Great League Format
Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 11:44 am
I am going in my first NFFC league this year. Done lots of leagues before. I wanted to tell you guys about a league I play in, in my home town. It has the best format of any league I have ever gone in. I thought some of you fantasy nuts may want to read this and try it sometime.
The amount of teams varies from year to year, usually about 12 or 13. The scoring system is pretty standard and isn't really the point of what makes the league good. The starting lineups are the same as the NFFC, as are the roster totals. We actually use team QB's, but that not the important part. All of these things could be manipulated and it would still be awesome because.....
it goes all the way to the Super Bowl!
We obviously use total points earned instead of weekly head to head. You field a starting lineup every week, including all the playoff weeks. Here's why it is more fun:
1. It is longer, and for those of us who can't get enough fantasy football, that is a good thing.
2. You have a great chance to come back late in the season if you have a lot of good playoff players.
3. It gets you a little closer to going back to cheering for teams instead of players. Late last season I wanted the Steelers to win, so that they could make the playoffs because I had Ward. I only partially cared how many points he got each week, because if they kept playing I knew the points would come eventually.
4. It makes you try to predict which teams will be good this season and not just players. If you can grab some players from your sleeper playoff team and you are right, you can get the benefits at the end of the season.
5. The playoff weeks don't actually make a huge difference but they do separate similar teams. I've never seen someone go up more than about 3 spots during the playoffs, but it can be the deciding league factor. The regular season is still the deciding factor for most of the teams.
6. It makes draft and trade decisions tricky.
You would usually rather have Tomlinson than Barber, but what if you think the Giants will go to the Super Bowl so you will get 3 extra games from Barber. What about Fitzgerald vs Wayne? Eli Manning vs Delhomme? If you are confident in your ability to predict playoff teams you can go for it. If you don't think you can predict then you can just take the best player and hope for the best. Similar tough calls come in trades during the season. Halfway through the year when half the teams are 3-5, 4-4 or 5-3, picking out the right playoff teams and trading for their guys is a great strategy.
Anyways, I know you are all booked into your leagues for this season, but keep this idea in mind and try it out with a good group of guys next year. If you have any comments or questions about the league just leave them here.
The amount of teams varies from year to year, usually about 12 or 13. The scoring system is pretty standard and isn't really the point of what makes the league good. The starting lineups are the same as the NFFC, as are the roster totals. We actually use team QB's, but that not the important part. All of these things could be manipulated and it would still be awesome because.....
it goes all the way to the Super Bowl!
We obviously use total points earned instead of weekly head to head. You field a starting lineup every week, including all the playoff weeks. Here's why it is more fun:
1. It is longer, and for those of us who can't get enough fantasy football, that is a good thing.
2. You have a great chance to come back late in the season if you have a lot of good playoff players.
3. It gets you a little closer to going back to cheering for teams instead of players. Late last season I wanted the Steelers to win, so that they could make the playoffs because I had Ward. I only partially cared how many points he got each week, because if they kept playing I knew the points would come eventually.
4. It makes you try to predict which teams will be good this season and not just players. If you can grab some players from your sleeper playoff team and you are right, you can get the benefits at the end of the season.
5. The playoff weeks don't actually make a huge difference but they do separate similar teams. I've never seen someone go up more than about 3 spots during the playoffs, but it can be the deciding league factor. The regular season is still the deciding factor for most of the teams.
6. It makes draft and trade decisions tricky.
You would usually rather have Tomlinson than Barber, but what if you think the Giants will go to the Super Bowl so you will get 3 extra games from Barber. What about Fitzgerald vs Wayne? Eli Manning vs Delhomme? If you are confident in your ability to predict playoff teams you can go for it. If you don't think you can predict then you can just take the best player and hope for the best. Similar tough calls come in trades during the season. Halfway through the year when half the teams are 3-5, 4-4 or 5-3, picking out the right playoff teams and trading for their guys is a great strategy.
Anyways, I know you are all booked into your leagues for this season, but keep this idea in mind and try it out with a good group of guys next year. If you have any comments or questions about the league just leave them here.