I joined 4 leagues: $250 NBC SATELLITE, $250 NFFC SATELLITE, $650 NFFC AUCTION, $650 NBC AUCTION. I have enjoyed my first year here and look forward to many years to come. Greg and Tom have done a great job of adding rules to this league that are great improvements over many of the typical leagues throughout the country.
Satellite playoffs: Take your average point total for weeks 1-13 and adding that to your scores for weeks 14-16. Great way to decide the league champion! I like the head to head playoffs of the auction leagues also. It is nice to be a part of both playoff formats.
I also liked getting to give a draft preference and to have the draft reversal so the owners with the top picks do not have too much of an advantage.
These were my first ever auction leagues. I look forward to taking what I learned and trying again next year.
Another first for me this year was bidding for free agents. Excellent method of acquiring free agents!
A major difference between my past leagues and here was having the league standings and playoffs standings be determined by a combination of total points and won/loss records. Another great improvement over the leagues I was involved with in recent years.
Week 2 was not a good experience. I took a zero in 3 of the leagues. Everybody has hard luck stories they could tell (questionable holding penalty called away from the play when your player scores a long TD, your player gets tackled at one inch line, your player shoots themself, your RB breaks their leg on first carry of game like Parker did last year, etc,etc,.) My hard luck story is I missed the final four playoffs in the $650 auction league by one win. In week 2 I had Kris Brown as my only kicker and I lost by 8.6 points. Knowing the week 2 problems may have cost me a 1 in 4 chance at $2880 is really the only negative I had this season.
Suggestions:
Play doubleheaders each week.
D scoring: Example, if Rivers throws a int. for TD, do not count the 6 points against the Chargers D.
Also, expand and emphasize D points against to maybe something like this:
shutout 13
2-6 9
7-12 6
13-17 3
18-22 1
23-30 0
29-36 -1
37+ -2
(under the current rules a D that gives up 18 points scores the same as a D that gives up 40 points)
My main point is that I am a very happy customer. I found many things in the NFFC leagues that were vast improvements over other leagues I have been part of in the past.
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
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Greg Ambrosius
- Posts: 36413
- Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:00 pm
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Great feedback Bill and we appreciate it. Defensive scoring is always looked over at season's end and we'll do it again. Welcome to the auction format and we'll find a home for you this baseball season to do another one, too. Thanks and good luck the rest of the football season.
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Greg,
As I stated above, there are a lot of things about the leagues here that are a big improvement over leagues I have been part of in the past. I can only think of 3 things that we use in 2 leagues I run that I miss not having here.
I mentioned the doubleheaders and adding a little more emphasis to the D points against in my message above. I forgot to mention that adding the passer rating points has been very popular in the leagues I run.
Lower QB TD passes to 5 but add the following points for passer rating:
50-59 1/2 point
60-69 1 point
70-79 1 1/2 points
80-89 2 points
90-99 2 1/2 points
100-109 3 points
110-119 3 1/2 points
120-129 4 points
130-139 4 1/2 points
140-149 5 points
150-159 5 1/2 points
As I stated above, there are a lot of things about the leagues here that are a big improvement over leagues I have been part of in the past. I can only think of 3 things that we use in 2 leagues I run that I miss not having here.
I mentioned the doubleheaders and adding a little more emphasis to the D points against in my message above. I forgot to mention that adding the passer rating points has been very popular in the leagues I run.
Lower QB TD passes to 5 but add the following points for passer rating:
50-59 1/2 point
60-69 1 point
70-79 1 1/2 points
80-89 2 points
90-99 2 1/2 points
100-109 3 points
110-119 3 1/2 points
120-129 4 points
130-139 4 1/2 points
140-149 5 points
150-159 5 1/2 points
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Bill, you might be getting just a touch too techinical here as your suggested changes in Defensive scoring amount to a whopping swing of about 3 pts. from 18 to 40 points allowed.
Your lowering TD scoring, and adding passer rating probably quantifies another 3-5 pts. swing.
Do you think the tweaking of 6-8 pts. on a weekly basis plus/minus current scoring system is a 'must have'?
You could add in home field advantage to any Defense getting 2 pts. if you play them at home or giving an extra 2 pts. to any receiver catching the ball from a backup QB, but really.... ??
Your lowering TD scoring, and adding passer rating probably quantifies another 3-5 pts. swing.
Do you think the tweaking of 6-8 pts. on a weekly basis plus/minus current scoring system is a 'must have'?
You could add in home field advantage to any Defense getting 2 pts. if you play them at home or giving an extra 2 pts. to any receiver catching the ball from a backup QB, but really.... ??
The Wonderful thing about Dyv's is I'm the only one!
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Originally posted by Dyv:
Bill, you might be getting just a touch too techinical here as your suggested changes in Defensive scoring amount to a whopping swing of about 3 pts. from 18 to 40 points allowed.
Your lowering TD scoring, and adding passer rating probably quantifies another 3-5 pts. swing.
Do you think the tweaking of 6-8 pts. on a weekly basis plus/minus current scoring system is a 'must have'?
You could add in home field advantage to any Defense getting 2 pts. if you play them at home or giving an extra 2 pts. to any receiver catching the ball from a backup QB, but really.... ?? Please don't kill the young. New blood is great.
Bill you steeping up next year and playing in either or both Main's?
John
Bill, you might be getting just a touch too techinical here as your suggested changes in Defensive scoring amount to a whopping swing of about 3 pts. from 18 to 40 points allowed.
Your lowering TD scoring, and adding passer rating probably quantifies another 3-5 pts. swing.
Do you think the tweaking of 6-8 pts. on a weekly basis plus/minus current scoring system is a 'must have'?
You could add in home field advantage to any Defense getting 2 pts. if you play them at home or giving an extra 2 pts. to any receiver catching the ball from a backup QB, but really.... ?? Please don't kill the young. New blood is great.
Bill you steeping up next year and playing in either or both Main's? John
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
To Dyv,
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my suggestions. Here is my reasoning.
First, I want to only suggest a small change. The current system is very good and does not warrant a large change. I do not think a small change should be dismissed because making little tweaks to a fantasy football league can really improve a league over time.
D scoring: A running back that gains 10 yards does not score the same as a running back that gains 25. Even though it is only 1 1/2 points difference we do not say "it is a small amount so lets have all RB that gain less than 30 yards score the same". Points against is a huge indicator of the success of a D and we should emphasize it a little more AND there should be a small difference in fantasy points between a D that gives up 40 points and a D that gives up 18 points.
Regarding the passer rating: I like it for this reason. A QB that plays a very solid, efficient game (maybe 20 for 24, 190 yards, no ints and 1 TD) gets a pretty good passer rating even though they do not rack up the huge fantasy points under our current system.
Is comparing my ideas to giving bonus points to a receiver who catches a pass from the back-up QB really a fair comparison? The NFL really emphasizes passer rating and how many ponts a D gives up.
Are you against playing doubleheaders also? We started that 3 years ago in 2 leagues I run and everyone loves it.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my suggestions. Here is my reasoning.
First, I want to only suggest a small change. The current system is very good and does not warrant a large change. I do not think a small change should be dismissed because making little tweaks to a fantasy football league can really improve a league over time.
D scoring: A running back that gains 10 yards does not score the same as a running back that gains 25. Even though it is only 1 1/2 points difference we do not say "it is a small amount so lets have all RB that gain less than 30 yards score the same". Points against is a huge indicator of the success of a D and we should emphasize it a little more AND there should be a small difference in fantasy points between a D that gives up 40 points and a D that gives up 18 points.
Regarding the passer rating: I like it for this reason. A QB that plays a very solid, efficient game (maybe 20 for 24, 190 yards, no ints and 1 TD) gets a pretty good passer rating even though they do not rack up the huge fantasy points under our current system.
Is comparing my ideas to giving bonus points to a receiver who catches a pass from the back-up QB really a fair comparison? The NFL really emphasizes passer rating and how many ponts a D gives up.
Are you against playing doubleheaders also? We started that 3 years ago in 2 leagues I run and everyone loves it.
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Raiders,
This year I spent $1,800 on entry fees to be part of 2 auction leagues and 2 satellite leagues.
Regarding next year, I am an independent options/futures trader so my income can be very unpredictable. If I am having a good year I would like to get involved at higher levels.
I understand why many prefer the main events. For me I have a different view. If I decide to spend more money on league entries I would be more inclined to join a higher stakes auction and satellite league. It is clearly just my personal opinion and I have nothing negative to say about the main events. For me, I just like the auction and satellite leagues a little better.
This year I spent $1,800 on entry fees to be part of 2 auction leagues and 2 satellite leagues.
Regarding next year, I am an independent options/futures trader so my income can be very unpredictable. If I am having a good year I would like to get involved at higher levels.
I understand why many prefer the main events. For me I have a different view. If I decide to spend more money on league entries I would be more inclined to join a higher stakes auction and satellite league. It is clearly just my personal opinion and I have nothing negative to say about the main events. For me, I just like the auction and satellite leagues a little better.
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
More reflections from my first season.
A few times this year I have posted my opinions about different league rules. Sometimes the responses I have gotten really surprised me. I did not realize how different many of our views were regarding league rules.
Back in August I was considering a league at a different site. At their message board, I commented about how they have no negative points for a lost fumble. I said losing a fumble is a major stat in football and should be accounted for in the scoring. One person responded with the following reasoning: I do not like to see my player take a hard hit and fumble and cause me to lose any points. The hard hit was not their fault and they should not be penalized for it.
Does that logic make any sense?? I do not like it when my RB gets tackled for a 2 yard loss and it may not have been their fault but I still get a -.2.
Here was another example at that message board. A D that gave up 11 points received 0 fantasy points for this accomplishment. I expressed my view that this was not a good rule. Here was the view I received: A D that gives up 11 points does not deserve any points for it.
That view still baffles me. A RB that gains 10 yards on 15 carries probably does not deserve it but we still give them a point. In todays NFL, a D giving up 11 or 12 points is a great accomplishment in most cases, but that was not even my main point. My view was that just like a RB that gains 30 yards scores more than a RB that gains 15 yards, a D that gives up 12 points should score more than a D that gives up 45 points.
I labeled this thread, "reflections of a first year player in the NFFC". One major reflection I have is realizing how vastly different my views are to many people that participate here and in similar leagues elsewhere.
Seeing Dyv compare my suggestions to giving extra points to a WR who catches passes from a back-up QB reminded me of this.
Also, I am still angry about many of the posts I read about how we should have been prepared for the week 2 situation. It appears to have been a very common strategy to carry one kicker and/or one D. It was reasonable to expect the Ravens/Texans game to be delayed a couple days and/or moved to another site. It was not reasonable to say that we should have been prepared for the chance of the game not being played at all that week. Reading all those posts was a big wake-up call for how different many of us view fantasy football issues and how self-interest creeps into many viewpoints.
A few times this year I have posted my opinions about different league rules. Sometimes the responses I have gotten really surprised me. I did not realize how different many of our views were regarding league rules.
Back in August I was considering a league at a different site. At their message board, I commented about how they have no negative points for a lost fumble. I said losing a fumble is a major stat in football and should be accounted for in the scoring. One person responded with the following reasoning: I do not like to see my player take a hard hit and fumble and cause me to lose any points. The hard hit was not their fault and they should not be penalized for it.
Does that logic make any sense?? I do not like it when my RB gets tackled for a 2 yard loss and it may not have been their fault but I still get a -.2.
Here was another example at that message board. A D that gave up 11 points received 0 fantasy points for this accomplishment. I expressed my view that this was not a good rule. Here was the view I received: A D that gives up 11 points does not deserve any points for it.
That view still baffles me. A RB that gains 10 yards on 15 carries probably does not deserve it but we still give them a point. In todays NFL, a D giving up 11 or 12 points is a great accomplishment in most cases, but that was not even my main point. My view was that just like a RB that gains 30 yards scores more than a RB that gains 15 yards, a D that gives up 12 points should score more than a D that gives up 45 points.
I labeled this thread, "reflections of a first year player in the NFFC". One major reflection I have is realizing how vastly different my views are to many people that participate here and in similar leagues elsewhere.
Seeing Dyv compare my suggestions to giving extra points to a WR who catches passes from a back-up QB reminded me of this.
Also, I am still angry about many of the posts I read about how we should have been prepared for the week 2 situation. It appears to have been a very common strategy to carry one kicker and/or one D. It was reasonable to expect the Ravens/Texans game to be delayed a couple days and/or moved to another site. It was not reasonable to say that we should have been prepared for the chance of the game not being played at all that week. Reading all those posts was a big wake-up call for how different many of us view fantasy football issues and how self-interest creeps into many viewpoints.
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Bill,
Also, I am still angry about many of the posts I read about how we should have been prepared for the week 2 situation. It appears to have been a very common strategy to carry one kicker and/or one D. It was reasonable to expect the Ravens/Texans game to be delayed a couple days and/or moved to another site. It was not reasonable to say that we should have been prepared for the chance of the game not being played at all that week. Reading all those posts was a big wake-up call for how different many of us view fantasy football issues and how self-interest creeps into many viewpoints.
What would You have done if You were Greg? Only one contest that I knew of allowed FA pickups, it hurt me, but I don't think there was anything You could do.
So what could have been done?
John
Also, I am still angry about many of the posts I read about how we should have been prepared for the week 2 situation. It appears to have been a very common strategy to carry one kicker and/or one D. It was reasonable to expect the Ravens/Texans game to be delayed a couple days and/or moved to another site. It was not reasonable to say that we should have been prepared for the chance of the game not being played at all that week. Reading all those posts was a big wake-up call for how different many of us view fantasy football issues and how self-interest creeps into many viewpoints.
What would You have done if You were Greg? Only one contest that I knew of allowed FA pickups, it hurt me, but I don't think there was anything You could do.
So what could have been done?
John
reflections of a 1st year player in NFFC
Bill, why does my comparison of a backup QB throwing a pass have any statistical relevance greater or less than QB ratings? You state that the NFL emphasizes it, but so what? They emphasize advertising and team revenue, too - but that's not relevant at all to the game we play.
Didn't the WR have to adjust to a different player throwing a ball that they aren't used to and therefore show something extraordinary? Why not reward them for it?
I'm fine with putting in a tweak to defensive scoring - though a team giving up 40 pts. but winning is far more impressive to me than a team giving up 18 pts. and losing. Your scoring change doesn't account for the bottom line purpose of the game, it's just 'more stuff' (especially given the fact that points can be scored against an offense (turnovers) not just against a given defense....)
My point, of course, is to simply state that adding more depth and more misc. and sundry scoring plus/negatives doesn't make fantasy football a better GAME.
I'm a little peeved that you would compare my comments (summary: stop being so anal) to someone else's dismissal of a not-my-fault fumble.... that's just ridiculous and I'm far from a PC apologist who thinks it's never anyone's fault as the ignorant poster from 'another game' you referenced clearly is....
The original foundations of fantasy gaming were to create a scoring system that reflected the game and created complexity. Reflected, not mirrored and complexity, not analytic ridiculousness.
If you open up the scoring systems to all the myriad of wrinkles one could imagine or argue into being you lose the fact that this is a game that should be able to be played on 10-20 hours of draft research, 4 hours of draft day fun, 1 hour or so of weekly research and review and 15 hours per week of watching football games and drinking your favorite beverage while sitting on your ass (with your laptop nearby refreshing your scores).
I challenge you to analyze what you've proposed and then get past the 'could every single point be statistically relevant' to does it have any real impact on the game, the people playing it or the amount of time most people can realistically devote to working on their teams.
The key is finding a good balance that is acceptable.
You sound like a reasonable person, but I think your fondness for details and being analytic might be pushing you to lose track of the application of the game and the appeal to the masses it requires to be successful.
If you disagree, I can respectfully accept that. I like the detail, I love analyzing and trying to outwork my leaguemates... but I need people to play the game so the contest isn't just 1 league
I'm fine with doubleheader play - weeding out misc. random weeks or flukes is good.
Dyv
p.s. Oh, for what it's worth, I think the week 2 scenario was ugly for everyone. If you throw in a last minute FA clearance (assuming the website could handle it) you create the mess of giving an advantage to some people and not everyone (some simply wouldn't have known about it). If you wipe out the scoring of all K, D and TE from the game and just use the other positions then you punish the people who spent higher picks on K, D and TE's to try to find an edge. I suppose you could have cancelled the week entirely and thrown it away... but... ??
[ December 11, 2008, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: Dyv ]
Didn't the WR have to adjust to a different player throwing a ball that they aren't used to and therefore show something extraordinary? Why not reward them for it?
I'm fine with putting in a tweak to defensive scoring - though a team giving up 40 pts. but winning is far more impressive to me than a team giving up 18 pts. and losing. Your scoring change doesn't account for the bottom line purpose of the game, it's just 'more stuff' (especially given the fact that points can be scored against an offense (turnovers) not just against a given defense....)
My point, of course, is to simply state that adding more depth and more misc. and sundry scoring plus/negatives doesn't make fantasy football a better GAME.
I'm a little peeved that you would compare my comments (summary: stop being so anal) to someone else's dismissal of a not-my-fault fumble.... that's just ridiculous and I'm far from a PC apologist who thinks it's never anyone's fault as the ignorant poster from 'another game' you referenced clearly is....
The original foundations of fantasy gaming were to create a scoring system that reflected the game and created complexity. Reflected, not mirrored and complexity, not analytic ridiculousness.
If you open up the scoring systems to all the myriad of wrinkles one could imagine or argue into being you lose the fact that this is a game that should be able to be played on 10-20 hours of draft research, 4 hours of draft day fun, 1 hour or so of weekly research and review and 15 hours per week of watching football games and drinking your favorite beverage while sitting on your ass (with your laptop nearby refreshing your scores).
I challenge you to analyze what you've proposed and then get past the 'could every single point be statistically relevant' to does it have any real impact on the game, the people playing it or the amount of time most people can realistically devote to working on their teams.
The key is finding a good balance that is acceptable.
You sound like a reasonable person, but I think your fondness for details and being analytic might be pushing you to lose track of the application of the game and the appeal to the masses it requires to be successful.
If you disagree, I can respectfully accept that. I like the detail, I love analyzing and trying to outwork my leaguemates... but I need people to play the game so the contest isn't just 1 league
I'm fine with doubleheader play - weeding out misc. random weeks or flukes is good.
Dyv
p.s. Oh, for what it's worth, I think the week 2 scenario was ugly for everyone. If you throw in a last minute FA clearance (assuming the website could handle it) you create the mess of giving an advantage to some people and not everyone (some simply wouldn't have known about it). If you wipe out the scoring of all K, D and TE from the game and just use the other positions then you punish the people who spent higher picks on K, D and TE's to try to find an edge. I suppose you could have cancelled the week entirely and thrown it away... but... ??
[ December 11, 2008, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: Dyv ]
The Wonderful thing about Dyv's is I'm the only one!