FanHouse Nate Kaeding

It's no secret that kicker is the most fickle and unpredictable position in fantasy sports. Even the most seemingly sure-fire starters can throw up a terrible stat-line due to exterior variables (like Nick Folk last week, though he did miss a field goal).

Still, we have to plow forward and the best we can do is judge the stats in front of us or hope to find a high-scoring affair. In Week 12, we have a doozy of a Monday Night Football game with serious shootout potential. So we'll roll with those two kickers atop the rankings.

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When slotting fantasy football kickers, there are myriad factors which should be considered. After looking at all of them, I've determined my favorite option for Week 11 is Matt Prater. The Broncos are desperately in need of a win this weekend in a pivotal home tilt against the Chargers. With Kyle Orton banged up, expect the Broncos to try and shorten the game by running the ball and making short throws. These kinds of drives often end up stalling in the red zone. Only two teams have allowed more field goals this season than the Chargers, who have allowed 13 of their 16 field goals in 31 red zone trips. Predicting the top kicker for the week is the most difficult of any position because of all the variables that go into kicker points, but I'm rolling with Prater this week.

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Just as we gave you Jay Feely last week, we're going against the Raiders to find a quality kicker for the Week 8 fantasy football rankings. The silver and black have now allowed 14 field goals and 19 extra points in seven games, tying them with the Chiefs for the most points allowed to opposing kickers.

This week, Nate Kaeding of the Chargers gets to kick against the Raiders at home. He's coming off two straight double-digit weeks in scoring, where he's hit six field goals and six extra points. Thus, the veteran is an absolute no-brainer to sit atop the ranks for this week.

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Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Miles Austin (WR, Cowboys, 4,629 adds) - What started with the Big Montana-sized numbers on Sunday just got bigger, as coach Wade Phillips reiterated that Miles Austin will continue to see roughly the same amount of playing time going forward with or without Roy Williams and demoted allegedly Patrick Crayton from the No. 2 spot.

With all the offensive stars New England has, you would think someone like Tom Brady would be leading the team in total points. But it's kicker Stephen Gostkowski that's blazing the trail, with 30 points through three games. He nailed all four of his attempts last week against Atlanta en route to a 14-point showing, and with another tough defense on tap his leg should be golden again. If this keeps up, he'll have no problem matching his 148 points from last season.

1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. BAL
2. John Carney, NO vs. NYJ
3. Nate Kaeding, SD @ PIT
4. Ryan Longwell, MIN vs. GB
5. Matt Prater, DEN vs. DAL

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Remember what mom always used to say? "You can't keep an old kicker down." OK, no way she never said that, but we did. John Carney is a 45-year-old shining example of why you never draft kickers before the last couple of rounds. Carney wasn't even on most radars after the Garrett Hartley suspension, yet he already has 21 points through two games of the season. Backed by a high-powered New Orleans offense, Carney should be one of the rare consistent kickers you leave in your lineup. I also think the same goes for Nate Kaeding, who has never dipped below 112 points in a season. Your Week 3 kicker ranking buffet is after the jump.

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On Wednesday the Giants made Eli Manning one of the league's highest-paid players. It's a long way from April 2004, when the Chargers selected him first overall, even though the Mannings specifically warned the team not to.

But everything has worked out: the Giants made a draft-day trade for Manning, sending Philip Rivers (and draft picks that would become Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding) to San Diego. And after a rocky first three years in the league, it all came together for Eli midway through the 2007 season ... all the way through the Super Bowl.

It's been over a month since we last posted positional fantasy football rankings, so it's time to run our second version. Plus, we added some staff. This is now an average ranking from eight Fantasy FanHouse writers. To view the early version of our kicker rankings, click here.

I'll beat the dead horse here, because I feel like it is my duty. Please don't draft a kicker until the last round and never pay more than a dollar for one in an auction. It's just not worth it because of the turnover from year to year. Check this out:

Top three kickers in '08: Gostkowski, Akers, Carney
In '07: Crosby, Bironas, Folk
In '06: Gould, Kaeding, Scobee
In '05: Rackers, Feely, Graham

I could use a lot more data to continually hammer the point home, but it would be a waste of time. So, uh, yeah. Don't waste a pick until you have to.

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With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Highest scoring team in football! After a dismal 4-8 start, the playoffs looked out of reach for the 2008 San Diego Chargers. Then they did what they do best: win in December. Rattling off four straight victories (marking the third consecutive year the team finished on a big winning streak) meant the 8-8 Chargers were crowned champions of the AFC West yet again. Don't let the pedestrian .500 record fool you -- this was the No. 1 offense in football last year. With all the major players back in 2009, the Chargers should make another run at leading the league in points scored.

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Remember when Eli Manning had that dopier-than-usual look on his face after the San Diego Chargers, against his wishes, took him with the first overall pick of the 2004 Draft? Good times.