The Lions kicking competition seems to be over before it began. What was going to be a battle between former college soccer player and UFL kicker Jake Bates (pictured with Houston last August) and veteran Michael Badgley goes to Bates. Badgley has a torn hamstring and will be placed on IR, knocking him out for the season.
Longtime Index readers know that one of the key selling points for a kicker in our eyes is being on a team that wins. On average, teams finish with more kicking points in wins than losses, which makes sense -- you're scoring more points overall, and you're also more able to settle for field goals if you're winning by a touchdown than losing by that many. With the Lions looking like one of the league's best teams, it makes sense that their kicker, which today is far more likely to be Bates than it was yesterday, would be one of the league's best players at the position.
However, the Lions have been an exception in this regard. Either because their offense is especially good at finishing drives with touchdowns rather than field goals, or because aggressive-minded Dan Campbell doesn't like settling for field goals, or some combination of the two, the Lions last year were one of the least productive kicking teams, even while having one of the best records.
Detroit went 12-5 last year, winning the NFC North, and yet finished in the bottom 5 in kicking points. Nobody attempted fewer field goals than they did (21), which was three fewer than any other team. Table sorted by kicking points.
TEAM KICKING, 2023 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
. Team | FG | FGA | XP | XPA | Pts |
Dallas | 36 | 38 | 49 | 52 | 157 |
Baltimore | 32 | 37 | 51 | 52 | 147 |
Seattle | 35 | 42 | 33 | 33 | 138 |
Kansas City | 33 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 137 |
Chicago | 35 | 38 | 31 | 33 | 136 |
Philadelphia | 30 | 32 | 45 | 46 | 135 |
Indianapolis | 33 | 41 | 35 | 36 | 134 |
Houston | 34 | 38 | 31 | 33 | 133 |
Cleveland | 34 | 37 | 30 | 33 | 132 |
Miami | 24 | 28 | 58 | 59 | 130 |
New Orleans | 30 | 37 | 40 | 40 | 130 |
LA Chargers | 31 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 128 |
LA Rams | 32 | 43 | 32 | 37 | 128 |
Jacksonville | 30 | 37 | 35 | 35 | 125 |
NY Jets | 36 | 39 | 16 | 17 | 124 |
Atlanta | 32 | 37 | 27 | 28 | 123 |
San Francisco | 21 | 25 | 60 | 61 | 123 |
Buffalo | 24 | 29 | 49 | 50 | 121 |
Tampa Bay | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 120 |
Denver | 30 | 34 | 29 | 31 | 119 |
Cincinnati | 26 | 31 | 40 | 40 | 118 |
Green Bay | 27 | 33 | 34 | 39 | 115 |
Tennessee | 29 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 115 |
Pittsburgh | 29 | 31 | 27 | 28 | 114 |
Las Vegas | 26 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 110 |
Minnesota | 24 | 30 | 36 | 38 | 108 |
Arizona | 28 | 33 | 22 | 23 | 106 |
Detroit | 19 | 21 | 48 | 52 | 105 |
Carolina | 25 | 30 | 17 | 20 | 92 |
NY Giants | 22 | 31 | 24 | 25 | 90 |
Washington | 19 | 24 | 32 | 35 | 89 |
New England | 16 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 72 |
Maybe the Lions roll with Bates into the regular season, or maybe they bring in competition. But it requires a leap of faith to think that whoever they go will be a viable option in fantasy leagues.
--Andy Richardson