Mike Herman
Footballguy
Per Schefter, Redskins have cut Suisham and signed Graham Gano.
				
			No. Field goals are unpredictable. If the Saints offense is too efficient and Hartley gets no field goal opps, he still has 4-5 fantasy points from the extra points.I'm not saying Hartley isn't a good late season pick up, but isn't the 'grab the kicker from the best offense' sentiment a little overstated? I mean, under most scoring systems, you want a kicker who will drill FGs, not extra points, as they score more in fantasy. While a great offense will obviously give you more opportunities to get points of any kind out of your kicker, there will be games when the Saints are too efficient in the opposition half and just pile on TDs. In that week, a guy who plays on a decent but unspectacular offense that often has to settle for FGs might score better if he kicks 3 or 4 of those. I'm just saying....it's still a crapshoot.
Some possibly related statistics:73% of top five kickers came from top ten scoring offenses, while 60% came from top ten yardage offenses.No. Field goals are unpredictable. If the Saints offense is too efficient and Hartley gets no field goal opps, he still has 4-5 fantasy points from the extra points.I'm not saying Hartley isn't a good late season pick up, but isn't the 'grab the kicker from the best offense' sentiment a little overstated? I mean, under most scoring systems, you want a kicker who will drill FGs, not extra points, as they score more in fantasy. While a great offense will obviously give you more opportunities to get points of any kind out of your kicker, there will be games when the Saints are too efficient in the opposition half and just pile on TDs. In that week, a guy who plays on a decent but unspectacular offense that often has to settle for FGs might score better if he kicks 3 or 4 of those. I'm just saying....it's still a crapshoot.
If another kicker gets shut out of field goal opps, he may get just one or two fantasy points. Either way, the Saints are going to make far more trips to field goal territory than the other kicker. Throw in the fact that Hartley is in a dome for Weeks 14, 15, & 16, and it only gets better. Kickers see their production fall off significant in December because of the elements. Having a dome kicker in an explosive means much in the fantasy playoffs than it does in the first month of the season.
 
 NOLA.comNew Orleans Saints will stick with Garrett Hartley at kicker, for now
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
December 09, 2009, 7:59PM
Saints Coach Sean Payton said he plans to stick with Garrett Hartley at kicker - for this week, at least - after the second-year pro performed well in his 2009 debut at Washington last week. But veteran John Carney remains on the roster, so the Saints apparently have not made a permanent decision.
"I think the two of them have really done a good job of handling this and working with each other," Payton said.
In fact, Hartley said it was Carney who first informed him that he was going to be activated for the Washington game last Saturday morning.
"That meant a lot," Hartley said. "John just came up to me, looked me right in my eyes and said, 'You're in.' I said, 'Don't mess with me, man.'
"It's been a roller coaster ride emotionally with the (four-game) suspension and then coming back and being inactive and family and friends trying to keep me up through everything. And he said, 'I wouldn't mess with you with something this serious.'
LINK...Baltimore PK Billy Cundiff (head) was a limited participant in practice on Thursday as the team prepares for its Week 14 game against the Lions. Cundiff had just two points on Monday in the team's Week 13 game against the Packers.
homers is he good to go? he has good matchup against the lions.
Even though Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff of Monday's game in Green Bay, he continued to kick for the Ravens through the night. Special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said Cundiff was cleared by sideline doctors to play. "They said that he was cleared to play and at that point in time, I started talking with Billy to find out what we needed to do from that point forward," Rosburg said. "Based on my conversations with Billy and my conversations with the other players, Billy was our best option at that point. We made some tactical adjustments, like we do in all game situations, and we chose to go with Billy and those kickoffs. Had Billy not been cleared by our medical staff, then, obviously, the situation would have changed. Bill was our kicker, and we felt like we could get through it with Billy." If Cundiff had been unable to kick, punter Sam Koch would have attempted all place kicks and handled kickoffs.
Cundiff said this week he was fine and would play Sunday against Detroit. The Ravens obviously are counting that no Ben Roethlisberger-type situation develops in the interim. Roethlisberger practiced all week for the Steelers before the Ravens game, then was scratched on Saturday when he complained of headaches. What if Cundiff complained of headaches after team preparation was done, Rosburg was asked? "Well, if it happens Sunday, it would be a lot different than if it happened on Saturday, obviously," he said. What would Rosburg do if it were to happen? "I'd walk up to [GM Ozzie Newsome's] office with John [Harbaugh} and see what he thought."
thanks. i need all the points i can get this playoff weekend, and the lions give up a lot of points to kickers.LINK...Baltimore PK Billy Cundiff (head) was a limited participant in practice on Thursday as the team prepares for its Week 14 game against the Lions. Cundiff had just two points on Monday in the team's Week 13 game against the Packers.
homers is he good to go? he has good matchup against the lions.Even though Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff of Monday's game in Green Bay, he continued to kick for the Ravens through the night. Special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said Cundiff was cleared by sideline doctors to play. "They said that he was cleared to play and at that point in time, I started talking with Billy to find out what we needed to do from that point forward," Rosburg said. "Based on my conversations with Billy and my conversations with the other players, Billy was our best option at that point. We made some tactical adjustments, like we do in all game situations, and we chose to go with Billy and those kickoffs. Had Billy not been cleared by our medical staff, then, obviously, the situation would have changed. Bill was our kicker, and we felt like we could get through it with Billy." If Cundiff had been unable to kick, punter Sam Koch would have attempted all place kicks and handled kickoffs.
Cundiff said this week he was fine and would play Sunday against Detroit. The Ravens obviously are counting that no Ben Roethlisberger-type situation develops in the interim. Roethlisberger practiced all week for the Steelers before the Ravens game, then was scratched on Saturday when he complained of headaches. What if Cundiff complained of headaches after team preparation was done, Rosburg was asked? "Well, if it happens Sunday, it would be a lot different than if it happened on Saturday, obviously," he said. What would Rosburg do if it were to happen? "I'd walk up to [GM Ozzie Newsome's] office with John [Harbaugh} and see what he thought."
Get ready for it. Buehler?...anyone?....Beuhler?The Dallas Cowboys will solve their kicking situation by staying in-house. http://bit.ly/7gl4jl"]http://bit.ly/7gl4jl"]http://bit.ly/7gl4jl
Sounds like Hartley will be fine, but I'll be watching the inactive list for Carney roughly 90 minutes before the game.Sean Payton press conference
Are you troubled by Garrett Hartley’s missed PAT?
“The way he has been kicking in practice has been real good. Last week he was solid for us and he’ll come back and be strong.”
Between Thomas Morstead and Michael Koenen yesterday they had seven touchbacks on kickoffs. Do you think the league will possibly push the kickoff line back to the 25-yard line?
“I think where it’s at now is a good spot. I think those guys are the exception to the rule. I wouldn’t say that that would never happen, but where it’s at now is fine.”
Did you think Morstead had this kickoff ability when you drafted him?
“We knew he had leg talent. To answer question, it has been somewhat of a surprise in regards to his kickoff ability. I don’t think any of us envisioned that. We did see a player that we thought had a lot of ability as a punter and we felt good about his athleticism, we felt good about a lot of things when we selected him and fortunately we were right.”
So Folk is more likely than not going to be kicking in the dome this weekend against the Saints. If he misses early, I guess he' be done for the day. This looked like a nice match-up in a dome in the winter earlier in the year . . . now I have to think about Lindell in bad New England weather."David [buehler] is working more on field goals, but he's a ways away.'' - Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips http://bit.ly/5K9dx1 #NFL 14 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Arizona Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers injury aggravated http://bit.ly/6vBKVl #NFL 15 minutes ago from TweetDeck
It never gets mentioned on this board or on national talk tv/radio shows or in print, but Morstead has been one of the MVP's of this year's Saints season.Sean Payton press conference
Did you think Morstead had this kickoff ability when you drafted him?
“We knew he had leg talent. To answer question, it has been somewhat of a surprise in regards to his kickoff ability. I don’t think any of us envisioned that. We did see a player that we thought had a lot of ability as a punter and we felt good about his athleticism, we felt good about a lot of things when we selected him and fortunately we were right.”
I wonder how many people won last week because of Bironas? Lots and lots.Thanks as always for the info - a few folks will win championships based on this thread I am sure...
To me, it seems like teams with good defenses and conservative offenses (and they often go hand in hand) make for the best FF kicking.Opportunities + red zone stalls = FF K points.I'm not saying Hartley isn't a good late season pick up, but isn't the 'grab the kicker from the best offense' sentiment a little overstated? I mean, under most scoring systems, you want a kicker who will drill FGs, not extra points, as they score more in fantasy. While a great offense will obviously give you more opportunities to get points of any kind out of your kicker, there will be games when the Saints are too efficient in the opposition half and just pile on TDs. In that week, a guy who plays on a decent but unspectacular offense that often has to settle for FGs might score better if he kicks 3 or 4 of those. I'm just saying....it's still a crapshoot.
New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley misses practice with a hip injury. http://bit.ly/6OfKNj #NFL 5 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Is Nugent kicking for sure this week or is there a chance that Rackers can kick? I know in the past Rackers has been hurt but still kicked.Anyone have any suggestions on PKs for the playoffs? Are you guys just looking at the match-ups to determine which team is more likely to score? I noticed the cheatsheets have in order Hartley, Cundiff, Brown, Prater, etc. Why isn't Nugent higher on the list?
can you post a link or can anyone confirm?I read that Rackers is out 1-2 weeks. What intrigues me about Nugent is that he's teamed up with his holder from NYJ.
Tell me this isn't because it's against his old team.LOCO said:i like mare against TB this week.
