Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

It’s tough to recall a time when the the kicker has played a bigger role in the NFL and fantasy football season. In what can be considered a remarkable statistic, 17 kickers topped 100 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues and 13 of those kickers averaged over seven fantasy points per game. Leading the way was San Diego Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding who connected on 32 field goal attempts and scored 155 fantasy points. Kaeding averaged 9.7 fantasy points per game and this would have made him a top-20 running back, a top-12 wide receiver and a top-4 tight end. So for those of you who think finding a kicker to lead your fantasy team is a dime a dozen, you’re wrong. Based on these numbers, if you had a consistent kicker, you were likely to get RB2 or WR2 value from him on a weekly basis. On the flip side, if you weren’t fortunate enough to get your hands on a quality kicker you probably suffered highs and lows from the position all season long.

With that being said, it’s time for our annual installment of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. In this edition, we take a look at THE BAD kickers who struggled with consistency throughout the 2009 season.

THE BAD

1. Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots) — Fantasy football owners who drafted Gostkowski for the 2009 season expected the Patriots offense to return to its 2007 high-flying form and for Gostkowski to be a consistent option at kicker on a weekly basis. After all, quarterback Tom Brady was back and the last time Brady played a full season (2007), Gostkowski kicked an NFL record 74 extra points. The hype surrounding the New England offense was significant and as a staff we bought into it. Gostkowski entered the preseason as the No.1 kicker in our preseason magazine and eight out of nine staff writers placed him at the top of their lists.

Gostkowski finished the 2009 regular season with 129 fantasy football points and tied for fifth overall among kickers. Despite his solid numbers, Gostkowski lacked the consistency that his owners had hoped for. While he benefited from a slow start by the Patriots offense and scored 55 fantasy points over New England’s first six games, it was downhill after that. Gostkowski scored 45 fantasy points over the Patriots last seven games of the season. To make matters worse, with so many fantasy championships on the line in Weeks 15 and 16, Gotskowski failed to produce for his owners and put up just 10 fantasy points. Gostkowski’s lack of production in the second half of the season led to many fantasy owners looking ahead to 2010 sooner than expected. Statistically Gostkowski was good, however the roller coaster ride that he took his investors on was enough to earn him a spot on The Bad list.

Looking ahead to the 2010 season, New England still possesses one of the NFL’s best offenses and fantasy football owners should target Gostkowski as a top 10 kicker. He will produce solid fantasy numbers, only this time around our expectations and those who draft him will be more down-to-earth.

2. Robbie Gould (Chicago Bears) — Chicago signed franchise quarterback Jay Cutler to run the offense and end the inconsistencies that plagued the Bears over the previous four seasons. Cutler’s presence was also expected to positively impact Gould’s productivity and halt his back-to-back years of declining points. Gould was pegged as a kicker on the rise in 2009 and ranked 10th overall in our preseason kicker rankings.

When all was said and done, Gould completed 24 of 28 field goals and finished the season ranked 13th among kickers. Although Gould accumulated 112 fantasy football points, he did very little to help his owners. Gould produced double-digit scoring performances just five times in 2009. Moreover, Gould had 10 games in which he converted either one or no field goals and he scored five or fewer fantasy football points in 50 percent of the Bears games. In fact, if you take away the six field goals and seven extra points (27 fantasy points) Gould produced during the last two games of the season, you have yourself a kicker on the wrong side of the top 20.

On the upside, Cutler and the Bears offense started to click toward the end of the season and the recent signing of offensive guru Mike Martz to call plays suggests the likelihood of continued improvement heading into the 2010 season. In addition, the Bears are in a division known for its high scoring games and this could boost Gould’s opportunities for fantasy points production. Consider him a low-end No.1 kicker in 12-team formats. Gould might not be a guy that you play on a weekly basis, however he should be a worthwhile plug and play option when the matchup is right.

3. John Carney (New Orleans Saints) — In 2008, Carney was a Pro Bowl kicker with the New York Giants, however with Lawrence Tynes set to return, the Giants parted ways with the 45-year old Carney. Although he nailed 35 field goals in 2008, it looked as if Carney would be jobless as the 2009 season approached. The New Orleans Saints came calling just weeks before the season began and signed Carney after projected starting kicker Garrett Hartley received a four game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. 

If you followed Carney’s performance over the course of the 2009 season, you might wonder what he’s doing on the “bad” kickers list.  Carney put together a solid fantasy football season through 11 games. He produced 84 fantasy points (average 7.6 per game) and had he played in all 16 regular season games, odds are that Carney would have finished the season as a top 10 fantasy football kicker. The Saints top-rated NFL offense mainly scored touchdowns, so although Carney had just 17 field goal attempts in 11 games, he connected on an impressive 50 extra points, ranking him second among kickers.

The reality is that Carney’s presence on this list has nothing to do with his overall production, rather it stems from a missed field goal in Week 12 that led to Carney being stripped of his kicking duties and Hartley regaining his job as the Saints kicker. So while Carney’s fantasy owners reaped rewards when he took the field on a weekly basis, many of his owners struggled to find a late season replacement when Carney lost his starting job in Week 13. It’s for this reason that Carney earns his place on The Bad list. 

4. Kris Brown (Houston Texans) — By all accounts, the stars aligned in Kris Brown’s favor and he was set to have a big 2009 season. Brown enjoyed a career year in 2008 and the Houston Texans offense was on the rise. Quarterback Matt Schaub was healthy again, running back Steve Slaton experienced a fine rookie campaign, and wide receiver Andre Johnson was fresh off a 115 reception, 1,575 receiving yard season. All of the buildup surrounding Brown led the Bruno Boys to believe in his big leg and we ranked him 13th overall in our fantasy football magazine.

As it turned out, the Houston Texans offense (383 yards per game, 24.3 points per game) was as good as advertised, however Kris Brown failed to get the memo. Brown had the dubious distinction of leading all NFL kickers with 11 missed field goals and his 65.6 FG percentage ranked second to last among kickers. Brown missed at least one field goal in five out of seven games at one point during the season and managed double-digit fantasy performances just three times despite 32 field goals attempts on the year. To make matters worse, Brown scored three or less fantasy points on five different occasions. Brown finished the season ranked a disappointing 17th among kickers with 101 fantasy points.

The Texans offense should continue to be a top 10 unit in 2010 and this gives Brown some value in 12-team leagues—but just how much value is the question. While Houston will likely begin the new season with Brown as their starting kicker, his 11 missed field goals in 2009 should cause head coach Gary Kubiak to keep Brown on a short leash. Fantasy owners are better off leaving Brown in the free agent pool and monitoring his status over the season’s first month.

2009 The Good:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF

2009 The Bad:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF

2009 The Ugly:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K |  DEF

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