What Makes a Good Kicker?

[Atog]

I was thinking last night of how much contribution a kicker makes to a FF team.
Another thing about kickers is that they tend to stay consistant-they don't really have 'bust' or 'stud' weeks (except Viniteri).
But most of all, a kicker that you find good enough to start can be a huge help to your team. A pretty average score for any game in the NFL is between 17 and 25, and most of the time that means a kicker can put up at least 5 solid points, which isn't too bad considering how bad some stud players sometimes do. But a good kicker on a high scoring team (Kaeding) can put up 8-10 points a game, which is about my league's equivilant of a RB having a 100 yard day.

So heres to the kickers

[kanezfan11]

Good Kickers...

-Make most FGs (cough-Gramatica-cough)
-Make ALL extra points.
-Play for a team that kicks alot of FGs.
-Can kick in bad weather and bad conditions.
-Can kick the long balls (chicks dig 'em)

[Mercer Boy]

Did you happen to read my Cafe article on kickers? Doesn't really answer your question, but it does preface my main thought about kickers in general.

I value kickers that I can count on for between 6 - 10 points per game minimum. I love guys that can get 10+ each game, and they can be had if you find them early enough in the season. Kickers and defenses are somewhat under-rated by draft standards (and in most cases should be) because they are generally the hardest performers to predict. Kicker performance changes drastically every year, so it's best to find a guy who's trending to do well after a few weeks and go for him.

It is possible to trend which kickers might score more than others per week, and it wouldn't be terribly difficult to do. But in the long run, it's better to stay with someone you know can get consistent points every week.

[Newbie]

It's very team dependant.

If the team's got great Offense, you get 4 PAT's a game and nothing else.

If the team's got bad Offense, you get 1 FG a game.

You need an above average offense with Redzone issues. 2 FG's with 2 PAT's

[citti34]

opportunties

[matmat]

1) booze
2) trying to bribe the police
3) barfights


oh... you mean scorewise? opportunities and ability to convert them (i.e. NOT gramatica).

[garretterik]

Agreed a good kicker is not named Gramatica. Also they shouldn't hurt themselves celebrating field goals.
A great kicker is anyone named Vinatieri who throws TD passes. (especially when he is on your team.)