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FootSided: fantasy football kickers league Week 4 recap

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Catch up on everything that went down in Week 4 in the FanSided fantasy football kickers league and see what lies ahead in Week 5.

Stephen Gostkowski (3) was the no. 1 pick in our fantasy football kickers league, but he was sitting on the sideline like this for too much of the Buffalo Bills 16-0 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

In the most unusual fantasy football league I’ve ever been a part of, the first four weeks are in the books. To change things up this season, FanSided transformed our internal league into one with just one position–fantasy football kickers. So far, it has already been a wild ride, and there are no after more unbeaten teams after this week. Check out how all the fantasy football kickers did this week and how their performances impacted our outcomes.

For a refresher on the specific rules and roster setup, check out this post where you can see what a draft looks when the no. 1 overall pick can end up with -1 fantasy points and a final-round pick can lead the league in scoring.

While we have plenty of traditional fantasy football coverage throughout the week (which you can find in the box to the right), our kickers fantasy league called FootSided is probably the only place where every single kick and every single score matters. Almost every kicker in the NFL is owned on a roster by someone in the league. As the games go down, it’s extremely easy to track since each team just has two starters. The other benefit to the league is that it takes minimal time each week.

One thing the league is not though–predictable. It has already been an up-and-down season for most teams, and five of the ten teams sit at 2-2 after four weeks. Three teams have risen to 3-1 while one is 1-3, and we still have one team searching for their first win.

We decided to make the league scoring even more exciting at the beginning of the year by penalizing a team three points for a missed XP. The four-point swing when a kicker fails to connect on an extra point can make all the difference between winning and losing.

Let’s take a look at the scoreboard from Week 4 in our fantasy football kickers league to see which of our owners came out on the winning side.

Oct 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans kicker Nick Novak (8) celebrates withsafety K.J. Dillon (36) and defensive back Charles James (31) after making a field goal during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Lutz Triples 14, The Big Gostkowski 6

In the all-Zach all the time matchup, I (Zachary Thompson) moved to 2-2 while also taking down my division rival Zachary Best who also is 2-2 after the first four weeks of the season. As a Patriots fan, the only silver lining to the New England loss and shutout was that Best got a killer -1 fantasy points from his big gun, no. 1 overall pick Stephen Gostkowski.

Best made the move and went with Dustin Hopkins who had a big week 3, but Hopkins’ seven fantasy points weren’t enough to make up for Gostkowski’s struggles. For my team, I rolled with my usual starters of Brandon McManus and Will Lutz. McManus knocked in nine fantasy points and Lutz added in five more.

Gano You Gonna Lose 11, Lin Elliot: Rot in hell 6

The last undefeated team has fallen after Patrick Allen took the loss in his matchup with Mike Dyce. Allen and Dyce now sit even at 3-1 atop the East division with the two highest point totals in the division (where they are joined by Zachary, Zachary, and Jim).

While they’re two high-scoring teams neither had great weeks. In fact, Dyce’s winning score was the lowing winning total of the week. His combo of Graham Gano and Josh Brown ended up posting 11 points while Allen’s Sunday Night Football special of Chris Boswell and Cairo Santos had just six points and missed the only FG attempted.

Beckham With The Good Hair 18, Reach for the Bleach 9

Coming off two hard-luck losses, Adam Best thumped Matt Verderame to even their records at 2-2. Best had the second-highest point total of the week behind Adam Vinatieri and Chandler Catanzaro.. His two kickers went a combined 4/4 on FG and 4/4 on XP.

Verderame’s pair of Dan Bailey and Sebastian Janikowski didn’t fair so well going 7/7 on XP but missing one of the just two FG they attempted. Verderame has dropped each of his last two games, and he’ll need to turn things around next week.

Team Frank 21, Automatica Gramatica 15

It was Josh Hill‘s week to be the hard-luck loser in our fantasy football kickers leagues after piling up 15 fantasy points which would have been enough to beat seven of the ten teams in our league. Unfortunately for Hill, he faced Mark Carman who put up the most fantasy points of any of the teams in our league with 21. Most of those points came from Seven Haushka who has bounced back nicely from a slot start, but he also got ten fantasy points from Josh Lambo. Neither Lambo or Hauschka missed in big weeks for both of them.

Josh Hill went to the bench in his loss starting Nick Novak in place of Mason Crosby who was on a bye. Novak had a good week with 10 fantasy points but Walsh could only add five on Monday Night Football as the rally fell short. This was Hill’s third straight loss, and he’ll been to turn things around to get out of the cellar in the West division.

May the Folk be with you 12, The Garo Yip-premians 9

Neither team missed a kick in this matchup, but Matt Blake got the win to move to 3-1 while keeping Jim Cavan at 0-4. Cavan got eight fantasy points from Matt Prater but only one from Roberto Aguayo whose Bucs only scored one touchdown against Denver.

For Blake, Justin Tucker and Nick Folk went 3/3 on FG and 3/3 on XP.  While only 12 points isn’t the prettiest win ever, Blake will take it as he moves to the top of the West Division at 3-1.

Oct 2, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri (4) celebrates after kicking a 49-yard field goal in the second quarter as Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Peyton Thompson (25) watches during game 15 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Week 5 Schedule

Gano You Gonna Lose v The Garo Yip-premians

There are two teams that have won three games in a row to rise to the top of the divisions after Week 4 in our fantasy football kickers league. Mike Dyce is one of the teams on a roll, and he’ll look to keep it going against the hapless and winless Jim Cavan. Cavan has dropped the first four games of the season and is still counting on Roberto Aguayo on a weekly basis.

Although Aguayo was his first-round pick he is ranked 32nd in fantasy points which isn’t great when there are only 32 teams in the NFL. While the matchup looks one-sided, ESPN give Dyce just a one-point advantage in their projections. It would be a pretty big upside if Cavan could pull off the win, but anything can happen and week in fantasy footballas we’ve seen already in this year’s fantasy football kickers league.

May the Folk be with you v. Reach for the Bleach

After Week 4 featured a matchup of two Zacharys, this week we get too Matt’s going at it as   Matt Blake faces Matt Verderame. Blake comes in with a slightly better record at 3-1, but don’t overlook Verderame who has put up good points when he’s on his game.

Verderame does have an injury to worry about, though, as Dan Bailey is battling a back issue which could limit his length moving forward. Bailey is expected to play through the injury, though, meaning Verderame can go with his usual Bailey/Janikowski pair this week. Blake’s team has run off three straight wins, and they’ll look to get their fourth win in a row this week.

Beckham With the Good Hair v Automatica Gramatica

Josh Hill will be trying to avoid his fourth straight loss as he sends his Walsh/Mason NFC North combo against Adam Best and his pairing of Adam Vinatieri and Chandler Catanzaro. Best’s team has played slightly better than its record would indicate. Hill’s team has been more balanced this season so far, but right now ESPN projections give Best a significant three-point advantage.

Team Frank v Lutz Triples

The hottest team in our league of fantasy football kickers belongs to Mark Carman who has won each of his last two games while posting at least 20 fantasy points. His “Team Frank” has surged back into the playoff picture and is a force to be reckoned with. My team (Zachary Thompson) will be looking for a second win in a row.

Both teams will be short a regular starter this week as Will Lutz and Steven Hauschka will be on the sidelines. The options on our benches as replacements are Connor Barth and Ryan Succop respectively. While neither inspires a ton of confidence, they’re better than the options on the waiver wire, so they’ll probably get started this week.

Lin Elliott: Rot in hell v The Big Gotskowski

After taking his first loss of the season, Patrick Allen will need to manage around a bye week as Cairo Santos is resting this week for the Chiefs. Allen has Caleb Sturgis coming back from a bye with the Eagles who will likely start alongside Chris Boswell who gets a good matchup against the Jets.

Allen’s combo will be challenged by Zachary Best who will look to avoid leaving double-digit fantasy points on his bench for the third week in a row. Last week, it was Dustin Hopkins who went off on his bench, and this week Brandon Myers was put on the bench only to have a huge game while Stephen Gostkowski ended up losing points. Best could throw the East Division into chaos with a win, so look for that to happen this week after Allen’s loss last week and bye-week challenges.

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