Back Page

2003 Camp Battles: Kickers lace 'em up

Jeff Wilkins' inconsistency costs him chances to score in the Rams' high-powered offense. Elsa/Getty Images

By Bob Harris, Special to SI.com

The fifth of a five-part series previewing some of this year's more interesting training camp battles -- both traditional and non-traditional -- from a fantasy perspective. This week: place-kickers.

Arizona Cardinals: Bill Gramatica vs. Tim Duncan
Granted, this battle is only of interest to those in 16-team leagues who failed to secure their No. 2 kicker until the final pick of the draft. Head coach McGinnis told reporters early this week that the place-kicking competition between incumbent Gramatica and challenger Duncan is too close to call.

As noted by the Arizona Republic, Gramatica beat out Duncan in training camp in 2002, mainly due to the latter's less than impressive kickoff work. However, Duncan has reportedly demonstrated improved leg strength and accuracy this year. Gramatica hit 15 of 21 kicks last season, but failed to deliver a touchback on any of his 71 kickoffs.

Atlanta Falcons: Jay Feely vs. Dan Reeves' doubts
Although Feely's 32 field goals broke Morten Andersen's single-season club record of 31 set in 1995, Pro Football Weekly reported in January that Reeves was praying his team’s NFC wild-card game against Green Bay wouldn’t come down to a field goal because he wasn’t confident in Feely’s work in the clutch.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to go with Feely as my fantasy kicker of choice -- if for no other reason than he'll be working alongside an offense fueled by a small army of playmakers. The Falcons are going to put a lot of points on the board this season and in years to come.

Also of interest, special teams coach Joe DeCamillis said early this week that Feely's leg seemed stronger to him -- a suspicion Feely confirmed Tuesday. "I could really see it kicking off into the wind in the mini-camp, when my kickoffs were going three yards deep in the end zone," he said.

This after Feely was one of the most ardent participants in the Falcons' offseason workout program. He said all the time spent with strength and conditioning coach Al Miller and assistant Rocky Colburn is paying off.

"With Al, there's very little hammer strength," Feeley explained. "It's all squats and cleans and jerks. I had never done that in my life. And he doesn't want you running more than 300 yards. It really took me two years to get comfortable doing all the squats and stuff to believe I wouldn't get injured. I think that explosive work helped me.

"Field goal-wise; I try to be at 80 percent exertion. Whether you're throwing a ball, kicking, shooting, there have been a lot of studies showing that an 80 percent exertion level is where you're most accurate," he said. "I try to stay at 80 percent as far back as I can go.

"Now, I can do that back to 55 yards, whereas last year I could do it maybe to 50 yards and then once I got over 50 you got to start exerting yourself more."

One last note: Former Giant John Markham was brought on board to compete for the job this summer, but his chances of actually beating Feely out are minuscule at best.

Baltimore Ravens: Matt Stover vs. offensive malaise
Stover heads into his 14th pro season with at least one thing working in his favor: A new artificial playing surface at Ravens Stadium. At times last year chunks of sod came up after re-sodding midway through the season, and the field displayed visible patches of dirt late in the year.

"Given the history of our stadium and the difficulties we've had in terms of maintaining our turf. There are circumstances ... that really make it difficult to maintain a consistent surface at the stadium," head coach Brian Billick admitted earlier this year. Stover agreed, saying: "This [surface] brings that consistency that not only I look for, but all the players."

As nice as that new field might be, the fact Stover ranks first in the league in field goals made (86) over the last three years, but only seventh in points scored (347), suggests that a less-than-explosive offense has been more of a detriment than that lousy surface.

Carolina Panthers: John Kasay vs. Shayne Graham
Kasay increased his chances of sticking around this season by restructuring his contract so he'll make $200,000 less this season. The veteran is still scheduled to make more than $1 million, a lot to pay a kicker who has ended up on injured reserve three of the past four seasons.

Graham, who joined the team last year, is competing for the job. Graham may be a cheaper alternative, but Kasay has a stronger, more accurate leg. Early reports out of camp indicate that both kickers have shown good accuracy and distance on their kicks, but Kasay still appears to have the inside track.

Chicago Bears: Paul Edinger vs. Bob Harris
That's right; this one is personal, folks. I find it more than a little unsettling to see a guy I might be relying on to put my fantasy team over the top on any given Sunday facing the goal post opposite the one he's aiming at before kicking the ball. It's creepy in an unnatural way.

My own discomfort notwithstanding, Edinger happens to be the most accurate field goal kicker in Bears history, making 80.2 percent of his 86 attempts in three seasons. He made 35 field goals of 40 yards or better, most in the NFL in the past three years. He tied a team record by going 5-of-8 from 50 yards or longer last season, and his 41.9 yard-per-attempt average led the NFL.

The truth is, if Chicago's offensive picks it up a notch or two this fall, Edinger could easily emerge as a fine value in your draft.

Houston Texans: Kris Brown vs. harsh reality
Brown is an intriguing talent and, some argue, one of the league's top young kickers despite a career success rate of 76 percent on field-goal attempts. Coaches view him as a diligent worker who converted numerous clutch kicks for the team last season, including two game-winning field goals, and converted 13-of-19 attempts from 40 yards or more. He has 407 career points and six game-winning field goals in just four seasons as a pro.

Bottom line? When Brown is on top of his game, he can be very prolific. The harsh reality, however, is he won't get much help from one of the league's least dangerous scoring offense.

Jacksonville Jaguars: James Tuthill vs. Danny Boyd vs. Seth Marler
The Jags went through four kickers under former coach Tom Coughlin before settling on Boyd late last year. But new head coach Jack Del Rio hasn't been especially impressed with Boyd or Marler, who was voted the country's top college kicker in 2001.

Tuthill took the early lead in this battle by nailing all four of his field goal attempts when camp opened last Monday. Marler connected on two of four tries, while Boyd hit one and pushed three wide right. But in a four-kick competition held early this week, Boyd was four-for-four while Tuthill and Marler were each three-for-four. The kicks were attempted from the 36, 38, 44 and 45-yard lines.

Fantasy bottom line? Anybody who feels compelled to rely on Jacksonville's placement man might want to hold off and try to acquire him via free agency rather than drafting somebody who might go by the wayside come final cutdown day.

Kansas City: Morten Andersen vs. Hands of Time
The 42-year old Andersen wants to kick until he's 50, and after having knee surgery this past December he feels like it's a legitimate possibility. "Now that I've got a brand-new bionic knee, I'm good to go for another 10 years, or at least another eight years anyway," Andersen said earlier this year.

Andersen didn't have much trouble in Monday night's abbreviated Hall of Fame game, hitting attempts of 32 and 51 yards against the Packers.

In other words, even if he doesn't make it to 50, Andersen has already won this battle.

Minnesota Vikings: Hayden Epstein vs. Aaron Elling vs. Todd France
Epstein is returning from a knee injury sustained last year, but is the most experienced of the bunch. Special teams coach Rusty Tillman likes Elling, who will push Epstein hard. France is coming back from a season in NFL Europe.

Remember: Like they did last summer, team officials undoubtedly have Gary Anderson's number near the top of their speed dialers. They won't hesitate to drag him back out of retirement again if they find themselves in a pinch at some point.

New York Giants: Mike Hollis vs. Matt Bryant
Hollis converted 25-of-33 field goal attempts for Buffalo last season; his longest conversion was 54 yards. He completed all 40 of his extra-point attempts. Even though Bryant, who alternated between surprising success and inconsistency last season, has looked good early in camp, Hollis remains the favorite to win this job.

That said, the 30-year old veteran has been erratic on the length of his kickoffs, sometimes being relieved of that responsibility while with Jacksonville from 1995 to 2001. Still, head coach Jim Fassel does not intend to carry two kickers. The coach is apparently willing to live with kickoffs being short as long as they have good hang time. His top priority is field-goal reliability.

For what it's worth, Fassel intends to use both kickers on an alternating basis in Thursday night's game against the Patriots. The plan is for Bryant to get the first kickoff and Hollis the first field-goal attempt. "But if we don't kickoff first, Bryant could get the first field goal," the coach said.

New York Jets: Doug Brien vs. past failure
Brien, coming off his worst year as a pro, hasn't been employed for a full season since 2000. Last season, he hit 5-of-6 field goals and 5-of-7 extra points for Minnesota before being released on Oct. 23. His departure was triggered by a pair of botched extra points and a missed 44-yard field goal during a Week 2 loss to Buffalo in the climate-controlled confines of the Metrodome.

That probably explains why special teams coach Mike Westhoff has gone out of his way to make it clear Brien will get first crack at the job, but he's still looking. "Whoever ends up being our kicker, I'll have confidence in," said Westhoff, adding he understands the salary-cap restraint facing the Jets in trying to sign a more promising prospect. "I believe in good fundamentals and Doug [155-of-193 career field goals] has them. I'll bring out the best in a guy."

According to the Sports Xchange, Brien currently holds a slight edge over Danny Kight and Clay Rush. While Brien is the weakest on kickoffs, Kight and Rush haven't shown accuracy on field goals. The Jets could ask Brien, who had just two touchbacks last season with Minnesota, to handle field goals and PATs and one of the other two for kickoffs.

Oakland Raiders: Sebastian Janikowski vs. trouble
Janikowski ranks fourth among all NFL place-kickers with 351 points over the past three seasons and comes off a 2002 season in which he hit 26 of 33 field-goal attempts and scored 128 total points, but his off-field problems tend to overshadow his on-field production.

But that might be changing. After an Oct. 4 DUI arrest resulted in three years' probation, the big fella claims he's off the booze.

In case you missed it, Janikowski's storied off-field problems began at Florida State, when he was arrested for possessing the known date-rape drug GHB and for trying to bribe a police officer.

Despite the risk factor associated with his off-field fun, Janikowski's chances of meeting/exceeding last year's totals make him a very attractive Fantasy prospect indeed.

St. Louis Rams: Jeff Wilkins vs. instability
Wilkins seemed to be reaching a bit last year, kicking with and without a shoe on his right foot. He only missed six field-goal attempts, but he was shaky much of the season, prompting head coach Mike Martz to bypass him in some obvious field-goal situations.

Wilkins seemed to have his sanity back by season's end, but that doesn't mean his problems are behind him. Ricky Proehl's offseason departure left the Rams, and Wilkins, without a proven holder for placement kicks; and no matter how mentally stable Wilkins might -- or might not -- be, few things rattle a kicker as much as having to break in a new holder.

Journeyman receiver Dane Looker was named as Proehl's replacement earlier this week and it remains to be seen how the change will impact Wilkins' place-kicking "mojo."

Washington Redskins: John Hall vs. low opinion
According to SI.com's Don Banks, personnel experts weren't especially impressed with the Skins’ acquisition of Hall.

Banks wrote back in March: "While he's better than the revolving door that Washington has had at the position the past three years, Hall doesn't inspire confidence, they said. 'Hall is going to be grossly overpaid,' said a personnel man. 'He's not a consistent enough kicker. He's at like 73 percent. His kickoffs are good, but not many of his field goals seem to go straight.'"

Another league scout told Banks: "I liked him a lot three years ago, but now he's on the decline. He's an upgrade for them, but they could have done better."

If you ask me, Hall might have been better off sticking with what -- at least last season -- was a pretty effective offense in New York. Whatever the case, some good might come from this move. If nothing else, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder should have enough wherewithal to find Hall a chinstrap that fits.

That's all for now. ... Check back next week when I break out with this year's list of top sleepers.

Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications.

 

Related information

Stories

Back Page: 2003 camp battles -- Quarterback Back Page: 2003 Camp Battles -- Running back Back Page: 2003 Camp Battles -- Wide Receiver Back Page: 2003 Camp Battles -- Tight End

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video