Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Makice on August 22, 2012 at 12:05am

Definitely head to head play, as it allows teams/owners to focus on a much smaller group of new players each week and resets the competitive clock every Sunday (or Thursday, as is the case this year). Even an 0-12 team can still win week 13.

I have done a mega-round auction in my long-time keeper league for baseball. In that league, we have some fake cash we can budget towards player auctions, but the auctions only happen if you happen to choose an available player in a round that someone else is after. Essentially, everyone has the first pick in every round. If you opt for a player no one else named, then you get him free/cheap. It presents a very different draft strategy, though, as you might opt to take players before their market value just to keep from dealing with bidding wars. It can be a lengthy process in the early rounds, but here we could probably get away with 1-2 rounds a day. I think the simplest thing, though, is a serpentine draft seeded randomly in the first round.

A 14-round draft, however, would still take several hours (more than my son would have stamina for). Ways to speed it up would include:

• drafting two players at a time
• breaking the draft up into 3-4 separate events
• making use of auto-draft tools
• drafting all positions concurrently (e.g., a QB draft, a RB draft, a WR draft, etc)
• pre-assembling groups of players using a ranking source (e.g., http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball/draftkit#tab=fantasyrankings).

That last method is what we did with baseball to quickly get the core rosters built. Football is a different creature, but I could see pairing QB-RB and K-WR/TE combos. So, if you wanted Aaron Rogers, you might have to accept Kevin Smith and Micheal Bush as your backfield.

As for scoring ... I started playing fantasy football when we were reliant on evening news and the next day's boxscores to tally everything by hand. Working in performance stats into the scoring system wasn't a viable option. As a result, we had seasons where Larry Kinnebrew became almost as valuable as Roger Craig (at least in the short-term) because he scored when he carried the ball. There is a simplicity to tracking actual scoring because it is tangible, as well as most meaningful in the actual games. When we finally adopted some limited performance points, it didn't have the parity-inducing effect we anticipated. Good teams became great teams. I definitely wouldn't want distance-based scoring (a 50-yard TD > a 1-yard TD).

Our league has 7 starters (QB, 0-2 RB, 2-4 WR/TE, 1 K, 1 D) with the following simple scoring:

• TD pass (4 pts)
• TD scored (6 pts)
• 2-Pt Conversion pass or reception (1 pt)
• 2-Pt Conversion rush (2 pt)
• FG (3 pt)
• Extra Point (1 pt)
• Non-Offensive TD (3 pts, awarded if D is on the NFL team scoring on a return)
• Safety (2 pts, awarded if D is on the NFL team earning the safety)
• Every 50 yards passing (1 pt)
• Every 50 yards receiving (1 pt)
• Every 50 yards rushing (1 pt)

Permalink Reply by Edward Goode on August 22, 2012 at 6:02pm

Either Yahoo or ESPN. Both have good systems for leagues and can be easily customized. I agree with the head to head and having the championship game in week 16 instead of 17.

Scoring system looks good to me as well

Looking forward to it!

Permalink Reply by John Howell on August 22, 2012 at 10:30am

I'm a big fan of the Yahoo FFL Head to Head.  We do a live draft, but owners can also rank their players and let their team auto draft if they can't make it or drop off.

Yahoo interface is easy and there are many apps available to manage your team from your phone or tablet.

Last year we switched our league setup to use 2 divisions with the division winner getting #1 and #2 spots in playoffs and we really liked that format.  The rest of playoff teams were #3-8 regardless of division.

For a 12+ team league I would suggest 8 playoff teams.  I don't like giving playoff teams a bye and the more people involved in the playoffs the more fun it is.  We also made a switch last year so our championship week was the second to last week of the NFL season.  This avoided any issues with top players getting rested by their real teams and foiling someones fantasy season.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Makice on August 22, 2012 at 10:36am

Yes, that last point is an important one. We had a number of Superbowl games distorted by Marv Levy benching Buffalo players. Bill Polian took that strategy to the Colts and even messed up some second-to-last-week games, too.

Permalink Reply by Steve Henry on August 22, 2012 at 10:29pm

Okay, it sounds like we'll go with Yahoo Fantasy Football.

Although I'd really like the auction format for the draft, I think an auto-draft is the best option for us this year.  We are late in the game getting the league off the ground.  From the research I've done, a live auction draft would take 4-8 hours depending on a number of factors.  It has to happen live. I think trying to do this over several days is problematic as we all have to be present live for the auction. 

While I like the live auction draft, I think for both new and experienced players the autodraft is the best option this year.  The autodraft still gives you the option of tweaking how you rank players, so you are not limited to the Yahoo ranking of the players.  You will be able to use your vast knowledge of football (or your bias to your favorite team) to adjust the rankings on how Yahoo will draft for you.

If this is agreeable to the group, I'll start setting up our Yahoo league.

Steve

Permalink Reply by Edward Goode on August 23, 2012 at 3:46pm

The scoring system looks good - pretty much like my other leagues' systems.  autodraft also makes lots of sense.  Works for me.  

Permalink Reply by Tony Green on August 24, 2012 at 8:13am

I'm good with the auto-draft and yahoo league. This'll be the first time my boys have done fantasy football and should be easier to get into.

For those who haven't autodrafted before: make sure rank your positions or you could end up with some bum picks. Yahoo doesn't or at least didn't account for injuries.

Permalink Reply by Steve Henry on August 26, 2012 at 10:42pm

Yahoo site is now online.  Please sign up as soon as you can.  I would like to do the AutoDraft on Saturday, so we don't miss week 1.  Let me know if you have any issues signing up.

I setup the roster as follows:

Starters - 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB/WR/TE (your choice), 1 Defense/Special Teams, 1 Kicker.  Plus you'll have 6 bench players.

I made two tweaks to the scoring system:  #1 for QB:  Pick 6 results in an additional -2 point (on top of the -1 for INT), #2 Special Team: 1 pt per 20 return yards

We will be setup in two divisions with the division winners being the top seeds.  We'll have eight play off teams.  Playoffs start Week 14 and end Week 16 (no games Week 17).

Here is our custom league URL: http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/geekdad

I believe I can still tweak the scoring and league setup before the season starts.  Let me know if anything gives you heartburn after reviewing.

Steve

Permalink Reply by JA Castillo on August 27, 2012 at 7:16am

I have been playing in a Yahoo FF league for nearly 10 years now and it is perfect for what we are attempting to do.  Good to see it that is the one we are going with.  For giggles, I dug-up the scoring set-up for my other league and thought I would share it; in case there was some other scoring options to consider / discuss.  NOTE: In this league set-up, we drafted defensive players, not teams.  Thanks!