NFFC Rules Changes Proposed For 2018; Let's Discuss

[Greg Ambrosius]

Also, we aren't getting rid of the kickers in the NFFC. It's a part of the game, like it or not. This year Greg Zeurlein was a big part of some teams' successes before he got hurt. Yes, there's luck involved, but what part of fantasy football doesn't have luck involved. For the DCs only, we are thinking about Team Kicker, while keeping Team D/ST separate.

BRILLIANT is cool. I can warm up to that!! But I agree, it would be very unique, allow folks to enjoy the format and then really use their expertise during the money rounds. Let's hear more feedback from more owners. Thanks all.

[moyer1313]

2. Team Kicker for NFFC Draft Champions Leagues?:

Absolutely not. Keep it as it is. Reward those that take the time to actually research the position and invest earlier draft picks in them.

With Team Kickers, everyone just waits to the end until they think they might not be able to get 2 of them and then just take whatever is left.

3. Less Than 35 Rounds For Draft Champions Leagues:

I only do the individual leagues, so I'll limit my opinion to those.

Definitely 26 for live drafts in LV. 28 or maybe 30 for early drafts is a maximum.

Please, do not go to 35.

4. Change 8 Hour Draft Champions to 4 Hours:

Stopping the clock overnight is unfair to those that work 3rd shift and sleep during the day. Whatever time is decided upon, it should not include stopping the clock.

Mark
Follow Me

[Tom Kessenich]

Mark, you can still make picks with the clock stopped. It's not shutting off the draft, just pausing the clock overnight. But you can still make picks if you want during that time.

[Sandman62]

Possible Rules Changes In 2018:
1. FAAB Before Week 1:

Having FAAB prior to the season starting would certainly help in the injury department, but it'd also let people clear their rosters of bad picks too, which seems a bit like a "mulligan" for poor drafts (mine included ).

Isn't part of the strategy trying to land players before their ADPs settle in? Would this possibly reduce the volume of early draft season leagues people enter?

Maybe consider only allowing preseason FAAB to replace I/R players and not just upgrade half your roster?

2. Team Kicker for NFFC Draft Champions Leagues?:

Like some others have said, I'd prefer no kickers. But if that's not on the table, then team kickers for DCs would help.

I remember in 2011 in my Sandman DC having to play the whole season with no kickers, after I drafted the top two kickers that year (by NFFC ADP): Saints kicker Garrett Hartley and Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding - neither of whom made it to opening day.

So though Mark suggested: Reward those that take the time to actually research the position and invest earlier draft picks in them. I sure didn't get rewarded for that strategy.

Actual 2017 Finish vs. ADP:
Finish ADP Player Pts
1 21 Zuerlein, Greg (LAR) 193.1
2 2 Gostkowski, Stephen (NE) 175
3 25 Gould, Robbie (SF) 172.3
4 14 Boswell, Chris (PIT) 164.9
5 1 Tucker, Justin (BAL) 163.6
6 - Butker, Harrison (KC) 161.4
7 8 Lutz, Wil (NO) 160.1
8 17 Succop, Ryan (TEN) 156.3
9 3 Bryant, Matt (ATL) 154.2
10 22 Forbath, Kai (MIN) 154.2
11 6 Prater, Matt (DET) 151.1
12 30 Elliott, Jake (PHI) 147

That's quite a few low-drafted kickers atop and throughout this list - for a position that's almost entirely drafted in the last round or two of leagues.

3. Less Than 35 Rounds For Draft Champions Leagues:

I'm fine with reducing to 30 rounds.

While I largely agree that not many useful players come from these rounds, we do see a lot of people backup their QBs here (often if they didn't take a starting QB3). But I suppose we'd just draft them sooner if only 30 rounds, as they're kinda like insurance - you buy it hoping to never have to use it, but you still buy it.

For some context, here are a half dozen DCs I was in this year and the short list of useful players drafted in the last 60 picks:
DC1: QB Hundley, WR Agholor
DC2: RB Morris, RB Cohen, WR Gordon, WR Ellington, QB Hundley
DC3: QB Hundley, K Elliott
DC4: WR Ellington, K Butker, WR Gordon, QB Brissett, QB Hundley
BillyWaz DC: RB Barber, RB RSmith, QB Hundley
Sandman DC: QB Hundley, TE Kroft, RB RSmith

4. Change 8 Hour Draft Champions to 4 Hours:

As long as it goes to sleep overnight, I'm fine with 4 hours too.

5. NFFC Cutline Championship:
The NFFC Cutline Championship would remain a 10-team, 26-round draft. We'd use it as an optimal scoring setup for the first 9 weeks of the regular-season and still have only 3 FAAB periods on a Friday of those weeks.

I love this idea! With only 10 teams per league and deeper rosters, our benches are much stronger than 12-team leagues, making start/sit decisions much more difficult. Using optimal scoring would, IMO, remove some of the bad luck of starting the "right" players, but watching them crap the bed too many weeks. And it would reward well-constructed rosters a bit more.

[moyer1313]

Mark, you can still make picks with the clock stopped. It's not shutting off the draft, just pausing the clock overnight. But you can still make picks if you want during that time.

Unfortunately, this is what most people think the problem is. It isn't.

The problem is that the 3rd Shift worker has to set predrafts for the time that they are sleeping during the day, which is the exact problem that you are trying to prevent for the people that do not work 3rd Shift by stopping the clock overnight.

The 3rd Shift worker doesn't get the advantage of a stopped clock while they sleep and has to set predrafts.

Why not force everyone to have to set predrafts while they sleep and not just the 3rd Shift workers? That would speed the drafts up to a much more likable pace.

Mark
Follow Me

[eliasond]

I do 6-7 DC's a year + 1 OC + 1 live Primetime + 1 live Classic + 1-2 live auctions + 1-2 cutlines. Here are my opinions.
#1 -- FAAB before Week 1 would be fine but I don't have a strong opinion either way.
#2 -- Team Kicker for DC -- my vote is yes. All the research and prep in the world doesn't help you when 2 or 3 of your kickers go down with injuries and they previously did not have injury histories.
#3 -- DC # of Rounds -- not in favor of reducing and in fact would prefer that the online DC's be increased to 40 rds. I always finish a 35-rd DC with a bunch of players in my queue that should be drafted by someone. Here's a sample of players from one of my earlier DC's this year that didn't get drafted at all in 35 rounds. Keenum, Brissett, Buck Allen, Alex Collins, Keelin Cole, Ryan Grant, Kroft, Kittle, M Lewis, Butker, Fairbairn, Tavecchio, Bullock. There are plenty of others I could have listed, but I have limited this list to players that finished in the Top 25 for QB, RB, TE, and K, and Top 50 at WR.
#4 -- 8-hr vs 4-hr DC -- I am currently doing a 4-hr BB DC and it's working fine, but I do think a good point was made by a previous poster about penalizing people on the night shift.
#5 -- Cutline -- I think switching to 2-week playoff rounds is a pretty good idea instead of 3-1-1-1-1. How about 1-2-2-2? The first week could be a 1-week round since there are so many teams in the playoffs that a lot of teams advance even if they have an off week. Undecided on the question of automatic optimal lineup vs manually set lineups.
Good discussion!
Daren.

[TR]

I'd like to see 1/2 PPR for RBs brought back.

[TR]

I'd like to see good defenses rewarded more..not so heavy on on turnovers, sacks, TDs..at the very least a shutout should be worth more than a measly 2 extra points...should be at least 5...something more significant for such a difficult feat.

[JohnP]

I'd like to see good defenses rewarded more..not so heavy on on turnovers, sacks, TDs..at the very least a shutout should be worth more than a measly 2 extra points...should be at least 5...something more significant for such a difficult feat.

Just a point of clarification - here is the current scoring rule pertaining to points allowed:

12 points for a shutout by the entire team
8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team

I also agree though that defense scoring should be skewed more towards points allowed.

[TR]

I'd like to see good defenses rewarded more..not so heavy on on turnovers, sacks, TDs..at the very least a shutout should be worth more than a measly 2 extra points...should be at least 5...something more significant for such a difficult feat.

Just a point of clarification - here is the current scoring rule pertaining to points allowed:

12 points for a shutout by the entire team
8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team

I also agree though that defense scoring should be skewed more towards points allowed.

Thanks John...I was wrong in the way I worded it..thinking about the 10 points defenses given before points added or subtracted. But yeah, I think defense scoring should be skewed more towards point allowed...either add a few points for each tier in the current 17 pts and under system or start subtracting points for allowing 18+