Week 3
9/22/05
Last Week's Question
Back in Week 1,
I asked readers how they varied from the profile of the average
fantasy player as described by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
I thought there must be plenty of fantasy folks who weren’t
anything like the 37-year-old white male with a bachelor’s
degree in a white collar job making roughly $70,000 per year.
I heard from a number of people who didn’t fit that bill
and shared some of their responses in last
week’s column. But I heard from a far greater number
of people who (for the most part) match the profile outlined by
the FSTA. These folks generally wrote in to tell me how amused
they were that they seemed to be so similar to other fantasy enthusiasts
out there, but they invariably went on to explain that regardless
of their skin color, job description, household income, or age,
they were different—very different—from other fantasy
enthusiasts. What makes them different is the way they keep score,
and they were only to happy to explain the advantages of the systems
they use.
Since most leagues are open to the revision of rules (from scorekeeping
methods to tiebreaking procedures) from one year to the next,
I’ll share what these folks had to say about the rules that
make their leagues unique. The only problem is that if your “unique”
system is listed here and catches on, you can kiss your uniqueness
goodbye.
A couple of readers (Dan and Laurie) wrote in to explain the
emphasis that their leagues place on having a rock solid draft.
Dan (a 34-year-old white male with a master’s degree in
a white collar job who earns by himself about what the FSTA attributes
to the “average” FFer) says:
The biggest thing that sets our league apart is
that there are 12 teams and 18 roster spots per team, which means
216 picks on draft night. After that, each team is only allowed
3 free agent pickups, so there is a ton of strategy on when to
pick a player up. I would imagine in most other leagues, someone
has Willie Parker by now, but in our league, people have to really
think if they want to use 1 of their 3 moves to take him now and
risk Bettis and Staley coming back and being the starter. Also,
we have had a home field advantage of 5 points ever since our
league was invented. This was original back then, although I think
other leagues have installed the rule since.
Laurie says she fits the FSTA profile except for the fact that
she is female. Her league appears to emphasize the draft even more
than Dan’s:
We start with a 21-round, serpentine draft—with no waiver
claims during the first 8 weeks of the season and a supplemental
draft between weeks 8 and 9 to pick up to 6 players and drop 3.
[The result is that] for the second half of the season you have
24 players on your roster. This means you have to back up your
players carefully and the draft really counts for a lot.
Our line up? 2 QB, 4 RB, 4 WR/TE and 1 K. Obviously with
4 RB's and 10 teams you have to grab who you think will start,
might start, might emerge, share carries, eventually take over,
etc. at RB. There is much studying to compile draft lists and
no web site anywhere will tell you how to get your team drafted
correctly since no other league starts this configuration of
players.
In Laurie’s league, you make 21 decisions on draft day
that determine your fate for the next 8 weeks. But Josh’s
league is perhaps even more draconian, since you have to stand
or fall by your decision—before the season begins—to
stick with one of three offensive formats for the entire year:
We allow a selection of offensive formations: Pro-Set
(QB, 2RB, 2WR and 1 TE), West Coast (QB, 1RB, 3 WR AND 1 TE) or
Run and Shoot (QB, RB, 4 WR no TE). Your decision is definitely
driven by who will be available from year to year via the draft.
This selection is made in the preseason and remains your formation
for the whole year. Points are based on yards and TD's are heavily
impacted by distance. An example would be a rushing TD is worth
only 3 points from 1-10 yards out, 4 points from 11-20 yards,
and so on up to 7 points. We also start an offensive line that
gains points either for sacks allowed (West Coast or Run-and-Shoot
formations) or rushing yards gained (Pro-Set) for the formation
selected by each team. O-lines can also earn negative points for
poor performance.
Josh goes on to talk about the IDP (individual defensive player)
arrangements in his league, but that phenomenon seems already
to be growing in popularity. I heard from another reader (Scott)
about an idea that might have as much appeal as the move towards
IDP leagues—though his arrangement concerns league structure
rather than the use of defenders:
Our league is set up in two, six-team divisions:
the "cut-throat" division and the "cream-puff"
division. The six playoff teams from the prior year (division
champs and two wild cards from each division) are the cut-throats,
and the other six teams are the cream-puffs. This way, three new
teams make the playoffs every year - a fantasy version of parity.
There is also the pride of going through the season as a cut-throat
versus the stigma of being a cream-puff. Miss the playoffs two
years in a row and you risk being labeled a "perennial puff".
Nothing like a little peer pressure to get those competitive juices
flowing!
I hope a few readers out there find Scott’s idea as appealing
as I do. I know that my tastes for fantasy scoring correspond to
many readers taste because so many people like to adjust their scoring
systems to make the various position in fantasy roughly equal. A
reader named Michael wrote in to share an interesting wrinkle that
his league has introduced concerning quarterbacks:
Our league's scoring system is very different from anyone else's—it
is based on “100 points,” and downgrades QB's versus
other position players since their maximum score is capped by
the QB rating system.
Brian’s league has a similar objective, but sets about
achieving it in a very different way:
We have yet to find another league like ours; our
standings and eventual champion are based on cumulative pts; our
scoring is different than most as well; we have QBs and Defenses
that can score 60, 70, and in rare cases 100 pts in a week; consequently,
poor defensive performances can result in a zero; we believe our
scoring matrix separates great defenses from mediocre Ds; this
makes QBs and Defs valuable in our league, rather than the proverbial
RB; RBs are important, but we can't overlook D's and QBs....FYI,
our first round went as follows 1. LT, 2. Manning, 3. Holmes,
4. Alexander, 5. Baltimore Defense, 6. Culpepper, 7. E. James,
8. NE Defense.
I’ll conclude with Donovan’s response for two reasons.
In the first place, it contains a pretty good idea about how to
spend the money generated by transactions in the course of the
season. Secondly, it beautifully adequately conveys how close
most of the readers of this column appear to come to the FSTA
profile:
I just burst into laughter at my office desk while
reading about the typical fantasy football participant. It made
it more difficult to pretend to work. I am a 37-year-old white
guy with a BS in Civil Engineering, making $65,000 per year, who
has been playing fantasy football since 1987. Our 12-man league
consists of 11 white guys with a college degree between the ages
of 36 and 38, plus one guy's older brother. A few of them haul
in the cash, while a few do not; I wouldn't be surprised if our
league fits the bill as a "typical league" in every
single way.
What sets our league apart is the method we use to pick up free
agents. We have a "sealed bid, silent auction" every
Wednesday night, where owners tell the transaction commissioner
how much they are willing to pay for a player. Owners do not know
if anyone else is even bidding. There is a minimum bid; however,
there is no maximum. On Thursday morning, the highest bidder for
each player gets him. The key to this system is that all of the
free agent money goes into our “party fund,” NOT into
the prize money. We have a huge annual bash with the free agent
cash each year. This system is the envy of nearly every fantasy
football participant that hears about it; it certainly is a lot
better than the "fastest guy with a mouse" system. I
think it could easily be modified for the big money leagues; you'd
just add the free agent fund to the prize money instead.
This Week's Question:
In Laurie’s response to the column, she remarks that “no
website” can tell the people in her league how to handle
their drafts. I suspect that the evolving complexity of drafts
makes it harder and harder for websites that “sell”
fantasy football expertise to their customers to tailor their
products to the consumers’ needs, but I also think that
most fantasy football participants are paying subscribers to at
least one website. I could easily be wrong about this. There may
be tons of FFers out there who insist on doing their own research
and compiling their own rankings without outside influence. So
I’m curious. If you have a moment, please drop me a line
to let me know the extent to which you rely on hired experts in
the management of your team. There’s no reason to name the
particular magazine or website to which you subscribe, but I would
like to know if you subscribe to any service at all; if the number
of services to which you subscribe has increased or decreased
over the years; if you stick strictly to fee-free sites (such
as FFToday); or if you consult a publication on draft day and
handle the rest of the season on your own.
Last Man Standing (Courtesy of Matt)
Matt redeemed himself from the disappointments of Week 1 by going
3-0 in Week 2.
Trap Game: San Diego Chargers over the
New York Giants:
The media is billing this as the game that will give fans a chance
to express their displeasure with Eli Manning, but he won’t
be thinking about what the fans are doing in the stands. He will
be focused on the field against a defense that may be the least
challenging he has faced so far this season. Combine that with a
Giant defense that is causing problems on the field and a special
teams unit that seems to be very dangerous, and the Chargers may
find themselves looking up from the bottom of the AFC West at the
end of the week.
#3: Indianapolis over Cleveland (1-1
in 2005):
Indy has played some very tight games and their defense seems to
finally be taking shape. While Trent Dilfer aired it out last week
for the Browns, he will find it a lot harder to do the same in the
RCA Dome where the Colts will try and get to 3-0. The Browns may
be coming off the high of winning their first game for Romeo Crennel,
but unfortunately those good feelings should subside in a game where
Peyton Manning, even if Manning continues his struggles against
a coach who always seemed to have his number when he was in New
England.
#2: Carolina at Miami (1-1 in 2005):
The Panthers beat the reigning Super Bowl champs in what was billed
as the “prelude” to this year’s Super Bowl. With
that game behind them, they now face a defense that is playing very
good football. But the Dolphins are still short some offensive weapons–and
against a team with the likes of Julius Peppers on it, the Panthers
should be balanced enough to pull out a tight game on the road.
Isn’t that what Super Bowl contenders are supposed to do?
#1: New Orleans at Minnesota (1-1 in
2005):
The Saints have played two very good defenses early this season
in the Giants and the Panthers. The good news is that they get a
break against the Vikings this week and all key position players
should have good days in a game that will feel very close to home
for the Saints inside the dome. The Vikings injury report will list
Culpepper, Burleson, and Moore, which will definitely affect their
ability to take advantage of the cover two defense that the Saints
like to employ. There may not be many games this season where the
Saints will be favored on the road, and this may be the best time
to use them in your last man standing pools.
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For responses to this week's fantasy
question or to share your LMS picks, please email
me no later than 10 a.m. EST on Wednesdays during the football
season. |
