Pickin' Some Kickin'

Posted 8/20 by Jeff Pasquino, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

Everyone loves to draft their fantasy team. We want to look like we can be a general manager of a team, picking talent and putting together a winning lineup. From Round 1 decisions of Steven Jackson vs. Larry Johnson to QB decisions of Jon Kitna against Donovan McNabb, we all think we know a little more than the next guy. From RB to WR to QB to TE decisions, we think we all know how to build that dominant franchise.

And then - there are kicker picks.

Ugh. Do we have to? Why? Yes, yes - it is "foot"ball, so sure these guys matter. They put up big points, but do we care that much about a kicker? Doesn't everyone know to just blow this off until the last round or two of your draft and pick a guy you kind of like?

Well, I agree with most of that, but you still have to put a kicker in your lineup in most leagues. Fantasy teams usually require a kicker. Before you just say "whatever" and pick a name out of a hat, let's think about it just a little to see if we can get a few extra points a week that might make the difference over the long run.

Every Point Matters

It's true, and it matters even more if you are in a low scoring league. Every point matters, and if you have been playing for a few years I'm sure that you have seen that nail biting fantasy football game that came down to Monday Night Football. Games are often decided by a slim margin, so getting any advantage that you can is important. That means even paying attention to those afterthought guys - the kickers.

So what can we use to figure out whom to select? I've narrowed it down to these criteria:

Home field - if they kick in warm weather or in a dome it is usually an advantage, especially in the second half of the season. Playoff games are especially important in fantasy football, and no one wants to be playing in Green Bay in December.

Bad running teams - This is important mostly in the Red Zone (inside the 20 yard line). Think about the Arizona Cardinals in 2005 - Neil Rackers lit up the scoreboard that year. Why? Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington couldn't gain 3 feet, let alone 3 yards on most carries. Forget about a rushing touchdown. Field goals a-plenty for Mr. Rackers thanks to that issue.

Good offensive teams - Seems obvious here, but a few fantasy experts might tell you to go with bad teams as they have to kick more. I say that's a little bit right, but it is more about the good scoring teams that struggle punching in the touchdowns. It is also very important to not be playing from behind all the time, especially late. Nothing is worse for a kicker than his team trailing by 8 or more points late in the game. "Going for two" means a giant ZERO for your kicker.

Good defensive teams - This works hand-in-hand with the good offensive teams, ideally. These teams won't be down by a lot of points late in games, so their team kicker will always be in play. Every so often the teams will rely almost solely for their kicker to score for them, as they can win with just a handful of field goals. Baltimore's Matt Stover won two games himself for the Ravens when they failed to score a TD on offense for five consecutive weeks in their Super Bowl season. Adam Vinatieri beat the Ravens in the 2006 playoffs. Yes, these points really do matter.

A long leg and a confident coach - Some leagues reward longer field goals with more points, so you want your kicker to have the shot to make it from downtown. Find a kicker who has at least made a 50+ yarder last year and tried more than a few. That's where the coach comes in - you don't want a coach who would rather try for a punt inside the 5-yard line than kick a 50+ yard attempt.

Accuracy and a track record - Look for kickers that have at least a 75% success rate, and hopefully over 80%. The numbers should be about 5% higher from 40 yards or less. This goes for the majority of the kicker's career, as one bad year is forgivable. A track record of 80%+ for 4 out of 5 years is impressive and should push that kicker towards the top of your list.

Avoid rookies - They are tough to predict and have no track record. They also don't know the stadiums and how the wind affects things. These subtleties do matter.

Avoid the Top 3 from last year - Since 2001, the Top 3 kickers from the prior year have not reappeared in the Top 3 the next season. That means skip Robbie Gould, Nate Kaeding and Jeff Wilkins. This also means you won't be first out of the blocks to pick a kicker, which is a good thing.

Health - Kickers are pretty interchangeable, but try and pick one that doesn't have a history of foot or leg issues.

Bye week - This is the least important, but it does matter. If you have a short bench, you'll need to replace the kicker once (if at all), so try and have his bye week not match your TE or Team Defense. That allows you to have one revolving door roster spot to cover byes. Also, if you are in a Survivor league, you may want to gamble with one kicker, so take one with an earlier bye week so that there's less chance that the zero-point week will hurt you.

So who do I like this year? Jason Elam and Matt Stover are on a lot of my teams for 2007. So are Jay Feely and David Akers. They may not fit every item on this list (none kick in a dome, for example) but they do meet a lot of this criteria. That's all the advice I want to give you as far as names, as the point of this is to make you think about a few things and consider a little harder who you will pick for this fantasy season. All fantasy football points count equally - even from kickers. Good luck this year.