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I Hate Kickers - How Do You All Pick Yours? (1 Viewer)

B

Bill S

Footballguy
How to you guys pick your kicker?  I use over/under, kicker ability, and predicted game flow.

I'm thinking Phil Dawson for this week.  I hate picking them.

 
I've had Tucker all year, even last week through his bye. The team has confidence in him all over the field and their defense keeps the game close enough where they aren't passing up field goal opportunities. There are a few of these guys every year, and I try to target one a round early in the draft.

 
Good offenses between the 20s who struggle in the RZ is a popular theory. Good luck identifying that team in advance.

 
Once I have a top ten one I hold onto him all year and don't think about it for the rest of the year.

 
I go for the most consistent guy with the earliest bye week possible to get it out of the way.  Picked up sturgis after week 4.  Not giving it another thought unless he gets injured. 

 
When I draft I pick a kicker with a late BYE on what I hope will be a productive offense. Bonus if they're an offense that struggles in the red zone. Jackpot if they kick in a dome (8 games where weather doesn't matter) 

then when their BYE finally hits I pick up a guy who's already had his BYE. 

Set it and forget it. Foot at end of leg, win. 

 
I picked up Sturgis and Philly D after the week 4 bye.  Both are set in stone in my lineup for the  ROS.  Philly D has carried me a few weeks, and Sturgis is one of the most consistent kickers this year so far.

Chasing points will burn you every time.  Pick one guy and set it and forget it.

 
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Gotskowski, Tucker, Vinateri, and Bryant, maybe Crosby are the only kickers that I consider "set it and forget it" right now.

Maybe I am overthinking the kicker spot bc it is so random.  In my dynasty leagues I have Tucker on most of them and traded for Gotskowski in one, but am changing kickers weekly in all my seasonal.

 
I drafted Crosby. They had a early bye week so I dropped him for the Redskins kicker. He did ok week 4 so I kept him and he gave me 1pt week 5. I ended up with Matt Bryant. Probably won't drop him even on bye. I like that he is in a dome and the offense is pretty good. 

 
OU#1 said:
I picked up Sturgis and Philly D after the week 4 bye.  Both are set in stone in my lineup for the  ROS.  Philly D has carried me a few weeks, and Sturgis is one of the most consistent kickers this year so far.

Chasing points will burn you every time.  Pick one guy and set it and forget it.
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Wow!  I didn't realize Sturgis has been doing this.  I just picked him up.  Very consistent.  Thanks!

 
lsufan said:
I drafted Crosby. They had a early bye week so I dropped him for the Redskins kicker. He did ok week 4 so I kept him and he gave me 1pt week 5. I ended up with Matt Bryant. Probably won't drop him even on bye. I like that he is in a dome and the offense is pretty good. 
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I had Bryant week 1, but dropped him early.  I think he is top 5 ROS.

 
I usually choose a kicker from a pass happy team with a Good QB, that can move the ball down field. but with relatively poor weapons receiving the ball and that might struggle in the end zone. 

Im rolling Lambo from the chargers since week 3 and im planning to pick up Matt Prater after Lions BYE (week 10)

Lambo's bye is week 11, so i'll just cut him and keep Prater ROS . nice schedule too.

 
Good Kicker>Good Offense>Okay Offense>Dome

I like a team that scores a lot of points more than a team that is good enough to get in range but not convert, I'd much rather get 8-10 than 3-15.

Also, stop playing in leagues with kickers  :bag:

 
One strategy is having the kicker from the same team as your QB. By doing that you will still get points on stalled drives in field goal range (if your kicker makes it that is).

End of season schedule means more as I prefer kickers in domes or where the risk of snow and wind is low even though kickers like Gostkowski and Tucker seem to do fine anyway.

 
sneakerfreak said:
But I honestly don't look much at my kicker. Pick one and forget about it unless it is really bad.
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This.  I take one I expect to keep the job,  on a team I expect to score a lot, preferably home in a dome.  This year's kickers for me are Vinatieri (redraft), gost (dynasty, have had him for years) and Blair Walsh (another dyno) 

 
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Kickers are part of the game, so just because they are wildly unpredictable, I don't think they should be excluded from FF. 

I find TD's are hard to predict as well, maybe we should stop counting those as well!?!

 
Just look at which kickers have been scoring the most consistent points each week and pick him up.  I never stress out too much about it.  There's always a decent kicker available on waivers because most people are not worried about replacing theirs.  Look at the kickers starting in your league and you'll see that some are not in the top 12.  That means there are guys in your league that are not paying attention and think their kicker is doing alright when in fact their kicker is like the 15th best overall.

 
tricky92 said:
I've had Tucker all year, even last week through his bye. The team has confidence in him all over the field and their defense keeps the game close enough where they aren't passing up field goal opportunities. There are a few of these guys every year, and I try to target one a round early in the draft.
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I picked him up in one league where he was dropped for the bye.

As far as kickers go, I go on a combo of scoring average (good FF kickers tend to be pretty consistent) and opponent's SOS for kickers. It doesn't always work out because there are just unseen variables (misses, turnovers in the red zone, team falling too far behind, etc.), but it seems to do pretty well.

One thing I don't get is when people hang on to names at D and K or don't care how well they are doing. I think my real ah hah moments with kickers was with Neil Rackers back in 2005. In leagues with bonus points for long FGs, he averaged 11 ppg and got me an extra 3 points per game on average. That's the difference between a RB getting 1600 yards rushing and 1100 yards rushing or 16 TDs versus 8 TDs. He won me multiple games that year and since then I pay attention to Ds and Ks. I won't take one early, but I'll scour the early weeks because there are always good players that appear every year.

 
I didn't draft a kicker, and waited too long on DST in my draft. Wound up with Tucker and Seattle because of byes. Just look at stats and how they look week to week, and jump at chances when other owners give them to you.

 
Hawkeye21 said:
Just look at which kickers have been scoring the most consistent points each week and pick him up.  I never stress out too much about it.  There's always a decent kicker available on waivers because most people are not worried about replacing theirs.  Look at the kickers starting in your league and you'll see that some are not in the top 12.  That means there are guys in your league that are not paying attention and think their kicker is doing alright when in fact their kicker is like the 15th best overall.
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Agree completely. Amazing to me that people just ignore K and often D. If you stream or pick up good FAs, you can get around 5 ppg on the "average" starters. People usually realize it, but still in one heavy FBG league (with a staff member), I was able to pick up Tucker last week and Arizona D this week when they were on their byes. That's the #2 K and #4 D in my league. I already have Minnesota on D and since Tucker passed his bye, he's my only kicker now. Snagged both right after waivers ran. I like Tucker + combined D schedules the rest of the year.

 
I drafted a random guy in my last round, waited a couple weeks to see who was doing well, then scooped up Bryant off the waiver wire....very good decision so far ?

 
candian fantasy guy said:
Kickers are part of the game, so just because they are wildly unpredictable, I don't think they should be excluded from FF. 

I find TD's are hard to predict as well, maybe we should stop counting those as well!?!
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I felt the same away about kickers as well. Until this year when I joined a league without kickers. Once you go kickerless you won't ever want to go back.

 
candian fantasy guy said:
Kickers are part of the game, so just because they are wildly unpredictable, I don't think they should be excluded from FF. 
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I actually agree with this line of thinking. I think team defenses are wildly unpredictable but no one seems to have an issue with them.

I'm in a no K league and I'm fine with it but generally prefer the K. Main thing is it's more stuff to have a rooting interest.  When your K lines up for a 50 yard attempt that's a 5 point play, so for me about the same level of excitement I have when my RB gets a carry from the one yard line. Number one reason I play fantasy football is to create personal rooting interest that I previously needed gambling to do and for me the K adds to that interest.

This year I loaded up on Gostwoski, has not been worth what I paid but generally look for stuff like track record of consistent few year success, strong Defenses that set up short fields, lack of running game which can lead to red zone struggles and in general teams that don't have a lot of dominant red zone weapons but otherwise move the ball well.

 
menobrown said:
I actually agree with this line of thinking. I think team defenses are wildly unpredictable but no one seems to have an issue with them.

I'm in a no K league and I'm fine with it but generally prefer the K. Main thing is it's more stuff to have a rooting interest.  When your K lines up for a 50 yard attempt that's a 5 point play, so for me about the same level of excitement I have when my RB gets a carry from the one yard line. Number one reason I play fantasy football is to create personal rooting interest that I previously needed gambling to do and for me the K adds to that interest.

This year I loaded up on Gostwoski, has not been worth what I paid but generally look for stuff like track record of consistent few year success, strong Defenses that set up short fields, lack of running game which can lead to red zone struggles and in general teams that don't have a lot of dominant red zone weapons but otherwise move the ball well.
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agree with all this, would add the obvious point is to avoid kickers on teams that are underdogs when possible. And my personal pet peeve of not taking Mike Tomlin's kicker since he goes for 2 points so often

 
Aunt Jemima said:
agree with all this, would add the obvious point is to avoid kickers on teams that are underdogs when possible. And my personal pet peeve of not taking Mike Tomlin's kicker since he goes for 2 points so often
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Yeah, I stay away from PIT kickers for the same reason.

 
I myself would rather get rid of defenses before getting rid of kickers.  Having a defense makes little sense to me.  Here are two things I really dislike about it.

1.  When the offense gives up a pick 6 or a fumble returned for a TD and it counts against the defense.  That's a big flaw.

2.  When you have offensive players on your team going up against your defense.  This is just counter productive in fantasy football.

Get rid of defenses and keep kickers.  At least kickers count toward offense which is what fantasy football is all about.

 
candian fantasy guy said:
I  just try to ride a hot offense, luckily I picked M Bryant after a couple weeks in most of my leagues. That's worked out well for me so far!
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These are the kickers that usually have a safe floor.

I actually grabbed Vinaeteri from waivers after my draft because I didn't draft a kicker. Paid off pretty good but that was just luck.

 
If anyone here hates trying to pick kickers then you must really hate picking TEs.  I think it's much more frustrating dealing with that crap fest of a position.

 
I was against having kickers for a while, but I think they are good for the game.  Having a bit of randomness gives lesser opponents a better chance at an upset, without affecting long term advantages.  Plus, I love that a couple managers in my league will roster two kickers when their main kicker has a bye week in our short roster league... :D

 
I hate kickers too.  I generally try to have Justin Tucker kicking for me because he has killed me too many times going against me over the years.  I know that sounds strange but he has literally beat me in several games I should have won so it's just a bad thing when I go against him.  It's a crap shoot after that.

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
When I draft I pick a kicker with a late BYE on what I hope will be a productive offense. Bonus if they're an offense that struggles in the red zone. Jackpot if they kick in a dome (8 games where weather doesn't matter) 

then when their BYE finally hits I pick up a guy who's already had his BYE. 

Set it and forget it. Foot at end of leg, win. 
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Me and this dude are on the same page almost on every subject.

McManus and Matt Bryant this year.

I also like Dome kickers. Jason Hansen was my go-to kicker for YEEEEEEARS.

 
Hawkeye21 said:
I myself would rather get rid of defenses before getting rid of kickers.  Having a defense makes little sense to me.  Here are two things I really dislike about it.

1.  When the offense gives up a pick 6 or a fumble returned for a TD and it counts against the defense.  That's a big flaw.

2.  When you have offensive players on your team going up against your defense.  This is just counter productive in fantasy football.

Get rid of defenses and keep kickers.  At least kickers count toward offense which is what fantasy football is all about.
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MFL has a setting for this so if that happens it doesn't count against the defense.

We changed our rule and called in the "Mark Sanchez Pick 6 Addendum"

 
Hawkeye21 said:
I myself would rather get rid of defenses before getting rid of kickers.  Having a defense makes little sense to me.  Here are two things I really dislike about it.

1.  When the offense gives up a pick 6 or a fumble returned for a TD and it counts against the defense.  That's a big flaw.

2.  When you have offensive players on your team going up against your defense.  This is just counter productive in fantasy football.

Get rid of defenses and keep kickers.  At least kickers count toward offense which is what fantasy football is all about.
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Sounds like you need to come over to the dark side and play IDP fantasy football.

You'll never go back!

 
Draft one from a team with a good offense, whether it's projected, gut, whatever. Wait 2-3 weeks, see which kickers are FA's that might be on teams that are really performing better than expected. Grab that kicker. This year I picked Matt Bryant around week 3, starter for the year settled. I like dome kickers for obvious reasons too, Not foolproof but i've yet to figure out a better way to predict what a kicker might do. especially weekly, you'll go nuts if you try to do that.

 
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Dope said:
MFL has a setting for this so if that happens it doesn't count against the defense.

We changed our rule and called in the "Mark Sanchez Pick 6 Addendum"
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One of my leagues does this with MFL. I like it. Only real offensive scores count against the D. 

 
I pick kickers in high-scoring games or against weaker defense. I commish a league that treats kickers like actual NFL players... you kick a FG 20-29 yards, you get 2 points. From 30-39 is 3, 40-49 is 4 and so on. Penalties are minus half, I'd do fractional scoring but Yahoo doesn't allow it.

 
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