When I told people, both personally and over the world wide web, that I’d be trying to give out kicker streaming options, I was mostly met with laughter. As I’ve written time and time again, kicker is the lonely orphan of not only the fantasy football world, but of the football world at large. I won’t sit here and tell you the kicker position is hugely important or that the kicker you own will make a huge difference for your real life and fantasy teams. But they do matter. They affect the outcome of real NFL games and they can affect the outcome of fantasy matchups. I lost two matchups this week by a COMBINED one and a half points. What I would have done to have an extra point or two in either matchup. This matters. Points matter. Whether they come from your kicker, your quarterback, or your RB2, they all count the same. That’s been a huge mantra of this site; maximize your potential total points. It’s an easy conclusion to reach, but it’s also a conclusion that, at times, seems easy to forget during the draft and throughout the season.

That said, let’s take a look at my picks from Week 6.

Mason Crosby – 15 points (T-1st)
Steven Hauschka – 8 points (T-14th)

Where I Went Wrong

With a little bit of bad luck, Hauschka left the game briefly with an injury, missing a field goal attempt, which would have put him at eleven points had he made it. Either way, Tennessee was not as stout as I thought they might be, as Hauschka’s two attempts did not come from long distance. Still, Tennessee played well and hung tough in this game, just not as tough as I might have liked. I feel good about Hauschka moving forward, he just had a bit of bad luck this week.

Where I Went Right

Baltimore’s defense is good, but not that good. They allowed five attempts for Crosby (made four). It’s crazy that this game could have actually been bigger for Crosby, but either way, he had so many attempts (which is key in this kicker game) that he was bound to have a great fantasy day. And that’s exactly what he did, putting up fifteen fantasy points and tying him for the most in the league in Week 6. As I’ve said, I like Crosby moving forward and he’s been pretty trustworthy this year overall. He’s barely owned in a quarter of leagues, so you might want to go get him if he’s available.

Here are my picks for Week 7.

Alex Henery – PHI v. DAL – Owned in 19.9% of Leagues

Two weeks ago, against the Giants, Henery converted all five of his attempts and scored a whopping twenty fantasy points. Though he has missed three tries this year, the Eagles have been able to get Henery into decent kicking position with their high-powered offense. Dallas’ defense has not been spectacular, which is actually a decent sign for Henery’s chances this week. They have allowed three field goal attempts or more in each of the last three weeks, and allowed ten extra point attempts. Granted, six of those were to the Broncos, but still, Dallas has had some trouble stopping good offenses. I am not sure Philly is necessarily GREAT with Foles behind center, but I have an inkling they will be able to move the ball and might stall out. Henery could be a strong play this week.

Shaun Suisham – PIT v. BAL – Owned in 2.3% of Leagues

I waffled back and forth making this pick, as it necessarily relies on Pittsburgh to move the ball. They were able to give Suisham four chances last week against a legitimate New York Jets defense. It might just be the case where going against Baltimore each and every week at kicker is a good play, as it seems their defense is JUST good enough to make some stops and force FG tries. I know throwing my hopes behind a Steelers team that I think is pretty bad (sorry JJ) might be akin to asking to get punched in the mouth. But I trust my gut here that, once again, the Ravens (who have allowed 3+ attempts in each of the last four weeks and 4+ attempts in each of the last two weeks) will be just good enough to stop drives before they reach the end zone, but just bad enough to allow them to get in field goal range.

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