilkins - I think he was the 12 or so kicker picked.

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

Tier 1:

 

Vinateiri

Rackers

 

Tier 2

 

The rest

[Grateful Parrot 0]

This is a somewhat complicated method, but I've found it works for me:

 

#1) Cut a piece of yellow construction paper into 32 identical strips

#2) Using a silver ink caligraphy pen, write each kickers name on each strip

#3) Place the strips in a bowl made of Oak ( I use my wife's salad bowl)

#4) sacrifice a chicken and sprinkle its blood into the bowl.

#5) close your eyes, throw the names into the air

#6) Open your eyes and choose the first player's name you see

I've found this method to be very effective in determining the #1 FF kicker once out of every 32 times I try it.

 

I like this method , but can I use a squirrel instead of a chicken?

[mtammen 0]

Just sit back and laugh when the two biggest morons in your league take Rackers and Vineteri in the 7th round. Then take the best available kicker on the worst team with your last pick.

 

 

Correct. Rackers was undrafted in most leagues last year. Look for a good weather team that can't punch the ball in the endzone.

[esoitl 0]

i just wait till the end and pick someone in a dome....

not like you can project how many times a team will falter in scoring range

 

or like me just pick the kicker from your favorite team

[LunaTick 29]

Teams in strong divisions that can move the ball.

Or teams that struggle, but get within range.

 

Then find the one with the most reliable leg.

 

It then depends on scoring, our league has distance bonus pts.

So then I want a guy that gets longer chances too.

 

Look at the coach also, some will refuse to kick.

 

 

Also, some kickers tend to cycle good and bad seasons.

 

Look at the schedule for the playoffs.

 

 

i like to draft 2 good kickers adn then start based upon match ups

[Parkers99 0]

I like this method , but can I use a squirrel instead of a chicken?

 

 

Yes, squirrel blood works equally well. However, they are difficult to catch and, once caught, they bite. Chickens are much safer IMHO.

[greggorymac 0]

Yes, squirrel blood works equally well. However, they are difficult to catch and, once caught, they bite. Chickens are much safer IMHO.

 

My league has very little bench room (5). Typically I like to keep a backup QB, WR and three RBs whom will be money in situations if the starting RB goes down (your Moroney, Deangelo Williams of the world). Needless to say, when my true starters have a bye week I don't want my ###### kicker to be on a bye as well. So what I do, is wait until the last two rounds, see where my starter's bye weeks are, and then pick the best kicker available whom doesn't have a bye week the same week as multiple starters. You can't discount kickers, as Rackers won many games last year for people if you get bonus points for distance... but there ends up being a Rackers-type every year that comes out of nowhere. My advice is not to reach and to choose a kicker that you don't have to sub the same week as other starters.

[Phurfur 70]

Draft one at random with an early bye week. Come bye week, drop him, and grab the best available on the waiver wire.

 

I do the same and very rarely end up with the kicker I drafted but always have a top 6 kicker. I do know going back to at least 1998 the leading kicker from the year before has not repeated.

[skinsrule05 30]

Draft one at random with an early bye week. Come bye week, drop him, and grab the best available on the waiver wire.

 

That's how I got Rackers last year

 

You can't predict which kicker will have a great year. There is usually 1 or 2 at the top and than all the rest can be lumped together.

[superskin#99 0]

Just sit back and laugh when the two biggest morons in your league take Rackers and Vineteri in the 7th round. Then take the best available kicker on the worst team with your last pick.

 

 

I CANNOT wait for that to happen in my main keeper league draft this year. Somebody will take Rackers and then somebody else will panic that the top kicker is off the board and draft Vineteri because he needs a difference maker at the K position.

 

Last year I drafted Wilkins in the next to last round, dropped him on his bye week, and alternated between Tynes and Kaeding the rest of the year. And please, for the love of god, there is no reason to ever draft two kickers.....EVER.

[crocodilecj 0]

I don't. I just wait until the end of the draft and pick whichever one is available and kicks for a team that moves the ball. I expect to cut my drafted K come Bye week anyway and find one on the Waiver Wire who ends up actually being a Top-10 K.

[RLLD 3,455]

I find a list of them somewhwere, perhaps here, and then spend my last two picks on whoever is left.....

[flushmonkii 0]

Last round, draft a kicker, its a crapshoot with them. Who even drafted Rackers last year?!

[Steel City Blues 0]

Last round, draft a kicker, its a crapshoot with them. Who even drafted Rackers last year?!

I took Rackers in the 7th round last year because Soilost predicted it & you can't dispute a genius like that.

 

This year I'll wait for his prediction again before drafting any kicker.

[football_scooter 0]

I don't bother rating them.

 

Ideals:

dome kicker - no wind

team with a decent offense that struggles in the red zone (ala JAX last couple years)

 

But really, it doesn't matter in the slightest.

 

I did some research a few years ago - turned out that the difference between the #1 fantasy kicker and the #20 fantasy kicker was a whopping 20 points.

 

That amounts to a whopping 1.25 points/game.

 

Kickers are also wildly inconsistent from year to year. Guys like Rackers & Shayne Graham were the best last year and were available off the WW in most leagues.

 

Which means it's not worth bothering to stress over, or spending anything more than a last round pick on.

[remote controller 133]

I don't bother rating them.

 

Ideals:

dome kicker - no wind

team with a decent offense that struggles in the red zone (ala JAX last couple years)

 

But really, it doesn't matter in the slightest.

 

I did some research a few years ago - turned out that the difference between the #1 fantasy kicker and the #20 fantasy kicker was a whopping 20 points.

 

That amounts to a whopping 1.25 points/game.

 

Kickers are also wildly inconsistent from year to year. Guys like Rackers & Shayne Graham were the best last year and were available off the WW in most leagues.

 

Which means it's not worth bothering to stress over, or spending anything more than a last round pick on.

Nice assessment of the situation. My choice normally also considers a kicker with the leg to boot 50+ yarders.

[adam smitty 0]

I dont even rank kickers. its not like there are any sleeper kickers...seems like every year the best kicker comes of the waiver wire anyways. Dont waste a high pick on a kicker when the difference from top to bottom isnt that big.

[Ras66not99 0]

I've used a method over the years with kickers in my Dynasty league that works pretty well...

 

I like to pick up kickers (pretty much every week) like a rotating door, but I make sure that they're playing against the porous defense available (SF, Houston, Clev, KC, etc..) so you know they're going to gaurentee you some solid points.... there is nothing worse than getting 1 or 2 points or even a goose egg from your kicker..... i'll take a gaurenteed 7 or 8 every week with no worries...

 

In 2004 I used 8 different kickers and I finished 3rd in kicker points in my league with 142 (8.8 Pts. Per game) Only the guy with Akers (150) and Vinatieri (145) finished with more points from the kickers spot than me (and not by much as you can see). Unfortunetly I have to abandon that theory this year because I have Shayne Graham on my frozen roster now, but give it a shot as an experiment this year, I'm sure you'll find it works pretty well.. (hopefully you don't get charged for pick-ups either cause that can get pricey Good Luck....

[football_scooter 0]

I've used a method over the years with kickers in my Dynasty league that works pretty well...

 

I like to pick up kickers (pretty much every week) like a rotating door, but I make sure that they're playing against the porous defense available (SF, Houston, Clev, KC, etc..) so you know they're going to gaurentee you some solid points.... there is nothing worse than getting 1 or 2 points or even a goose egg from your kicker..... i'll take a gaurenteed 7 or 8 every week with no worries...

 

In 2004 I used 8 different kickers and I finished 3rd in kicker points in my league with 142 (8.8 Pts. Per game) Only the guy with Akers (150) and Vinatieri (145) finished with more points from the kickers spot than me (and not by much as you can see). Unfortunetly I have to abandon that theory this year because I have Shayne Graham on my frozen roster now, but give it a shot as an experiment this year, I'm sure you'll find it works pretty well.. (hopefully you don't get charged for pick-ups either cause that can get pricey Good Luck....

 

While you present interesting anecdotal evidence (what you claim to have scored) I find this strategy deeply flawed.

 

Let me explain why...

 

Using the kicker for a team playing against "the most porous defense available" means having a kicker who's team is far more likely to score TDs, relegating your kicker to the role of scoring extra points, not FGs.

 

FGs are worth 3-5 (depending on your system) whereas PATs are worth 1.

 

Which is why Vanderjagt pissed off everyone who reached for him the year Manning tossed 49 TDs.

 

By comparison, playing against a team with a stout defense means struggling in the red zone and kickers having a big day.

 

So again, while your claim of scoring a lot of points might well be true, the logic you use to support it doesn't mesh.

[gatorbait7391 0]

Tier 1:

 

Vinateiri

Rackers

Vanderjack

Tier 2

 

The rest

corrected.

[Ras66not99 0]

While you present interesting anecdotal evidence (what you claim to have scored) I find this strategy deeply flawed.

 

Let me explain why...

 

Using the kicker for a team playing against "the most porous defense available" means having a kicker who's team is far more likely to score TDs, relegating your kicker to the role of scoring extra points, not FGs.

 

FGs are worth 3-5 (depending on your system) whereas PATs are worth 1.

 

Which is why Vanderjagt pissed off everyone who reached for him the year Manning tossed 49 TDs.

 

By comparison, playing against a team with a stout defense means struggling in the red zone and kickers having a big day.

 

So again, while your claim of scoring a lot of points might well be true, the logic you use to support it doesn't mesh.

 

Are you assuming I made this up out of no where ? Playing a team against a "STOUT DEFENSE" as you say is the WORST THING YOU CAN SEE FROM YOUR KICKER... You're taking a chance that he may not even score... Drives me crazy when people think like that Thats the reason I shared my advice with the guy who started this thread because people have that greedy mentality with kickers and how you want them to kick you 4 or 5 FG's a week... I'll glady take a gaurenteed 3 Extra points & 2 to 3 FG attempts a week from my kicker.....

 

I'm not saying that when your kicker is playing a good defense he's automatically in for a bad day because that would be stupid because they will occasionally have those games where they get into the red-zone a few times and get stopped and have a big game here and there.. BUT..... Fantasy Sports is about OPPORTUNITY first and fore most, Kickers playing a "STOUT DEFENSE" don't see even close to the amount of chances as a team thats moving up and down the field all afternoon...And if in fact it's such a STOUT defense, they may not even see an opportunity at all which is the point I was making.... My logic is 100 % correct and all the "Proof/logic" you need can be found on the FFTODAY link below....

 

http://www.fftoday.com/stats/fantasystats....mp;Side=Allowed

 

Look at the teams that have given up most points allowed by a kicker for the season (1. Oakland, 2. New Orleans, 3. Houston, 4. San Fran, 5. Jets, 6 . Rams) pretty terrible defenses I might add..... as for the other way the fewest points allowed include (Denver, Indy, Chicago, Jacksonville, Carolina) Some of the top defenses last year.... The proof is in the puddin

[LunaTick 29]

Kicker versus defense rule is tricky.

 

If you have the kicker for a high scoring offense and they face a tough defense, this should mean more fg opportunities than a normal week.

 

However, a Poor offense, against a poor defense may still result in a goose egg for you.

 

Whether anyone wants to admit of ranking or tiering, or anything of that sort with kicker.

 

It isnt' difficult to review previous years stats with regards to fg/xpt accuracy. Range, etc.

Then "exclude" the hacks from consideration.

 

Now, there may be one scenario which would skew those rankings. And that is a bad long snapper.

 

 

 

I will also state, that I have relied on (in a league which has bonus for long xpt) my kickers (playing weekly matchup) to make up for my qb's lack of scoring or consistency. This has helped me get into the playoffs and make it to the championship game before.

 

So I will not bash the value of having a good kicker.

 

Is just another piece, which can differentiate and or expand your points spread over the othr guy

[Fumbleweed 426]

...seems like every year the best kicker comes of the waiver wire anyways.

 

This really isn't so.......yes, it happened last year, but normally the top 3-4 kickers come from the same general pool. Rackers ascending to the top out of nowhere last year was not the rule.

 

There's still no reason to draft a kicker until the end of the draft, but it's not quite the total crapshoot you guys are making it out to be.

[Kitsnow 0]

As opposed to someone like me who drafter Akers last year.... Everyone is better off drafting Kickers last.

[LunaTick 29]

As opposed to someone like me who drafter Akers last year.... Everyone is better off drafting Kickers last.

 

 

The argument against this thought.

 

Depending upon how your draft is going (solid or sucky), if you know you are weak at wr, rb or qb following may not apply.

 

Is it better to take your 4th wr or 5th rb (exageration), who you know will likely not see the light of day (no value in a trade), versus another position (say k, def, te) who will be your starter and provide you points in the game.

Depth is great, but you also need to score more points than your opponent too.

You cannot score a guy who is going to be riding the pine tar all year long.

 

Is going to have to be a value call.

 

Plus, it only take 15 minutes of predraft prep to short list the kicking position.

This to Exclude the hacks and possibly teams relying on a rookie or journeymen kicker.

Followed up with reviewing the NFL schedule to see who will be in tight game, preferably not in the snow at the end of the season.

[Ras66not99 0]

The argument against this thought.

 

Depending upon how your draft is going (solid or sucky), if you know you are weak at wr, rb or qb following may not apply.

 

Is it better to take your 4th wr or 5th rb (exageration), who you know will likely not see the light of day (no value in a trade), versus another position (say k, def, te) who will be your starter and provide you points in the game.

Depth is great, but you also need to score more points than your opponent too.

You cannot score a guy who is going to be riding the pine tar all year long.

 

Is going to have to be a value call.

 

Plus, it only take 15 minutes of predraft prep to short list the kicking position.

This to Exclude the hacks and possibly teams relying on a rookie or journeymen kicker.

Followed up with reviewing the NFL schedule to see who will be in tight game, preferably not in the snow at the end of the season.

 

Like I told the original guy who wrote this thread.... if your league doesn't cost money to pick up players use a rotating door at your kicker spot by picking up a kicker every week.... look for guys playing SF, Houston, St.Louis, New Orleans, bad defenses etc..... the system works very well if you're a savvy GM.... better off using that middle round pick you want to use for a kicker on a sleeper RB thats boom or bust (like LJ last year) or a (Chris Perry, Cedric Bensen type this year) one injury away from a huge upgrade you may get lucky .....

[seattle_pt1 0]

Just sit back and laugh when the two biggest morons in your league take Rackers and Vineteri in the 7th round. Then take the best available kicker on the worst team with your last pick.

 

 

[49ER MAN 0]

I CANNOT wait for that to happen in my main keeper league draft this year. Somebody will take Rackers and then somebody else will panic that the top kicker is off the board and draft Vineteri because he needs a difference maker at the K position.

 

Last year I drafted Wilkins in the next to last round, dropped him on his bye week, and alternated between Tynes and Kaeding the rest of the year. And please, for the love of god, there is no reason to ever draft two kickers.....EVER.

 

I agree about drafting 2 kickers, what a waste of a roster spot. Last year, I grabbed Peterson in our 12 team auction league for $1 and cut him in Week 3 and picked up Jay Feely on waivers.

[Steel City Blues 0]

I don't think I've ever seen a serious FF kicker discussion on this bored.

 

Next you will suggest the Bouve doesn't still have man lust for Ricky Williams.

[football_scooter 0]

Are you assuming I made this up out of no where ? Playing a team against a "STOUT DEFENSE" as you say is the WORST THING YOU CAN SEE FROM YOUR KICKER... You're taking a chance that he may not even score... Drives me crazy when people think like that Thats the reason I shared my advice with the guy who started this thread because people have that greedy mentality with kickers and how you want them to kick you 4 or 5 FG's a week... I'll glady take a gaurenteed 3 Extra points & 2 to 3 FG attempts a week from my kicker.....

 

I'm not saying that when your kicker is playing a good defense he's automatically in for a bad day because that would be stupid because they will occasionally have those games where they get into the red-zone a few times and get stopped and have a big game here and there.. BUT..... Fantasy Sports is about OPPORTUNITY first and fore most, Kickers playing a "STOUT DEFENSE" don't see even close to the amount of chances as a team thats moving up and down the field all afternoon...And if in fact it's such a STOUT defense, they may not even see an opportunity at all which is the point I was making.... My logic is 100 % correct and all the "Proof/logic" you need can be found on the FFTODAY link below....

 

http://www.fftoday.com/stats/fantasystats....mp;Side=Allowed

 

Look at the teams that have given up most points allowed by a kicker for the season (1. Oakland, 2. New Orleans, 3. Houston, 4. San Fran, 5. Jets, 6 . Rams) pretty terrible defenses I might add..... as for the other way the fewest points allowed include (Denver, Indy, Chicago, Jacksonville, Carolina) Some of the top defenses last year.... The proof is in the puddin

 

No - I am not saying you made anything up. In your case, it might well have worked out for you. But I think that's the exception rather than the norm.

 

your "proof" is a claim of success. I've been playing FFB going on 7 years now and in my experience, the opposite holds true, regardless of how much you rant & rave. Playing a kicker for a good offense against stout red zone defenses results in FGs. Playing a kicker for a good offense against weak red zone defenses (as you suggest) results in PATs.

 

Do the math.

 

All things being equal on their respective offenses, give me the kicker going against the good D every time.

[rebooters 1]

i like to wait until the last round and pick the most accurate on a good offense. i almost always end up with a different kicker than i draft and from experience i know that kickers are really tough to predict. because of this i also laugh at the guys who take vanderjagt, rackers, vinatieri in the 6th-8th rounds. while they are doing this, i am grabbing a QB/backup rb's wr's.

[Ras66not99 0]

No - I am not saying you made anything up. In your case, it might well have worked out for you. But I think that's the exception rather than the norm.

 

your "proof" is a claim of success. I've been playing FFB going on 7 years now and in my experience, the opposite holds true, regardless of how much you rant & rave. Playing a kicker for a good offense against stout red zone defenses results in FGs. Playing a kicker for a good offense against weak red zone defenses (as you suggest) results in PATs.

 

Do the math.

 

All things being equal on their respective offenses, give me the kicker going against the good D every time.

 

Look if you can't see my "theory" is backed up by that link I sent you earlier then I'll just be wasting my breath explaining it again... FACTS are right there... bad defenses give up the most FG Opportunities and the MOST POINTS... your "STOUT" defenses give up a lot less... cut and dry...