Apparently he has a cannon for a leg, and can consistently hit 50-60 yard FGs.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-j...p&type=lgns
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Is Michael Koenen this years Neil Rackers? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter gbill2004
- Start date
knowledge dropper
Footballguy
He is available as a last round pick and is in the perfect situation. If your league rewards points for long fieldgoals, he could be huge.walkwithme
Footballguy
Yeah man I would pick him up if I was you. I thought he would go undrafted in my money league but somebody grabbed him. I dropped Stover for him in another league
A couple of other positives:
1. Atlanta is due to play alot of close games, where Mora may be tempted to go for a longer field goal. Also they should have a good defense so he won't be as afraid of a short field for his opponent.
2. Opportunities should increase, they traded away their touchdown scorer/first down bull in Duckett - increasing his opportunities slightly.
Rackers was great because of # of opportunities and accuracy. IF Koenen is as accurate in season as preseason, he could be excellent. But remember in performance scoring the difference between Rackers and the 15th kicker was 3 points a game, so taking Koenen makes even more sense in the last (or next to last round if you are really high on him). I figure either Koenen or Gostkowski (who has similar upside) will be there and if not Akers has to be and he has the same kind of increase potential.
1. Atlanta is due to play alot of close games, where Mora may be tempted to go for a longer field goal. Also they should have a good defense so he won't be as afraid of a short field for his opponent.
2. Opportunities should increase, they traded away their touchdown scorer/first down bull in Duckett - increasing his opportunities slightly.
Rackers was great because of # of opportunities and accuracy. IF Koenen is as accurate in season as preseason, he could be excellent. But remember in performance scoring the difference between Rackers and the 15th kicker was 3 points a game, so taking Koenen makes even more sense in the last (or next to last round if you are really high on him). I figure either Koenen or Gostkowski (who has similar upside) will be there and if not Akers has to be and he has the same kind of increase potential.
Solidsteel Rats
Footballguy
He’s obviously got the range, but accuracy is a concern. During his college career he was 11 of 12 on field goals under 30 yards, 12 of 19 (63.2%) from 30 to 39 yards, 15 of 26 (57.7%) from 40 to 49 yards, and 5 of 17 (29.4%) from 50+ yards. He also missed seven PATs. 
diesel7982
Footballguy
Still waiting to see someone prove this.
Prof. Chaos
Footballguy
Next to last round in a league that gives bonus points for fg,s over 40 yds. 
walkwithme
Footballguy
Todd Peterson was the kicker last year he actually had a good year % wise 23/25 made and 35/35 PAT.
Noahs Troopers
Footballguy
I think he'll be pretty good.
Seriously there likely is no "This years Neil Rackers" unless you think the records will be broken every year.
Seriously there likely is no "This years Neil Rackers" unless you think the records will be broken every year.
Solidsteel Rats
Footballguy
Yup..Peterson was good..but as you see Atlanta does not kick a lot of FG's...Peterson was ranked 20th in scoring in a Bonus league.
Solidsteel Rats
Footballguy
Correct..not even Rackers is last years Rackers..as all know they kicked a lot of FG's because they sucked at running the ball..but this year Arz..is better I believe.
What do you mean by this? Please elaborate...Too obvious to be this year's major breakout kicker. The FF gods are not that kind when it comes to kickers
Beaumont
Footballguy
Yep. Have him in one, messed up the auction in the other and ran out of roster spots and watched another shark nab him for $1 ...
Traders2001
Footballguy
Nope he is this years Michael Koenen.
Futility
Footballguy
As it's been said, there won't be another Neil Rackers this year. If you're looking for a kicker with value, I'd suggest Matt Stover. The offense should get into range a lot more often with McNair at the helm, but I don't see them finishing a majority of their drives with TDs.
C
CrossEyed
Guest
Neil Rackers might argue with you. Because regardless of what happened last year, Neil Rackers is certainly this year's Neil Rackers.
hotdogcollars
Footballguy
i think its way tough to predict kicker performances...but with that said:
I'm targeting either Koenen or Rob Bironas (TENN) as my K this year. I think Koenen will benefit from all the points mentioned above (close games, indoors, no apparent short yradage back). As for Bironas, he's got a great leg and he plays for the Titans who i think will settle for lots of FGs this year.
I'm targeting either Koenen or Rob Bironas (TENN) as my K this year. I think Koenen will benefit from all the points mentioned above (close games, indoors, no apparent short yradage back). As for Bironas, he's got a great leg and he plays for the Titans who i think will settle for lots of FGs this year.
-OZ-
Footballguy
That's pretty much a given.I may be
but I expect to see Mike Nugent do very well. Weather will prevent him from being Rackers, but a good sleeper PK. Horrible last year, but I see him putting it together this year. (ETA: similar to hotdogcollars's logic with Bironas, but a stronger leg)
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50 yarders!! LOL!!He doesnt even have the leg to kick 20 yarders.
FairWarning
Footballguy
I'm not big on Falcon kickers when you have a qb who likes to turn the ball over in the Red Zone.
Mike Herman
Footballguy
Average year end kicking fantasy rank, based upon data from 1990 thru 2005:
14.5 - Teams with a home dome
15.4 - Teams that had an outdoor stadium
14.5 - Teams with a home dome
15.4 - Teams that had an outdoor stadium
PrestonV20
Footballguy
The cannon part is kind of funny because I went to college with him and knew him quite well. We actually called him the cannon because the ball just exploded off his leg. Sorry this probably doesnt help the thread but I just thought that was a weird coincidence.gbill2004 said:
Futility
Footballguy
diesel7982
Footballguy
Kickoff distance does nothing to prove that scoring increases on average in a dome vs. a non-dome.That bottom quote is pretty darn anecdotal. In the top half of the league? Can we make that selection criteria a little bigger?
Lets look at the dome kickers:
Todd Peterson(98 points, 92% accuracy)
Jason Hanson(84 points, 79.2%)
Paul Edinger(106 points, 73.5%)
Kris Brown(102 points, 76.5%)
Dallas kickers(we can argue about whether this is a dome, 100 points, ~69%)
John Carney(97 points, 78.1%)
Mike Vanderjagt(121 points, 92%)
Jeff Wilkins(117 points, 87.1%)
So out of the 8 I listed(did I miss any?), only 3 kicked above 80%, and only 2 scored above 110 points, playing for the best offenses in the league. Edinger scored 106, while barely managing to keep his job with a 73% accuracy rate.
TitusIII
Footballguy
Obviously you have to take the talent of the individual kicker into account as well. When you put a stud kicker in a dome(see Vandy) he will outperform a stud kicker who has to deal with the elements, all things being equal.
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diesel7982
Footballguy
Inside/Outside doesnt matter one bit, and no one can seem to provide evidence to the contrary. Ill gladly listen if its there.
TitusIII
Footballguy
Maybe those 4 kickers were simply better kickers than the dome guys?Outside: Wind/Rain/Grass/Crowd NoiseInside: Crowd NoiseAll things being equal, and by this I mean the talent of the kicker, why wouldn't you take the guy who has perfect kicking conditions?
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omally
Footballguy
Neil Rackers was the best last year and he played outdoors (he wasn't considered a stud previously, and was even dumped by the Bengals), and the second best was Phil Dawson in Cleveland (who isn't considered a stud kicker), and Dawson had to really deal with the elements in Cleveland.
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diesel7982
Footballguy
Who says kicking indoors is "perfect"?All I want to see is some data showing that over the course of a meaningful amount of time, indoor kickers outperform outdoor kickers.Maybe those 4 kickers were simply better kickers than the dome guys?Outside: Wind/Rain/Grass/Crowd Noise
Inside: Crowd Noise
All things being equal, and by this I mean the talent of the kicker, why wouldn't you take the guy who has perfect kicking conditions?
Neil Rackers is sort of an argument in favor of domes. He kicked in Arizona, which has no snow, no wind, no rain, no nothing. It's like a dome.I think the common wisdom is that the best places to kick are Arizona, Denver (because of altitude), maybe San Diego, and domes.
freelander
Footballguy
You also have a larger pool of outdoor kickers to choose from; more kickers, likely better chance of overall better numbers.
CalBear
Footballguy
diesel7982
Footballguy
Thank you. Knew something had to be out there somewhere.
Keys Myaths
Pokerguy
It comes down to opportunity.
Rackers was great last year because Arizona had no running game, and stalled consistently just before the red zone.
Atlanta has *nowhere* near the same problem.
Rackers was great last year because Arizona had no running game, and stalled consistently just before the red zone.
Atlanta has *nowhere* near the same problem.
Mike Herman
Footballguy
Averages from the last five years:
6.6 PPG by the visiting kicker in a dome
7.4 PPG by the home kicker in a dome
7.0 PPG by the both kickers in a dome
6.0 PPG by the visiting kicker in an outdoor stadium
6.9 PPG by the home kicker in an outdoor stadium
6.4 PPG by the both kickers in an outdoor stadium
link
FBG: Now that you're in New York, you get to spend more time kicking in various weather conditions. Are there any adjustments you make when you're kicking in rain, wind, or bitter cold?
Jay Feely: In rain you have to slow down your approach a little bit, because of the time for the snapper and the holder to get a good snap and to catch it and put it down. Other than that you don't kick it any differently. With wind you definitely do. You have to pick a spot maybe out wider because the wind is blowing across. If it's in your face you've got to kick the ball a little lower, with a lower trajectory so that it doesn't get up in the wind, to just die in the wind. There's a lot of different things you have to do. Giants Stadium is probably one of the windier stadiums in the NFL. It took a while throughout the offseason last year to really get a handle on that. The approach we took was let's turn it into an advantage for us rather than a disadvantage, because we get a lot more time in that stadium than the visiting team does obviously. We know the wind better, and so that way we understand what that wind is going to do and how tricky it is, whereas they're getting one warm-up session before the game to try and figure it out.
link
6.6 PPG by the visiting kicker in a dome
7.4 PPG by the home kicker in a dome
7.0 PPG by the both kickers in a dome
6.0 PPG by the visiting kicker in an outdoor stadium
6.9 PPG by the home kicker in an outdoor stadium
6.4 PPG by the both kickers in an outdoor stadium
link
FBG: Now that you're in New York, you get to spend more time kicking in various weather conditions. Are there any adjustments you make when you're kicking in rain, wind, or bitter cold?
Jay Feely: In rain you have to slow down your approach a little bit, because of the time for the snapper and the holder to get a good snap and to catch it and put it down. Other than that you don't kick it any differently. With wind you definitely do. You have to pick a spot maybe out wider because the wind is blowing across. If it's in your face you've got to kick the ball a little lower, with a lower trajectory so that it doesn't get up in the wind, to just die in the wind. There's a lot of different things you have to do. Giants Stadium is probably one of the windier stadiums in the NFL. It took a while throughout the offseason last year to really get a handle on that. The approach we took was let's turn it into an advantage for us rather than a disadvantage, because we get a lot more time in that stadium than the visiting team does obviously. We know the wind better, and so that way we understand what that wind is going to do and how tricky it is, whereas they're getting one warm-up session before the game to try and figure it out.
link
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