Fantasy Football Recap: 2008 Kickers (The Ugly)

At the end of every season we like to go back and recap how the players at each fantasy football position fared. And as with every season, there’s always the good, the bad, and of course, the downright ugly at each and every position.

In this fifth installment of the third part of our yearly “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” series, we’ll take a look at the UGLY kickers from a fantasy football point of view.

The kickers that appear on this list were added to fantasy football teams with high expectations, but if you kept them in your starting lineup throughout the season, you were probably left with that same empty feeling us Detroit Lions fans felt when our team went 0-16. Well, it may not have been that upsetting, but these kickers’ seasons were “ugly” none-the-less.

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1. Shayne Graham (Cincinnati Bengals)

Heading into the 2008 season Shayne Graham was the only kicker that had scored more then 115 points each of the past three seasons, and in two of those seasons he scored at least 130 points. The Bengals were expected to be a high-scoring offense that would once again lead to big point totals for the veteran kicker.

Graham was ranked No. 5 on the Bruno Boys Preseason Kicker Rankings and was one of the top kickers drafted in most fantasy leagues this summer, but instead of contending for a division title and a playoff berth, the Cincinnati Bengals finished with a 4-11-1 record and only managed to score 204 points as a team.

With the offense struggling most of the season, Graham only attempted 24 field goals (he made 21 of them) to go with 15 extra points for a grand total of 78 points. No one expected such an “ugly” season from this veteran kicker who had been such a consistent source of fantasy football points from the kicker position.

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2. Nick Folk  (Dallas Cowboys)

Coming off an outstanding rookie campaign in 2007 in which he scored 131 points, Nick Folk was the top-rated kicker in many preseason fantasy football publications, including the Bruno Boys.

He was the first kicker selected in most drafts this summer as the Cowboys offense was expected to improve upon its 2007 totals, leading to an even bigger point total for Folk, but injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones throughout the season caused the offense to slow down.

The offensive struggles led to limited field goal attempts for Folk. He made 20 of 22 field goals, but the 22 attempts were far fewer then anyone expected. Folk finished the season with 103 points, and he was a huge disappointment to fantasy owners, as he was no better then a low-end backup kicker.

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3. Adam Vinatieri  (Indianapolis Colts)

Adam Vinatieri has been one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history. He has made big kick after big kick in some of the biggest games, including AFC Championship games and Super Bowls. When you combine a big game kicker and an explosive offense, you have the makings of an elite fantasy football kicking option, which is why he headed into 2008 as the No. 3-ranked kicker by the Bruno Boys.

Unfortunately for owners who drafted Vinatieri, the Colts game out of the gates like ponies. Quarterback Peyton Manning had offseason knee surgery, and it took him time to find his rhythm, while running back Joseph Addai had a slew of nagging injuries, which also hampered his season.

All the problems with the offense really affected Vinatieri’s production. He finished the season hitting 20 of 25 field goal attempts and added 43 extra points. He only managed to score in double figures three times and finished with six points or less nine times for a season total of 103 points. Vinatieri spent most of the season as a backup kicker and left owners searching waivers for a better option.

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Fantasy Football Recap: 2008 Kickers (The Ugly)