By Kyle Smith
October 14, 2008 4:05pm CDT

Kickers traverse through a catechism each Sunday that contains only two possible outcomes: pass or fail. There is no in-between, and there was no greater example of that than Week 6.

Literally within minutes of each other, Atlanta’s Jason Elam and St. Louis’ Josh Brown kicked game-winning field goals as time expired. Elam nailed a 48-yard attempt, and Brown put home a 49-yard attempt. They weren’t the only ones to play hero, though, as Minnesota’s Ryan Longwell hit a 26-yarder with nne seconds remaining to give the Vikings an ugly win over Detroit. Had any of these kickers missed, their teams would have lost, and their teammates would have walked off the field cursing their existence.

Weather Trends

Games in Week 7 where weather shouldn't be an issue: Dallas at St. Louis, Detroit at Houston, NY Jets at Oakland

Games to check the weather before playing your kicker in Week 7: San Diego at Buffalo, Minnesota at Chicago, Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Tennessee at Kansas City, Baltimore at Miami, San Francisco at NY Giants, New Orleans at Carolina, Indianapolis at Green Bay, Cleveland at Washington, Seattle at Tampa Bay, Denver at New England

Venue Trends

Don’t expect a plethora of field goals when Baltimore travels to Miami. The Ravens’ Matt Stover is only 5-of-8 on the season, and little-used Dan Carpenter of the Dolphins is just 3-of-4 on the year. Together, they have made 66 percent of their attempts, the lowest combined percentage of any two opposing kickers this week.

Long Distance Trends

Week-by-week 50-plus yard field goal attempts tracker: 2, 9, 5, 5, 5, 10.

NFL kickers were 5-for-10 on kicks of at least 50 yards. Mason Crosby, Josh Brown, Joe Nedney, Nick Folk and Olindo Mare each nailed their tries. Phil Dawson, Matt Bryant, David Akers (as usual) and Sebastian Janikowski all missed from long distance, with Janikowski missing twice. Though, to be fair, Janikowski’s tries were from 57 and 59 yards.

Matt Prater of Denver continues to lead the league with four field goals of 50 or more yards, and the Rams’ Josh Brown moved into second place with his 51-yard boot against the Redskins. Look for more of the same from Brown in the coming weeks, as St. Louis’ offense is averaging just 237.4 yards per game, the second fewest in the NFL. They also have a pathetic five total trips inside the red zone, and just a single touchdown when inside their opponent’s 20-yard line, easily the fewest in the league. Obviously, this means more work for their field goal kicker.

Week 7 Kicker Shortage?

Three of the NFL’s top-10 kickers in terms of field goals made will be on byes this week. Atlanta’s Jason Elam, Philadelphia’s David Akers, and Jacksonville’s Josh Scobee comprise that trio. Also on bye is Arizona’s Neil Rackers, who in 2005 had one of the best seasons ever for a kicker in fantasy leagues, nailing 40-of-42 tries.

That is a lot of field goals fantasy owners will be missing, and with it comes a chance to capitalize on their misfortune. In all likelihood, these kickers will be dropped, which is a perfect opportunity for other fantasy owners to poach them for the rest of the year once Week 7 ends. And if they don’t want to drop one of the top kickers, it means they’ll have to get rid of a player at another position, so be on the lookout for that.

Guys to Think About for Week 7

Matt Bryant (Tampa Bay): The Buccaneers face off against a Seattle Seahawks team that is falling apart at the seams due to injury and age. Bryant has been excellent this season, making 12-of-13 field goals, and Seattle has a tendency to give up three points. In their five games this year, the Seahawks have allowed 13 field goals, which is tied for 25th in the league.

John Kasay (Carolina): Kasay is perfect on field goals this season, going 11-for-11, including making all six of his tries from at least 40 yards. After their disappointing loss to Tampa, the Panthers play at home against an average Saints defense. No team in the NFL has allowed more field goal attempts than the Saints have this year, with 18 – an average of three per game, which could be beneficial to Kasay and his owners.