Sleeper Watch

Ah, September. The long, lazy Labor Day weekend. The first days of school, and the beginning of autumn. The Titans signing Gary Anderson in week 2…

With Joe Nedney out for the season following hamstring surgery, Tennessee has turned to the NFL’s all-time points leader to solve its kicking woes for the second year in a row. But how effective can the 45-year-old veteran be? Is he worth picking up in fantasy leagues?

The year Anderson was born, Eisenhower was in office, Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union, Ben-Hur won Best Picture of 1959, Vince Lombardi was named head coach of the Packers, and dinosaurs roamed the planet. OK, that last one isn’t entirely true, but in football terms, Gary Anderson is old.

But who cares? Last year, Anderson ranked fifth among NFL kickers with 123 points despite missing the opening week. He connected on 87.1% of his field goal attempts, missing just four times all year. On extra points, he was perfect, putting the ball between the uprights 42 times. His range isn’t what it once was – his longest kick of 2003 was just 43 yards – but that certainly didn’t prevent him from ranking among the league’s elite kickers.

Can Gary Anderson do it again? Age has to catch up with him sometime; after all, he’s older than the prehistoric Flintstones, who debuted in 1960. But Tennessee’s new placekicker has defied the odds before, and the Titans are confident that the veteran has at least one more solid season in him.

After everything he has done in his phenomenal career, who can doubt him? If you’re among the owners who waited until the very last round of your draft to grab a subpar kicker, Anderson could be a solid upgrade.