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Greg and the rest of the guys – I realize it is too late to do anything about this upcoming season, but I would like to get you to consider changing the current NFFC Regular Head To Head format to a Modified Head To Head version for next year. After reading this suggestion you feel it may have something going for it other than passing interest, it might be something you can boot around at the upcoming drafts. In any event, I believe that the optimal method to ensure the fairest possible outcome for NFFC would be to employ the Modified Head To Head format. The following is outline of the Modified format:

In the proposed format, each week each team is matched against every other team in their respective 14 team league. One win is awarded for each team defeated by your team score that week. Score the most points in the league for the week and you receive 13 wins. Score the second highest total and you receive 12 wins – and so on and so on. The team with the most total wins after 13 weeks is declared the League Champ. The WildCard is the team that scored the most points over 13 weeks of the remaining 13 teams in the league. Both advance to the NFFC playoffs.

Further, the regular head to head format should not be employed in the playoff either. To determine the ultimate dollars between the playoff teams, the total aggregate points for weeks 14, 15 and 16 along with the regular season weekly average should be combined to produce a final total score. The highest total wins the bucks! (Total bench points could be used to break ties.)

Although the current format is a classic and traditional method, it is not an optimal fit for world championship caliber tournaments. To put it more succinctly – the regular style head to head format leaves too much to chance. Too many times this random style scheduling format generates unfair results. I am sure many of you out there have found in your own fantasy league play, that there are weeks in any given fantasy season where the top two scoring teams for that particular week just happen to play each other.

For example, Team A scores 100 points against Team B’s 99-point performance and thus wins their head to head match-up. The other 5 contests that week also produce their requisite winners and losers. The injustice in this format however is illustrated in the fact that the other 10 teams all scored fewer points than Team B that week – but five of them got the “W”. If Team B would have been matched up against any other team of the other ten teams that week, they would have come away with a win. But unluckily, as fate would have it, they came up with zilch.

And to add insult to injury, as the weeks go by and some of the weaker teams start to lose interest and fail to manage their lineups. This results in another less than fair scenario. The teams that just happen to be matched against these weaker, less attentive teams, receive an unfair advantage over the rest of the league. For example, let’s say the team currently leading the league after 12 weeks is pitted against two cellar dwellers the final two weeks of the season. While the next two teams in the standings happen to be going against teams still in the hunt. Something is fundamentally wrong with this picture! Too many skillfully drafted and managed teams are side swiped by this "luck of the draw" scheduling method. In this old style head to head format, too often teams with the highest scoring average either fail to make the playoffs or lose a championship because of an untimely and unfortunate match-up.

Most of you would probably agree that the regular head to head format was used by many leagues in the early years of fantasy football simply because it was easier to track. And, it mirrored the NFL. It is also important to note that most leagues were established in a relatively small geographic area and consisted of participants that knew each other. In the NFFC guys don’t want to be playing in the same league with people that already know on a friendly basis. This is a money league! Not a social event. There is too much money at stake not to take the maximum pre-cautions to reduce the luck factor.

Thanks for considering this guys.

I like it as it shows who actually had the best teams and takes the luck of matchups out of it.

Good post fleaflicker.

Does someone here play Fantasy Jungle???

I'm always in favor of having the best teams win. Something like a power schedule. BUT, I don't think the fantasy masses would like this (at this time). Maybe a couple years from now...

Thanks for the suggestion fleaflicker. Yes, I'm certainly aware of that head-to-head format and it works well when the masses understand that concept. In essence, it's probably the most thorough way to determine the head-to-head champion.

As you said, that would determine our $5,000 champion in each league and advances that person to the playoffs. They carry their weekly scoring average into the playoffs and then the high point total over those last three weeks wins the grand prize, just like we have it now.

It's worth considering in the future, but you are correct that most fantasy leagues do the basic head-to-head concept because that's what the NFL does. Even NFL teams run into hot teams some weeks and teams that rest players in other weeks (the Packers thank the Broncos in Week 17 last year). It's part of the game.

But I think that's exactly why we allow the head-to-head champion and the highest point total team (other than H2H champion) into the playoffs. Hopefully, we're bringing the two best teams from each league into the playoffs. It's possible if we did the head-to-head your way, the champions would be different, but we'll see.

Bottom line: Solid suggestion and it is a great format. The NFFC just isn't ready to go that route right now.

Fleaflicker great post....you have to remember some guys rather be lucky then good...that's why most football fantasy owners hate roto baseball...too long and you have to be too good...can't be lucky for 26 weeks....I'm all for the modified head to head (takes the luck out)or staying with the current and most widely used head to head format..we'll see if the best teams are truly the #1 and #2 teams in each division this year in the NFFC

I would be into adding modified head to head as a backdoor into the playoffs, but using it as the main criteria eliminates the fun of rooting against the players your playing.

I've played in leagues that employ the format that fleaflicker speaks of, and I have to agree that it's the purest way to establish the best team. On the other hand, there are many people that support the format we're using here, and make some good points with their reasoning on the subject. As for me...just gimme the damn ball and let's get it on!

I like the concept flea. That's why I was glad to see the total point leader get into the playoffs as well. However, I do agree with ICO on the fun of rooting for and against players for individual matchups. Also, it seems as though an injury to an important player, for even a couple of weeks, would be even more devastating than it is for the current format. At least if you lose a player for only a couple of weeks, you will still have a chance to outscore the 1 team that you are playing against.