Last week, I took a look at three return men and three kickers that might be worth a free agent pickup. Picking returners went well, where Jerious Norwood had 105 kick return yards, and Josh Cribbs had 149 total return yards. The Bills destroyed the Chiefs which meant few returns for Brad Smith.
As for kickers, Neil Rackers would have made a fine choice, but the Browns game wasn’t the shootout I thought it would be, and Arizona managed touchdowns rather than field goals. Can I do better this week? I think so.
Kick Returners
Ted Ginn – No one had a better day returning the ball than Ted Ginn, with both a kick and punt return for a touchdown within a minute of each other. This resulted in a PFF rating of +3.5 which now leads the league. This week Ginn should get even more opportunities, as the Cowboys are capable of scoring a ton of points on the 49ers defense. Only one of David Buehler’s five kicks was touched back last week, so Ginn should have many opportunities. The ability is still there, and the 49ers will need him.
Eric Weems – Last year Weems had a PFF return rating of +9.8 which was fourth best in the league. His chances weren’t there last week as Robbie Gould could consistently cause touchbacks. Now he goes up against a rookie kicker who can’t, and if there is any offense that can put up a lot of points on the Falcons, it’s the Eagles. Lots of scoring leads to lots of returns, and lots of returns by a star return man means lots of fantasy points.
Jerious Norwood – Last week he managed 26.3 yards per return on four kicks, and his long was 29 so we know he can consistently return the ball that far when he gets the chance. This week he goes up against Lawrence Tynes of the Giants who only had one of his kicks touched back last week. The Giants should be able to put up more points with how well their offense was playing last week, while the Rams coverage was terrible. Norwood could be one of the leaders in return yards after week 2 is said and done.
Kickers
Robbie Gould – Last week Gould connected on all three of his kicks, and he should get just as many opportunities next week if not more. All of the Saints defensive players combined had a PFF rating of -32.1 which was lowest in the league. The Saints should be able to score some on the Bears as well, so we could see a very high scoring game.
Neil Rackers – I bet on Rackers last week and I’m doing it again this week. He goes up against a Miami defense that was scored a lot on by the Patriots. The Texans offense might not do as well, but that should lead to field goals rather than touchdowns. Rackers made his two field goals last week, so he still seems as good as ever.
Jason Hanson – I expect the Lions offense to get the best of the Chiefs defense. He has struggled in recent years on longer kicks, as he has only hit 14 of 20 kicks beyond 40 yards since the start of 2009. However in this game the Lions should get Hanson close enough to make kicks that he has consistently been able to make.
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