As I look at the team-by-team numbers, the kicker totals seem high. Right now, 14 teams are on pace to finish the season with at least 133 kicking points. Six kickers are averaging at least 10 points per game. That includes Stephen Gostkowski, and the other five are all at least modest surprises – Mike Nugent, Cody Parkey, Dan Carpenter, Shaun Suisham and Chandler Catanzaro.
I poked around some with the all-time numbers. It’s early, but right now the group is on pace to finish with 871 field goals, which would be an all-time record.
This isn’t too much of a surprise, given that this total seems to grow every year. In 2011, they kicked 838, which was the 2nd-most all time. Then they hit a record 852 in 2012, and they hit a record 863 last year.
If form holds, kickers will average 118 points this year. Only three times in league history have teams averaged over 116 kicking points in a season, and those have been in the last three years.
Here’s a look at the last 30 years …
| FIELD GOALS PER YEAR | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | FG | Points |
| 1984 | 563 | 98.7 |
| 1985 | 596 | 102.2 |
| 1986 | 559 | 96.5 |
| 1987 | 551 | 95.1 |
| 1988 | 571 | 97.0 |
| 1989 | 601 | 101.0 |
| 1990 | 590 | 98.8 |
| 1991 | 623 | 100.5 |
| 1992 | 561 | 93.5 |
| 1993 | 673 | 103.4 |
| 1994 | 640 | 100.4 |
| 1995 | 738 | 108.1 |
| 1996 | 732 | 105.8 |
| 1997 | 708 | 103.9 |
| 1998 | 708 | 105.2 |
| 1999 | 749 | 106.6 |
| 2000 | 731 | 104.7 |
| 2001 | 732 | 103.4 |
| 2002 | 737 | 105.0 |
| 2003 | 756 | 105.6 |
| 2004 | 703 | 102.8 |
| 2005 | 783 | 107.8 |
| 2006 | 767 | 107.0 |
| 2007 | 795 | 110.9 |
| 2008 | 845 | 115.8 |
| 2009 | 756 | 107.3 |
| 2010 | 794 | 112.0 |
| 2011 | 838 | 116.1 |
| 2012 | 852 | 118.3 |
| 2013 | 863 | 120.3 |
| 2014 | 871 | 117.9 |
—Ian Allan