Is it possible to add fractional scoring for kickers this year? For example, right now, a 39 yard field goal is worth 3 whereas a 40 yarder is worth 4. I’d like to be able to make a 39 yarder 3.9 points. Thanks!
There are some limitations in how we store made FGs that make this impossible for 2021 but I’d be willing to look into it for 2022 if there’s enough interest. My impression is that kicking is already quite the lottery and giving kickers more points over the course of the year may not be compelling but that’s why the forums are here.
I don’t have a strong preference either way.
It does result in more scoring, sure. But I see it as scoring more accurately.
Rushing yards are 0.1, receiving yards are 0.1, passing yards are 0.04, so why don’t we score kicking the same way?
Because field goals are field goals I think? The comparison on kicking a FG should be to scoring a TD, not yards gained by a running back, I think?
Now that I think about it this is a great argument for all FGs to be 3 points no matter what. Oops.
I hadn’t considered this @davidcherman - it’s actually kind of cool.
But as Niv said, the stats don’t track/import that way. So I doubt we ever see this.
Though, if they ever did, I’m down with this. I would support the OP’s suggestion. There’s so little between kickers that this maybe adds some separation… does it make things harder to predict? I don’t think it does, we’re still ballparking it at the position anyway. But I’ve also not thought about it much. That said, it’s not bad; still, I prefer no-change than to equalize all FGs at 3. Certainly high-degree-of-difficulty plays are rewarded in every other way, so kicking deserves some of that too.
i.e.: yes all TDs are 6 points, but the play/yardage it took to convert the score is always rewarded accordingly.
(Of course, for the total anti-kicker crowd, this is all anathema anyway.)
All actual scoring touchdowns are 4/6 points, and there are yards gained that are also scored. This is also true for every offensive drive! All the yards gained up until the FG is taken are given points! The actual score “bonus” is either the touchdown or the FG and all touchdowns are 4/6 points (no added bonuses for long touchdowns) so there should not be bonuses for long FGs.
Anyway I’m probably not going to do this.
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Yes all of the yards are accounted for (which is precisely why a long TD doesn’t need to be given anything extra, agreed). And if the guy who did the score also does the yards or a TD catch, he gets credit for those things too.
I see your point re: all FGs are 3 points though, in the same way that all TDs are 6 pts (degree of difficulty aside). Totally get what you’re saying. I think we wound up with the long-FG thing as a tradition, because kickers would be even less interesting without it.
Definitely don’t think anything here needs a change (was really just being supportive to a decent enough idea!)
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I understand you’re probably not going to do it, but just to throw the rest of the argument at the wall:
We’ve already acknowledged that kicker scoring is not just about tying the points to the real world points- a 40 yard kick is worth 4 and a 50 yarder worth 5, suggesting that we do actually see more difficult kicks as worth more points- inherently, that’s a bonus for long FGs. Really what I’m suggesting is just allowing the scoring to more accurately capture the nuance within that. If we believe a 40 yard kick is worth more than a 30 yard kick, why isn’t a 39 yard kick worth more than a 30 yarder? 1 yard shouldn’t make or break a whole point, which is exactly why rushing and receiving yards are broken down into 0.1s at this point as well.
Yahoo recently added it, so there’s a mainstream push for it.
Ultimately, I support whatever you decide.
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Didn’t know yahoo added that. Interesting development.
I don’t disagree with you; and I don’t disagree with Niv’s rationale either. Ultimately this may fall under “personal preferences”, so it’s not something I could go to the mattresses for. As just another active member of the community here, I appreciate the good argument and good idea.