Lineup Submission Thought

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,

I'm not sure if this is even possible but I"m going to make a suggestion. (You could be the first to offer this! )

I almost never go to live football games because I'm always so worried about lineup decisions and last minute inactives. Would it be possible to have default players that would be put in your lineup if a player was inactive? For instance, say you had started Stevan Ridley at RB and he is declared inactive 10 minutes before the game. Could you have a backup choice for Ridley in case he was not active for the game? Obviously you couldn't put in a player who had already played but in many cases it would make life a lot easier if we could make these kind of decisions well in advance of Sunday and not get caught having to make a choice in 2 minutes in the event of a late scratch.

I don't think this would be a huge programming issue. It's just a thought but I would bet that fantasy players would really like to have this option.


Wayne

Sorry Wayne, I was out of the office this afternoon dealing with a family matter. I can ask our IT department if this is even possible to program and if so how long it would take. It sounds like you'd almost need this backup option for every potential starter, right? Or would you list them like first option at RB, first option at WR, etc.?

Inactives are usually announced an hour before game time, correct? I do hear ya about making lineup decisions easier for folks and I'll look into this and other options, but I have to admit that for this year we are still working hard on a few other items. But let's look at this and see what the programmers say. Thanks for the idea.

I'm serious about providing the ideas. I've said it before, but the beauty of joining STATS last year is that we own the back-end software and so each year we want to enhance it and improve it. It's ours and we should make it better and better each year. We wanted to make sure everything worked perfectly last year after a year away, so enhancements were limited. This year, however, we are adding live overall standings, live Draft Champions scoring, an improved Countdown page, team toggles under Set Lineup and a few other items. But it never hurts to add more to the list. Thanks.

[Rob B]

I get where this discussion is going but I do not see how this can or should be done by an operator.

Why?

You are putting the onus on the game operator to ensure that THEY automate their system and correctly adjust every NFL players status in a timely manner. IMHO, doing so has the potential to open of some serious legal issues down the road. I can think of several examples where this could create more problems than it is worth to consider.

The responsibility for monitoring ones roster relating to injuries or whether or not players are even active should fall squarely on the shoulders of the players. Participants who are glued to their smart phones or computers and tvs on Sunday morning should have the ability to gain a competitive advantage over those who are at a sporting event or golfing or fishing or doing anything other than being actively involved in the management of their teams during this critical time. That's my old-school take on the subject.

[Coltsfan]

Greg,

It would have to be a designated backup for each position. So if Arian is out then you can designate Tate to be in the lineup. (Assuming you have Tate! ) It would only work with inactive players. It's just a thought but it sure would make life simpler. Plus it might reduce the angry posts about inactive players that are left in the lineups. There are times when you just can't be at a computer or smartphone right before every game.


Wayne

[Rob B]

Plus it might reduce the angry posts about inactive players that are left in the lineups.

This won't help with the deadbeat/turd issue. Participants that do not monitor their rosters aren't likely to go one step further and set alternatives.

Inactives are usually announced an hour before game time, correct?

What about late scratches due to injuries during warmups or flareups or whatever? Greg, is your tech staff going to take responsibility for ensuring that this gets monitored and implemented at every deadline each week?

Time: For each team you own this concept will add another 2-5 minutes per week to your weekly workload. If you have ten teams to manage you could lose another half hour or more each week. You can say you won't set an alternate for every position but you will. You would be stupid not to. You'll have to set each position and then check the alternates every time you go back to check and recheck your rosters. Each visit that clock will be ticking a little longer. Are the diehards ready to add another hour or more to their weekly workload? Just curious if the benefits outweigh the downside.

Last nuggets: Does this dumb down the game a little or is a technological advancement that improves the game for all players? Is it really needed or are their more glaring improvements that Stats can consider to improve the experience for all players and not just the ones who have too many teams or are busy Sunday mornings?

[Coltsfan]

Rob,

I'm a little surprised that anyone wouldn't like this. You don't have to use it..... I just think it would be a nice safe guard that we haven't had in the past. And it only applies to players who are declared inactive. So it wouldn't be hard to track.

True you can't stop turd owners but there are good owners who end up playing guys who are inactive because they couldn't be at the computer when the news came out. The only down side I see is can Stats do it.


Wayne

[Sideline Sage]

This would be a great addition. It's hard to get updates on a phone and change lineups.

[BLACKHAND]

I get where this discussion is going but I do not see how this can or should be done by an operator.

Why?

You are putting the onus on the game operator to ensure that THEY automate their system and correctly adjust every NFL players status in a timely manner. IMHO, doing so has the potential to open of some serious legal issues down the road. I can think of several examples where this could create more problems than it is worth to consider.

The responsibility for monitoring ones roster relating to injuries or whether or not players are even active should fall squarely on the shoulders of the players. Participants who are glued to their smart phones or computers and tvs on Sunday morning should have the ability to gain a competitive advantage over those who are at a sporting event or golfing or fishing or doing anything other than being actively involved in the management of their teams during this critical time. That's my old-school take on the subject.

why be at a disadvantage by having a life. i have taken my fair share of zero by going to jet games. never complained and never will. a zero is the price i pay for making my kids happy. it does happen at bad times if there is a way to improve this , then it would be great.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Good discussion and I certainly understand Rob's points. It's not our job to automatically insert players into your lineups, but I do agree with Wayne that as a game operator we should look at every technological enhancement we can make to the game. Maybe we can help without actually automating a lineup change, we'll see.

We are working on some mobile enhancements that may help with information and possibly lineups. However, even that won't be the answer if the NFL doesn't help at the games. I go to Lambeau Field for every home game and can't access the Internet inside the stadium, which is incredibly frustrating. They hardly ever show RedZone updates or scores, too, which is doubly frustrating. I know why the NFL teams do this, but if they continue people will just stay home and watch games on their Sunday NFL Ticket. Heck, I have that too but still love being at the game with family on Sundays. But it would be better if they gave me the best of both worlds and let me access scores from Lambeau.

Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed that issue this off-season and said he wants Wi-Fi in every NFL Stadium soon, even addressing the need for fantasy players:

"We believe that it is important to get technology into our stadiums. We have made the point repeatedly that the experience at home is outstanding, and we have to compete with that in some fashion by making sure that we create the same kind of environment in our stadiums.

"We want [fans] to have access to the same information. Have access to our Red Zone, have access to highlights, be able to engage in social media, including fantasy football. When you come to our stadium we want to make it a great experience."

So we're looking at mobile to help in those game-time decisions, but we can ask about Wayne's idea too.