Last Week's Question: Can anyone from
a points-only league show me the drama?
In my Week 4 column, I defied participants in points-only leagues
to show me how competing in a season-long tallying of scores can
generate the kind of excitement that FFers routinely experience
in head-to-head (H2H) leagues.
I got some fairly blunt (and fairly humorous) responses, such as
this one from Bart: "Points-based leagues don't have to be
more exciting than H2H leagues . . . because they are BETTER!"
A reader I'll call Mr. Brooks (because his unsigned comment came
from Brooks Financial Services) was a bit more even-tempered in
his response:
There is no drama in total points leagues. Even
towards the end of the season it is likely that the point difference
is greater than the points you would find in a H2H matchup. That
said, I do feel total points to be important as they measure season-
long achievement. Our league rewards half our money to the playoffs
(determined by win/loss records) and half our money to total points.
It strikes a good balance, and the teams that got screwed with the
schedule have a chance to redeem themselves in the total-points
battle.
Our own Matthew Schiff is feeling a little burned by the H2H format,
so he wrote in with his thoughts on the limitations of the traditional
H2H model:
As someone who has been playing the team H2H
with the most points every week, I am seriously considering the
total points league that has a “play all” feature. That
way, a person’s record is based upon their team’s performance
overall, and not just head to head. You could have the best team
in the league and play the worst schedule and be knocked out of
the playoffs (no fault of your own except the scheduling gods had
it in for you). Even the worst teams this season have beaten me,
[which rankles because I have accumulated] the third most points
in my league.
I guess the moral of the story is that all the excitement in the
world isn't enough to make it fun to get gypped (if the gypping
happens too often). Thanks to everyone who wrote in, but please
understand that it makes no sense for me to keep rehashing the same
commentary on H2H vs. points-only formats. The point of last week's
exercise was for someone in a points-based league to show me that
weekly excitement is possible, but no one rose to that challenge.
This Week's Question: What draft spot
was assigned to the person who is currently in first place in your
league?
Jay wonders if drafting late in 2014 was the key to drafting great:
Now that I look back at my draft, it seems like
the first round was pretty much a total waste. I had the last pick
in [a 12-team snake] draft, and I went with Demaryius Thomas (1.12)
and Marshawn Lynch (2.1). I got the best player on my team in round
2, but so did almost everybody else in my league. And since I picked
first in round 2, is it any surprise that my team is dominating
right now?
I don't think there's anything unusual about Jay's league. What's
unusual is the way the 2014 season has started off. At first, it
seemed like the problem was going to be confined to the running
back position. LeSean McCoy was upstaged by Darren Sproles; Jamaal
Charles was dinged up and unproductive in Weeks 1-3; the Adrian
Peterson suspension took us all by surprise; Matt Forte has been
up and down; and Eddie Lacy has been down and down.
But the problem goes beyond RBs. The only tight end likely to be
drafted in the first round was Jimmy
Graham, but so far this season, FFers could have gotten just
as much productivity (or more) from the likes of Julius
Thomas, Martellus Bennet, Delanie
Walker, or even--if they had the foresight to start him vs.
Washington--Larry
Donnell.
How about wide-outs? Megatron started off with a bang, but a bum
ankle has kept him from contributing to the success of fantasy teams
in recent weeks (even if he is useful to the Lions as a decoy).
Of the other wide-outs likely to be taken in round 1 (Julio Jones,
A.J. Green, Demaryius Thomas, and Dez Bryant), only Jones has lived
up to expectations. But did Jones really go in round 1 in your draft?
I saw him taken in round 2 more often than not.
I understand that Peyton Manning hasn't been as prolific in 2014
as the man who replaced him in Indianapolis. But I don't think that
pointing to Andrew Luck really helps Jay's case, as I doubt he was
taken as early as round 2 in many drafts outside the Luck household.
I have a sort of hidden agenda for featuring Jay's question this
week, since I can't help thinking that Manning could be the only
first-round pick that has justified itself to this point in the
season in most leagues. The other two QBs who might have warranted
a first-round pick (Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees) have been either
wildly inconsistent (Rodgers) or consistently fair-to-middling (Brees).
I don't remember a season in which so many first-round picks became
so suspect so early in the season. Part of the problem has to do
with the early bye week for offensive powerhouses (such as Cincinnati,
Denver and Seattle). Additionally, there are injuries that will
probably be mostly forgotten by the end of the season (e.g. Charles
and Johnson). But for right now, I wonder if there is something
to Jay's theory (that drafting later meant drafting better in 2014)
or to mine (that if you picked Manning in the first round, it probably
worked out better for you than anyone else's first-round pick would
have).
If you participate in at least one traditional redrafter league
(with a conventional serpentine draft), I'm eager to know:
1) What was the draft position of the team currently in first place
in your league?
2) What player was selected with that team's top pick?
3) What player was selected with that team's second pick?
4) What was your draft position in your league, and what place are
you in now?
5) What player did you select with your first pick?
6) What player did you select with your second pick?
I would especially like to hear
from readers who participate in multiple redrafter leagues,
as they may be able to comment on trends that they see across their
leagues.
Survivor Picks - Week 5 (Courtesy of
Matthew Schiff)
Trap Game: New Orleans over Tampa Bay
What's wrong in the Bayou? Has the jambalaya gone bad? Or is it
the red beans and rice? Whatever the culprit, the Saints are 1-3
and in danger of becoming irrelevant in the NFC South before the
halfway point of the season. They are looking up at the 2-2 Falcons
and Panthers, and now face a team that is designed to beat them
with a power rushing attack, a manage-the-clock QB, and a defense
that can shut down Drew Brees and company. Mike Glennon helped the
Bucs win their first game of the season, coming from behind on the
road against the Steelers in a squeaker. Tampa Bay just might be
primed for another upset win. But maybe some home cooking and the
friendly confines of the Superdome will cure what ails this Saints
team that was playing for the NFC Championship only two seasons
ago. In a divisional game against bitter rivals, even a double-digit
favorite should be avoided as your “lock” in your survival
pool. Take this game at great peril. Instead, look for a game where
the teams don’t know each other as well (or hate each other
as much).
#3: Cleveland over Tennessee (3-1: Pit, NO,
CIN, SF):
Jake Locker may be back under center this week, but the Titans face
a Browns team that is far from the cellar dwelling “dawg pound”
of yesteryear. Brian Hoyer has this offense humming; the Browns
are ranked 13th overall in the NFL, and they'll be facing a Titans
team that is 24th against the pass and has allowed the fourth most
points (110) in the first four games of the season. Except for backup
QB Johnny Manzeil and suspended receiver Josh Gordon, this roster
is made up of “unknowns” and doesn’t strike fear
in the hearts of most NFL teams. That doesn’t mean that they
don’t have the firepower to win tight games though. Ben Tate,
formerly of the Houston Texans, was expected to be the centerpiece
of Cleveland's rushing attack, but in his absence (due to his annual
injuries), Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell have quietly created
the tenth best rushing attack in the NFL. The Titans, on the other
hand, have not been able to find a replacement for Chris “CJ2K”
Johnson in Bishop Sankey and Shonn Green because their offensive
line has been just that, offensive. Tennessee faithful hope that
the return of Locker this week will help the Titans avoid a fourth
straight loss after opening the season with a road win in Kansas
City. But the way I see it, the lowly Browns have more bite than
bark and are primed for the upset win on the road after their bye.
#2: Detroit over Buffalo (1-3: CHI, Sea,
NO, TB):
The Lions, who find themselves atop the NFC Central at 3-1, are
facing a Bills teams that lacks creativity on offense and is currently
mired in a quarterback controversy. It's not a very glamorous controversy,
however, as the choice is between struggling newcomer E.J. Manuel
(who just got the hook) and seasoned journeyman Kyle Orton (who
apparently decided that the only way to enjoy a lower profile than
retirement was to take a job in Buffalo). Orton should find that
his team isn’t as bad as their ranking (27th) suggests, but
it will still be difficult to mount much of an attack against the
stingiest defense in the league. Rookie sensation Sammy Watkins
will most likely be double-teamed while C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson
face seven- and eight-man fronts on rushing downs. As for the Lions,
Matthew Stafford should be fine with or without Calvin “Megatron”
Johnson, as Golden Tate filled in very nicely last week with his
eight-reception, 115-yard effort against the Jets. If you're afraid
of Thursday night’s matchup, this is the game to take between
teams that don’t know much about each other, and probably
won’t throw in any trickery that might upset the normal outcomes.
Image by Tilt Creative (Ty
Schiff)
#1: Green Bay over Minnesota (4-0: PHI,
DEN, NE, SD):
This pick is 100% based upon Teddy Bridgewater’s availability
(or lack thereof) for Thursday night’s game against the
division rival Packers. If he is able to go, then this writer
recommends his #2 pick this week based upon the following items:
Bridgewater's versatility, Green Bay’s 26th-ranked defense,
and the fact that Christian Ponder is 0 for life against the Green
Bay Packers. Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata did a great job running
the ball against the sieve-like Falcons last week, but they will
hardly be a match for Aaron Rodgers and company’s offensive
output without their versatile rookie QB this week. In looking
at the recent history between these teams, the record is 1-2-1
for their last four contests. Yes, that is correct. In their last
meeting, these teams played to a 26-26 tie at Lambeau in November.
But the Vikings haven’t won against the Pack on the road
since 2006, a time affectionately known as BAP (before Adrian
Peterson).
Mike Davis has been writing about fantasy football since 1999.
As a landlocked Oklahoman who longs for the sound of ocean waves,
he also writes about ocean colonization under the pen name Studio
Dongo. The latest installment in his science fiction series can
be found here.
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