A Discussion On The Pause Time For Draft Champions Leagues

[Greg Ambrosius]

In the NFBC, we have Draft Champions leagues that consist of 50 rounds and 15 teams and that contest is so popular that we will finish this year with close to 5,000 teams. We have the same 6-hour pause at night between 2 am and 8 am ET and there was some feedback that this format could become even more popular with a longer pause window. We are open to the idea.

Also in the NFBC, more people this year did 2-Hour DCs than 4-Hour DCs, the first time that has happened. And the thought is that even more people would switch from the 4-Hour DC to the 2-Hour DC if they didn't have to stay up so late at night (or get up so early on the West Coast) for this format. So yes, we are considering a change for 2023 in the NFBC.

That being said, I have heard the same thing in the NFFC where currently the 4-Hour DCs are far more popular than the 2-Hour DCs. Could an 8-hour pause window rather than a 6-hour pause window improve this format in football as well? We're asking you that now.

I don't have the data, but it does seem like people still make some picks during the pause, so my question to everyone now is:

Should we expand the pause time? Would a pause of 1 pm to 9 am ET allow more people to play in the 2-Hour format and still make picks if they are on pause? Or would the 2 extra pause hours slow down drafts to the point of no return?

So choices are:

1. Keep Pause at 2 am to 8 am ET
2. Expand Pause to 1 am to 9 am ET
3. Expand Pause to 1 am to 8 am ET
4. Other suggestions

I'm curious about this enough to make the change this year if the demand is there. I've heard feedback on different scenarios, so chime in and we'll take down the data and decide for ourselves. If we can improve this format at all we will. And this seems like an area that maybe could be improved.

What do you think? All answers are welcome.

[Greg Ambrosius]

The baseball discussion can be found here:

https://nfbcforums.shgn.com/viewtopic.p ... 7c#p228557

[Coltsfan]

Greg,

Yes I would do more leagues and leagues with quicker clocks during the day if the pause wasn't so short in the evening. If I go to bed at 10 (I get up very early) and it's 8 picks away from me then I have to completely guess as to what is going to happen during those picks. If 6 QB's go then I might want to go QB instead of another position because of how the draft is following. I don't have the ability to do that on auto pick. And I have already been auto picked a couple of times this year and it zaps the fun out of drafting. Please consider moving the draft pause time to 8 hours. It won't make hardly any difference in the time it takes to complete a draft and it sure will make it easier to draft more leagues at once. I moved from doing 3-5 at a time last year down to 1 at a time this year because of over night autopicks. I just can't stay up late each night to check on my picks.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Coltsfan]

My suggestion would be 1 - 9 eastern. That would give the west coast folks time to get up in the morning and make a pick between 6 and 7 their time if needed. (12-9 would be even better but I don't won't to ask for too much.)


Wayne

[chriseibl]

I would love options 2 or 3 with the clock pausing an hour earlier at night and would probably play longer with a longer pause. I do a lot of Draft Champions in Spring but tend to slow down in April when I miss the option of going to bed an hour earlier. Obviously I'm biased to my time zone though and understand west coast/east coast have different preferences.

[eliasond]

Generally I'm good with the existing 6-hour pause when the clock is at 4 hours. When it goes to 2 hours in the later rounds, or if I start with a 2-hour draft from the beginning, the 6-hour pause is ok for me but marginal, especially in the mornings (I live in central time and am a night owl!). When a 2-hour draft goes down to the 1-hour clock, I start to have my clock run out and get autopicked sometimes in the mornings.

Here's a novel idea I have for you -- do you have the ability to adjust the pause time in the middle of the draft when the clock switches from 4 hours to 2 hours, or from 2 hours to 1 hour?

My suggestion would be to always have the SUM of the pause time + the draft clock be at least 8 hours, and preferably 9 hours. So the pause time would get a bit longer with the shorter draft clock. Not sure if you can program that, but just my 2 cents.

[Sandman62]

Greg,

Yes I would do more leagues and leagues with quicker clocks during the day if the pause wasn't so short in the evening. If I go to bed at 10 (I get up very early) and it's 8 picks away from me then I have to completely guess as to what is going to happen during those picks. If 6 QB's go then I might want to go QB instead of another position because of how the draft is following. I don't have the ability to do that on auto pick. And I have already been auto picked a couple of times this year and it zaps the fun out of drafting. Please consider moving the draft pause time to 8 hours. It won't make hardly any difference in the time it takes to complete a draft and it sure will make it easier to draft more leagues at once. I moved from doing 3-5 at a time last year down to 1 at a time this year because of over night autopicks. I just can't stay up late each night to check on my picks.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Coltsfan]

Any response to this Greg? I was in a draft and someone else was saying that they have issues with the draft times going so late before the pause and then another person replied that they have the same issue. I didn't even bring it up. It's brutal on the non west coast folks. Can we please get this changed? It's not going to add to the length of your drafts.


Wayne

[BLACKHAND]

I think most of us would prefer the two-hour drafts but staying up late at night when you get up early in the morning is rough. I agree with Wayne that options number two and number three would definitely be the best and I think it would lead to a lot more two hour drafts than four hour drafts.

[BigBlueNation]

I would like to see the pause moved to 1:00ET. Option 2 or 3 is fine with me. I'm an early to bed and early riser, so not too particular about the restart.