Visualizing the Stats: Kick Me!
by Paul Celmer
This week we take a quick look at one of the most overlooked members of your fantasy roster: kickers. Sure, everyone hates kickers. But is this really a rational hate? The truth is, once you look at the numbers, you can see how valuable kickers really are.
So, here are the top kickers:
A couple interesting insights can be gleaned from this chart. First Alex Romero, the kicker for the VooDoo, despite having played in only two games, looks like a very promising source of points. But more importantly, overall you can see that there is a pretty big drop-off between the top two or three kickers and the rest of the pack. A.J. Haglund, by far the top kicker, is having a tremendous season, and he is a dependable source of a significant amount of points. In addition, Haglund's fantasy points per game puts him as valuable as a top ten DB like Rashad Floyd. When you think of it that way, you can see that kickers are not to be overlooked. Furthermore, if your scoring system allows for kickers to get defensive points, Haglund becomes even more valuable, since he often gets at least a tackle or two.
Visualizing the lowly kicker position can help you see the opportunities you might be missing. As always, "seeing is believing."
Paul Celmer, aka The Philosopher of Arena Football is a member of the Arena Football League Writers Association and a founding member of Arena Football Online. Contact Paul at pcelmer@arenafootballonline.com
|
