Don't sweat boys the draft day food has been taken care of. We'll be receiving all our delicious meals from this man. Fried Dinosaur Anyone?
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Football is Back!!
It's ovah!! The stupid lockout mess is behind us, and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. There will be no interruption to the greatness that is fantasy football. Wow I kinda feel like I've been in a lockout with my inner writer. I haven't written shit since the end of the fantasy football season, and I'm definitely feeling rusty. So bear with me while I wipe off the rust from my proverbial trombone.
This year I wanna strive to promote active commentary and insult hurling throughout league via the comments section on the blog and the message board on the fantasy homepage. Since last year, two of our members now live outside the state of North Carolina, so we are a little more spread out than we were. Using the world wide web to express our interpersonal communications is vital.
So to start off the discussions, I'm going to be installing a couple of format/rules changes for the upcoming season. Please use the comments or the message board to voice your opinion on one or all of these amendments.
Rule Change #1: Make the Playoff Non-Qualifiers Have Something To Play For
Basically, this rule is being installed just to give everyone one more week of fantasy relevance. Instead of just getting placed in draft order based on your regular season finish, We're going to pit all the losers against each other to duke it out for the top 6 spots. Now, we could have a true losers bracket and have the overall winner of the loser tournament get the # 1 pick, the ruuner-up gets the #2, etc. But, I think that format would hurt the parity in the league. Instead, we would just have one week of matchups that would look like this:
#12 v. #11 : Winner gets the #1 pick in the draft
#10 v. #9 : Winner gets the #3 pick in the draft
#8 v. #7 : Winner gets the #5 pick in the draft
I think this format provides everyone with a bonus week of fantasy football, while still letting the crappy teams have a leg-up when rebuilding for next year. I can't see anyone being opposed to this rule, it's just an overall good idea, but if anyone wants to suggest any tweaks/additions to the rule, I'd love to hear it.
Rule Change #2: Amending the 2 QB Rule
Look. I tried to experiment with something to fix a fundamental flaw in our fantasy system. We have 12 teams, and if everyone is allowed to have 3 QBs, that adds up to 4 more QB slots then there are actual starting QBs in the NFL. I don't like the idea of being forced to leave a slot blank just because there are no available starting QBS. In the end though, the system was too confusing for some, and too time consuming for me, plus it had a fundamental flaw. It left too many viable QBs on the waiver wire each week, making it too easy to get a solid performance out of your QB slot each week just by adding and dropping like a mofo.
So, what do we do about it? Here's a couple proposals that myself or others have thrown out. Let me know which way you guys think is the best way to resolve this issue.
Option 1. You can only draft 2 QBs, but after week 4, you can pick up a 3rd off waivers.
(This rule is effectively just to assure that there isn't a mad scramble for viable QBs in the draft, something else that I don't like about having 3QBs. It would also prevent any freak QB accidents in the early season from tanking your fantasy team.)
Option 2. Eliminate the QB position and replace it with another OP slot.
(Before you freak out about this one, hear me out. By now everyone has realized how valuable QBs are in our league. Virtually everyone uses the OP slot to play another QB. Therefore, making the traditional QB slot into an OP slot would simply make it so a team can play another position player in what used to be the QB slot if they don't have any available starting QBs. This way, everyone can have a full roster each week, while still allowing you the option of owning 3 QBs instead of 2.)
Option 3. Go back to 3 QBs.
(You snooze you lose. If you make the mistake of only having 1 QB on you roster and he goes down in week 4, kiss your fantasy season goodbye. But hey, you probably deserve it Diesel.)
So let me know which of these methods would work best, or if you have an even better method, go ahead and propose that.
Rule Change #3: Placing Limits on Keepers
Look, I like the idea of having a straight up dynasty league, where you keep your entire roster, and just draft rookies, I think it would give you more of a connection with your players, and would certainly make trading more complex. It's too much of a radical change for a league now going into it's 4th year. The previous three years would have to be marked with an asterisk in the record books. Plus, the draft would be a hell of a lot more boring. It would be only like 2 rounds of players most of us are unfamiliar with.
So to have a dynasty without actually having a dynasty league, we use keepers. But I kinda don't think that it's fair to be allowed to keep two players that were drafted in year 1 when nobody really knew the rules of the league, and a lot of others barely knew how to play fantasy football. Plus, having limits on keepers places an added element into the strategy of picking keepers, and trading them. So, that said, here's the details of the proposed Keeper Limits.
1: Each keeper is signed to a 4 year contract
(Therefore, If you drafted one or more of your current keepers in our first ever draft, this will be your final year with that/those player(s). If you drafted them in the second draft this would be year three, and so on and so forth. If you are keeping a player that was picked up mid-season, their contract status will be determined by how many games they played in that year. More than half the games, the year counts, less than half, it does not. )
Example: I drafted Chris Johnson in year 1, therefore this will be my final year with him if I opt to keep him. Dave drafted Matt Ryan in year 2, so he still has two more years to keep him.
2: Henceforth, keeper contracts are transferable. (If you trade a keeper in year four of his contract the team receiving him inherits his contract. This does not apply to trades made before this year.)
Example: If I trade Chris Johnson to Lynn this year, Lynn would have to drop him before next year's draft, because Chris Johnson is in the final year of his contract with me.
3. A keeper contract is only voided if that player is dropped from the team. (ie. On to the waiver wire, or before the draft.)
Example: If I drop Chris Johnson in week 3, and Chris picks him up off waivers, Chris is signing him to a new 4 year contract, and this will be his first year of keeping Chris Johnson, not his 4th. However, if I drop him in week 12, and Travis picks him up off waivers, he will have played less than half of a season for Travis, therefore, his first year with Travis wouldn't technically be until the following year.
Here is a list of everyone's Keeper's that are more than one year old (ie. acquired before last year's draft.) :
Jason: Chris Johnson (Year 4), Matt Schaub (Year 3)
Murphy: Steven Jackson (Year 4), Antonio Gates (Year 3)
Lazarus: None
Dave: Matt Ryan (Year 3)
Phil: Santana Moss (Year 3)
Diesel: Randy Moss (Year 4). Donovan McNabb (Year 3)
B-Hall: Frank Gore (Year 4), Eli Manning (Year 3)
Lynn: None
Travis: Tom Brady (Year 4), Philip Rivers (Year 4)
Josh: Adrian Peterson (Year 4), Drew Brees (Year 4)
Chris: Jay Cutler (Year 3)
Everyone else on your current roster will be entering year 2 of their keeper contract. Unless that player was on your team for less than half of the season, then this would still be year 1.
I hope all of that made sense to everyone. Please leave any thoughts or concerns you may in the comments. Also, check the league page to vote in a poll about the 2 QB rule.
Aww Here it Goes,
The Commish
No one knows more about rusty trombones than this man. (Ah yes, more jokes about random people from Google images, it's like I never left.)
This year I wanna strive to promote active commentary and insult hurling throughout league via the comments section on the blog and the message board on the fantasy homepage. Since last year, two of our members now live outside the state of North Carolina, so we are a little more spread out than we were. Using the world wide web to express our interpersonal communications is vital.
The previous sentence was clearly lifted directly from the Windows '95 operating manual. (Wow, jokes about defunct operating systems, I'm on fire.)
So to start off the discussions, I'm going to be installing a couple of format/rules changes for the upcoming season. Please use the comments or the message board to voice your opinion on one or all of these amendments.
It goes without saying that everyone's Fantasy Amendment #1 should be "Don't Trade With Lazarus" (Although he does seal all of his deals with a kiss, so sometimes when I'm feeling unloved, I trade with him anyway)
Rule Change #1: Make the Playoff Non-Qualifiers Have Something To Play For
Basically, this rule is being installed just to give everyone one more week of fantasy relevance. Instead of just getting placed in draft order based on your regular season finish, We're going to pit all the losers against each other to duke it out for the top 6 spots. Now, we could have a true losers bracket and have the overall winner of the loser tournament get the # 1 pick, the ruuner-up gets the #2, etc. But, I think that format would hurt the parity in the league. Instead, we would just have one week of matchups that would look like this:
#12 v. #11 : Winner gets the #1 pick in the draft
#10 v. #9 : Winner gets the #3 pick in the draft
#8 v. #7 : Winner gets the #5 pick in the draft
I think this format provides everyone with a bonus week of fantasy football, while still letting the crappy teams have a leg-up when rebuilding for next year. I can't see anyone being opposed to this rule, it's just an overall good idea, but if anyone wants to suggest any tweaks/additions to the rule, I'd love to hear it.
Rule Change #2: Amending the 2 QB Rule
Look. I tried to experiment with something to fix a fundamental flaw in our fantasy system. We have 12 teams, and if everyone is allowed to have 3 QBs, that adds up to 4 more QB slots then there are actual starting QBs in the NFL. I don't like the idea of being forced to leave a slot blank just because there are no available starting QBS. In the end though, the system was too confusing for some, and too time consuming for me, plus it had a fundamental flaw. It left too many viable QBs on the waiver wire each week, making it too easy to get a solid performance out of your QB slot each week just by adding and dropping like a mofo.
Brothers be dropping and adding almost as much as B-Hall be straight swoopin'. (Yes this is what Brian Hall looks like right before he straight swoops on some fly honeys.)
Option 1. You can only draft 2 QBs, but after week 4, you can pick up a 3rd off waivers.
(This rule is effectively just to assure that there isn't a mad scramble for viable QBs in the draft, something else that I don't like about having 3QBs. It would also prevent any freak QB accidents in the early season from tanking your fantasy team.)
Option 2. Eliminate the QB position and replace it with another OP slot.
(Before you freak out about this one, hear me out. By now everyone has realized how valuable QBs are in our league. Virtually everyone uses the OP slot to play another QB. Therefore, making the traditional QB slot into an OP slot would simply make it so a team can play another position player in what used to be the QB slot if they don't have any available starting QBs. This way, everyone can have a full roster each week, while still allowing you the option of owning 3 QBs instead of 2.)
Option 3. Go back to 3 QBs.
(You snooze you lose. If you make the mistake of only having 1 QB on you roster and he goes down in week 4, kiss your fantasy season goodbye. But hey, you probably deserve it Diesel.)
Just like he deserves a wicked trip off that magic mushroom sushi he's eating. (It's a me Diesel-O!)
So let me know which of these methods would work best, or if you have an even better method, go ahead and propose that.
Rule Change #3: Placing Limits on Keepers
Look, I like the idea of having a straight up dynasty league, where you keep your entire roster, and just draft rookies, I think it would give you more of a connection with your players, and would certainly make trading more complex. It's too much of a radical change for a league now going into it's 4th year. The previous three years would have to be marked with an asterisk in the record books. Plus, the draft would be a hell of a lot more boring. It would be only like 2 rounds of players most of us are unfamiliar with.
So to have a dynasty without actually having a dynasty league, we use keepers. But I kinda don't think that it's fair to be allowed to keep two players that were drafted in year 1 when nobody really knew the rules of the league, and a lot of others barely knew how to play fantasy football. Plus, having limits on keepers places an added element into the strategy of picking keepers, and trading them. So, that said, here's the details of the proposed Keeper Limits.
1: Each keeper is signed to a 4 year contract
(Therefore, If you drafted one or more of your current keepers in our first ever draft, this will be your final year with that/those player(s). If you drafted them in the second draft this would be year three, and so on and so forth. If you are keeping a player that was picked up mid-season, their contract status will be determined by how many games they played in that year. More than half the games, the year counts, less than half, it does not. )
Example: I drafted Chris Johnson in year 1, therefore this will be my final year with him if I opt to keep him. Dave drafted Matt Ryan in year 2, so he still has two more years to keep him.
2: Henceforth, keeper contracts are transferable. (If you trade a keeper in year four of his contract the team receiving him inherits his contract. This does not apply to trades made before this year.)
Example: If I trade Chris Johnson to Lynn this year, Lynn would have to drop him before next year's draft, because Chris Johnson is in the final year of his contract with me.
3. A keeper contract is only voided if that player is dropped from the team. (ie. On to the waiver wire, or before the draft.)
Example: If I drop Chris Johnson in week 3, and Chris picks him up off waivers, Chris is signing him to a new 4 year contract, and this will be his first year of keeping Chris Johnson, not his 4th. However, if I drop him in week 12, and Travis picks him up off waivers, he will have played less than half of a season for Travis, therefore, his first year with Travis wouldn't technically be until the following year.
However Chris Johnson's golden grill is on a whole 'nother Keeper Contract. (I'm currently on year Fo')
I am not counting any trades made before this year as inheriting a keeper contract, because those involved in the trade were not aware of the contracts. I am also taking into account anyone who is newer to the league by not holding what the previous owner did against them.Here is a list of everyone's Keeper's that are more than one year old (ie. acquired before last year's draft.) :
Jason: Chris Johnson (Year 4), Matt Schaub (Year 3)
Murphy: Steven Jackson (Year 4), Antonio Gates (Year 3)
Lazarus: None
Dave: Matt Ryan (Year 3)
Phil: Santana Moss (Year 3)
Diesel: Randy Moss (Year 4). Donovan McNabb (Year 3)
B-Hall: Frank Gore (Year 4), Eli Manning (Year 3)
Lynn: None
Travis: Tom Brady (Year 4), Philip Rivers (Year 4)
Josh: Adrian Peterson (Year 4), Drew Brees (Year 4)
Chris: Jay Cutler (Year 3)
Everyone else on your current roster will be entering year 2 of their keeper contract. Unless that player was on your team for less than half of the season, then this would still be year 1.
I hope all of that made sense to everyone. Please leave any thoughts or concerns you may in the comments. Also, check the league page to vote in a poll about the 2 QB rule.
Aww Here it Goes,
The Commish
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