| Team |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
Average |
Current Kicker |
| GB |
7 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
6 |
Ryan Longwell |
| DEN |
6 |
3 |
9 |
5 |
6 |
Jason Elam |
| STL |
2 |
1 |
24 |
1 |
7 |
Jeff Wilkins |
| PHI |
8 |
9 |
2 |
9 |
7 |
David Akers |
| IND |
7 |
2 |
19 |
2 |
8 |
Mike Vanderjagt |
| BAL |
3 |
8 |
22 |
4 |
9 |
Matt Stover |
| SF |
10 |
15 |
10 |
8 |
11 |
Todd Peterson |
| OAK |
12 |
6 |
4 |
22 |
11 |
Seb.Janikowski |
| PIT |
16 |
4 |
8 |
19 |
12 |
Jeff Reed |
| NE |
11 |
17 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
Adam Vinatieri |
| TEN |
10 |
23 |
14 |
3 |
13 |
Joe Nedney |
| NO |
17 |
18 |
3 |
16 |
14 |
John Carney |
| ATL |
23 |
7 |
1 |
26 |
14 |
Jay Feeley |
| CAR |
1 |
25 |
30 |
5 |
15 |
John Kasay |
| KC |
13 |
27 |
7 |
12 |
15 |
Morten Andersen |
| MIA |
11 |
20 |
13 |
20 |
16 |
Olindo Mare |
| TB |
30 |
5 |
4 |
28 |
17 |
Martin Gramatica |
| SEA |
28 |
17 |
17 |
9 |
18 |
Josh Brown |
| NYJ |
9 |
19 |
16 |
27 |
18 |
Doug Brien |
| NYG |
24 |
16 |
17 |
14 |
18 |
Open |
| CHI |
25 |
13 |
23 |
14 |
19 |
Paul Edinger |
| MIN |
13 |
31 |
15 |
16 |
19 |
Aaron Elling |
| WAS |
22 |
18 |
27 |
18 |
21 |
John Hall |
| BUF |
14 |
29 |
12 |
31 |
22 |
Rian Lindell |
| DET |
21 |
27 |
21 |
23 |
23 |
Jason Hanson |
| JAX |
19 |
28 |
25 |
25 |
24 |
Open |
| CLE |
30 |
22 |
20 |
23 |
24 |
Phil Dawson |
| CIN |
31 |
30 |
28 |
12 |
25 |
Shayne Graham |
| DAL |
20 |
26 |
32 |
20 |
25 |
Billy Cundiff |
| SD |
29 |
26 |
26 |
28 |
27 |
Nate Kaeding |
| ARI |
29 |
21 |
29 |
32 |
28 |
Neil Rackers |
| HOU |
- |
|
31 |
28 |
30 |
Kris Brown |
Kickers are notoriously unpredictable thanks in no small part to being little more than what happens when the offense gets close (but not close enough). They are entirely contigent on their team being able to reach their opponent's territory and yet not being able to score touchdowns. High scoring offenses normally have the better kickers, but more predictive than all those extra points are how well teams are able to gain sizable leads in games and then settle for field goals at the end of each game.
Certainly kicker ability to split the uprights have a lot to do with their success, but even the best kicker will have no fantasy relevence if his team never gives him opportunity. Kicker success is mostly about their team and less about the individual since the kicker never controls how many attempts he has.
As an interesting review, consider what teams have done over the past four years with kicking, regardless of who their kicker(s) were that season. Below is how each team ranked (1st to 32nd) in standard kicking points over the last four seasons. As with most historical analysis, those teams that were consistently good or bad are the interesting ones that offer more reliability in making your own assessment of their chances for 2004.
This review tells two stories. First - there are some wildly varying performances by most teams year to year. No wonder so many mark the end of a draft with their kicker picks.
Secondly - there are a handful of consistently good kickers. Really. In a position marked by almost unpredictable behavior, three kickers stand above the rest - David Akers, Ryan Longwell and Jason Elam. Their teams have always been top ten in kicking over the past four seasons. They tend towards being a 6th best kicker or so, but neither have done worse than 9th and as good as 2nd. Next there is a set of three kickers that also have excelled in consistency except for a very statistically-odd crash in 2002. Three of the four years have been great for Mike Vanderjagt, Jeff Wilkins and Matt Stover.
Vanderjagt and Wilkins are the 2004 draft darlings for a good reason - they were hot last year AND they have done it before. Just as intriguing and available much deeper are Longwell, Elam and Stover. |
