Ron Chenoy USA TODAY Sports
Week 4 of the NFL season brings to us the first set of bye weeks. This inevitably means that someone out there is going to be looking for a backup kicker that can slide into the lineup and squeeze out more than zero points from one position. Now if you’re one of those guys who has slightly less respect for a kicker than the you do a dog turd stuck to the bottom of your shoe, then you are probably just going to grab whatever kicker is available with the highest stat line.
It’s a sound enough strategy and it’s probably the safest way to keep from getting a goose egg at that position. What if you miss out on that top dog kicker in the waiver order, who should you target next?
My advice would be to go after the Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely. In Week 4 the Cardinals visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have had 10 field goals attempted against them. Only the Philadelphia Eagles have had the same number of field goals attempted so far this season.
The Buccaneers defense is ranked 17th against the pass and 18th against the run. This means they are the sort of team that lets the opposing team move the ball for a while before the drive stalls out. The Cardinals’ offense borders somewhere between anemic and one dimensional, ranking 17th in passing and a pitiful 22nd in rushing. Both of these factors lend themselves to creating opportunities for field goal attempts throughout a game.
At 37 years old Jay Feely is a veteran kicker who has lost a little range but still has good accuracy with mid and short range kicks. In Week 3 he turned in a pathetic stat line because the Cardinals were blown out by the New Orleans Saints‘ high-powered offense. However, the week before Feely was 4-for-4 against the Detroit Lions.
If you’re looking for a kicker to replace your anemic starter for the rest of the season Feely probably isn’t your guy. If you miss out on that top dog kicker with the most points in the free agent pool there is a lot of potential for Jay Feely to put up a good game in Week 4.
Eric Beuning is a Fantasy Football writer for www.RantSports.com.
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