by Kevin Burton
The beginning of week 14 of fantasy football saw me in a (rare) good mood. I love it when a plan works out!
Most of the fantasy world pays scant attention to kickers. In fact, some leagues have eliminated kickers from their scoring. This must be a macho thing. Kickers aren’t perceived as manly enough for some people, I guess.
But even in the leagues where kickers are still included people don’t pay attention to them.
Listen to fantasy podcasts, read the articles, tune into a fantasy group on Facebook, and most of the few comments about kickers are of the sneering variety.
There is a technical word for that kind of thinking – stupid.
I value kickers. On my eight teams I have five shares of Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey. He is crazy good both for accuracy and distance. There are many good kickers of course, but Aubrey is the best. I spent some fairly high draft picks on him and was chagrined when I didn’t get him.
On my other three teams I have Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell. He is also very good. But I got him because most of the time Steelers coach Mike Tomlin opts to kick short field goals.
Detroit kicker Jake Bates may be even better than Boswell. But I didn’t draft him because Lions coach Dan Campbell usually goes for it on fourth and short. Doesn’t matter how good you are if the coach doesn’t let you kick.
Anyway, here’s why I was in a good mood. Last Thursday the Cowboys lost to Detroit 44-30. But along the way, Aubrey kicked five field goals. Included were kicks of 55, 57 and 63 yards.
In most fantasy leagues a field goal of more than 50 yards gets the manager five fantasy points. If you’re doing the math here, five Aubrey shares, times five points; one swing of the leg, 25 points for me
Can you say, Cha-ching!
With his shorter kicks and an extra point, Aubrey scored 23 points. On my K&J Road Dogs he was my highest scorer and he was a huge help for the other teams.
So then, after 14 weeks, with eight teams, how many playoff teams can I expect?
The K&J Vipers play in a 14-team league where six teams make the playoffs. The Vipers are sixth by TEN POINTS, boing into the last regular-season game this week. To show you how little that is, the Vipers lead 1,483.64 to 1,473.64. One injury, one dropped pass could easily swing that one. Crazy stuff! I don’t play directly against the team right behind me, but we’ll be watching the point totals.
Similar situation for the K&J Oneders, except in this case there is a head-to-head matchup. I am in fourth playing the fifth-place team. We can’t catch the teams above and can’t be caught from behind. It’s winner take all, loser to the consolation bracket.
My K&J Silvers have made the playoffs and for them the playoffs begin this week. In previous years in this leagues, playing against some of my beep baseball buddies, I have placed second, third and fourth, never won it.
The K&J Iron Chefs have clinched a playoff spot, win or lose this week.
My K&J Road Dogs, who I wrote about earlier being an eyelash from falling into last place, are now just as close to the playoffs. They are in second place and can clinch with a win, or with a loss by either of two other teams.
It’s win and in also for the K&J Travelers. They can also back in with a loss by either of two other teams.
The K&J Romans are all but it. They get a spot with a win, but have a 126-point lead on the only other team that can catch them for fourth place. So unless there is some kind of complete catastrophe, Romans are in.
Last year my team that got the first draft pick was my worst team, and that has happened again this year. My K&J Storm will finish 8th and play in the consolation bracket.
So as I write this, that’s two teams in, three more almost certainly in, two total toss-ups and one eliminated from consideration.
I haven’t had a great year making choices. I am unlikely to win any regular-season titles and I don’t see any of my teams winning in the playoffs. But I will compete to the last day. You just never know.
And just in case anybody asks you if eight fantasy football teams is too many to manage, you tell them Kev from Kansas says, “yes!”
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