Last Week's Question (and other old
business)
You have my apologies in advance for a jumpy column, but I'm not
used to getting so much feedback (on so many different fronts) this
late in the fantasy season. I'm eager to share the complicated question
I received about anonymous accusations of collusion this week, but
putting that question in context will take up most of my space.
Please forgive me for compressing feedback to last
week's column into short numbered sections that I hope to return
to/expand on in coming weeks.
1) Embittered writer seeks hybrid league
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request to explore various
alternatives to pure H2H formats. The bad news is that I'm sifting
through too much correspondence with too many folks to know exactly
which approaches I'll attempt to study firsthand next season, but
the good news is that I have a bunch of creative scoring systems
to report on. I look forward to sharing details as the season winds
down.
If you were traveling for T-day and missed your chance to send in
a description of how your league reduces the luck factor inherent
in the H2H format, you can
still write in. You can also let me know if you want to participate
in a single league designed to test multiple formats. Currently,
I think the best use of time would be to have just one draft or
auction, but then play out the season according to different rules
(i.e. simultaneously using the same roster against the same opponents
in different league formats) to see which model strikes the best
balance between fairness and fun.
2) Spreadsheet follow-up
Last week's column included a link to a spreadsheet (with "all-play"
and "what-if?" functionality) designed by a reader named
Phil. It's still available
for download at FFToday for readers who would like a copy, but
Phil also wanted me to let readers know that if their leagues are
hosted by nfl.com, they can find the "all-play" records
simply by selecting "Standings" under the "Breakdown"
tab on the main page. (Thanks for the heads up, Phil.)
I have also received Gary's permission to post a link to an un-sanitized
version of the spreadsheet from his league. This is something readers
may want to adapt for their own purposes, but I think it's primarily
useful as an example of how a simple Excel file can become the historical
memory of a league (especially for those who rely on free league-hosting
services that don't keep records from one year to the next).
Download: Win-Loss Records spreadsheet
This Week's Question: How does your
league handle anonymous accusations?
This week I got a call from a commissioner (let's call him "the
sheriff") whom I happen to know in person. He's dealing with
the fallout of a situation very close to something reported by Bill
(and featured in this column back in Week 11):
It was clear to me (and others), that the guy was running his wife's
team. Both teams would log in to the website at the same time. One
team would drop a player and the other team would immediately pick
up that player.
The sheriff's situation is trickier than the one described by Bill
because he doesn't just have a couple of spouses in his league.
He has a whole family; we'll call them the Hatfields. In fact, Ma
and Pa Hatfield are founding members of the league. Their kids (Brother
Hatfield and Sister Hatfield) are also long-time members.
Another member of the league (let's call him Incensed McCoy) filed
a complaint with the sheriff because he saw something fishy happen
in Week 12. McCoy needed to win his game against Brother Hatfield
to advance to the postseason, and he thought had a good chance at
a victory because Brother Hatfield's best running backs were either
injured or on a bye. Since the trade deadline had passed, Brother
Hatfield would have to rely on the waiver wire, and the pickings
were slim.
But then Ma Hatfield and Brother Hatfield logged in to the website.
Ma cut Alfred Blue (who had rushed for 136 yards vs. Cleveland the
previous week). Brother Hatfield immediately picked up Blue. Incensed
McCoy was livid and demanded that the sheriff take action.
The sheriff called the Hatfields. Pa answered, but he explained
that he wasn't really following the league anymore. He admitted
that he didn't have time for fantasy football and that Ma Hatfield
had been managing his team for years. The scales fell from the sheriff's
eyes, and he suspected that he suddenly understood why Ma Hatfield
had more championships to her credit than any other owner in the
league.
Based on the conversation with Pa Hatfield and the timing of the
cut/acquisition of Blue, the sheriff felt he had sufficient cause
to reverse the Blue transaction (which he deemed an unethical use
of the waiver wire to execute a trade after the trade deadline had
passed). He instituted other penalties against Ma and Brother Hatfield,
but the league's competition committee thought that his reprisals
were too harsh, and they voted to soften the punishments (although
they agreed that Brother Hatfield wasn't entitled to keep Blue).
Nevertheless, Ma and Brother Hatfield maintained their innocence.
They claimed that they both just happened to be on the website at
the same time, that Ma had no idea how badly Brother Hatfield needed
a running back when she cut Blue, and that she didn't have to explain
why she would suddenly decide to cut Blue immediately following
his best game of the season.
Furthermore, since the sheriff had never mentioned that the initial
complaint came from Incensed McCoy, the Hatfields suggested that
it might have been fabricated by the sheriff himself and that he
was simply abusing his power to persecute them unfairly. This put
the sheriff in a bind.
On the face of things, it seemed reasonable for the Hatfields to
want to know who had accused them of cheating. But Incensed McCoy
was the only McCoy in the entire league, and the sheriff was worried
that the Hatfields might gang up on him for years to come.
Experienced FFers won't have to work too hard to imagine the vendetta
scenarios as they might play out. In 2015, when Incensed McCoy's
primary QB is injured and his backup is on a bye, perhaps he won't
be able to find anyone worth starting on waivers because every Hatfield
in the league will have picked up two spare QBs. (What a coincidence!)
Or maybe Incensed McCoy will be on the verge of executing a trade
of his best TE for the RB he needs, but one of the Hatfields will
swoop in to offer the owner of the RB a slightly better TE--just
to keep McCoy from filling his roster gaps.
The sheriff considered preserving Incensed McCoy's anonymity by
forwarding his emailed complaint to the league's 3-person competition
committee under strictest confidence. But was it realistic to expect
that secret to be kept from the Hatfields (and the rest of the league)
once three other owners knew "whodunnit"?
In the end, the sheriff asked Incensed McCoy whether he was willing
to step forward publicly as the one who had complained, and McCoy
agreed to do so.
There's no telling whether there will be any repercussions from
this incident in the future. For the time being, the sheriff is
satisfied with the way things turned out.
But he called me because he doesn't know how he will handle anonymous
complaints in the future. If McCoy had been unwilling to step forward,
then the Hatfields could have continued to call the sheriff's integrity
into question by contending that he was inventing complaints against
them. As we all know, a commissioner's job is hard enough without
having to work under a cloud of secrecy and/or distrust.
Of course, it's easy to forget how many Incensed McCoys there are
floating around in various FF leagues. Most leagues have a core
group of co-workers or friends who know each other in real life,
but they round out the league with two or three owners who may only
be connected to the rest of the league through one person. It's
easy to see why such outsiders would prefer to be able to report
suspicious activity or infractions without feeling as if they are
opening the door to some kind of coordinated retaliation.
The sheriff wants to formulate a league policy concerning the anonymity
of those who file complaints, and he isn't sure which way to go.
Should he continue to allow owners to complain to him about the
behavior of other owners under the protection of anonymity, or should
he announce that anyone who wants to report a perceived infraction
must be willing to stand up and take ownership of the complaint?
If your league has a policy that expressly allows or forbids anonymous
complaints, please take a few minutes to let
me know how that policy came into being. I also look forward
to hearing from those who simply wish to let the sheriff know what
they would do in his shoes.
Survivor Picks - Week 14 (Courtesy of
Matthew Schiff)
Trap Game: New York Giants at Tennessee
Say it isn’t so? Can the G-Men lose two consecutive games
against inferior opponents? I hope not, but the Giants have turned
into zombies. Rashad Jennings has been a great spark after coming
back from a strained knee ligament injury mid-season, and Odell
Beckham is making a case for Rookie of the Year. But this team keeps
finding ways to lose games and gave up a 21-0 lead to a Jaguars
team that is 29th in offense in the league. And here's the paradox
for NYG fans: Since the Titans are arguably as BAD as the Jaguars,
they have just as GOOD a chance as Jacksonville of beating the pulseless
Giants. I'm talking about a Titans team that was torched by Ryan
Fitzpatrick for 350+ yards and six--yes six--touchdowns. Unfortunately
for the Giants, Eli isn’t half as smart as Ryan (an Ole Miss/Harvard
thing I guess), and it’s doubtful that Manning will read the
Tennessee defense as well as Fitzpatrick did. Only take this game
if you enjoy a healthy dose of Maalox (or whatever your favorite
anti-acid is) before kickoff. If the Giants win, it won’t
be by a lot.
#3: Detroit over Tampa (12-1: PIT, NO, CIN,
SF, CLE, SD, NE, KC, SEA, DEN, GB, PHL, STL)
The Lions are starting to look like one of the top teams in the
NFC. Maybe they aren't quite in the same class as the Packers, but
if they were to play Green Bay ten times, they might squeak out
three wins. This week the Lions have to prove that they can win
against one of the teams that they “should” beat. The
Buccaneer offensive line is no match for the top defense in the
NFL, which should create a number of second- and third-and-long
situations that are ripe for generating turnovers. Even if the Tampa
defenders play as well as they did against the Bengals, it probably
won't be enough for the win (precisely in the way that it wasn't
enough against Cincinnati). Josh McCown has provided a much needed
spark, and Mike Evans has established himself as the “go-to
guy," but the Lions are on a mission and are getting healthy.
Now is the time for them to “step up.” If you haven’t
used Detroit, take them emphatically as your option this week.
#2: Minnesota over NY Jets (8-5: CHI, Sea,
NO, TB, DET, Den, CLE, MIA, KC, BAL, SF, GB, HOU)
No Adrian Peterson sightings are expected anytime soon in Minnesota,
but that shouldn’t matter for a team that is trying to find
its own identity without him. This week Rex Ryan takes his lovely
band of poorly chosen misfits to Minnesota in the hope of salvaging
some self-respect against a Vikings team that is definitely beatable.
As nice as it might be for Ryan to win just one more game before
he is shown the door in New York, there's no reason to think that
his players are motivated to perform at a high level. Take the home
team in this one and expect a lackluster win for Minnesota. The
only good news in this game is that the fans won’t be sitting
in minus degree temperatures and heavy snow drifts in December as
the forecast is for a balmy 32 degrees.
#1: New Orleans over Carolina (10-3: PHI,
DEN, NE, SD, GB, SEA, BAL, DAL, CIN, AZ, WAS, IND, DET)
<Sirens> If bells aren’t going off in your head with
this pick, then you haven’t paid attention to the way I select
my recommendations. I'm breaking all the major rules with this one
by picking a late-season division rivalry featuring two teams that
have played inconsistent ball all year long. Cruel gods of the schedule!
Why have you trapped me into selecting such a travesty of a game
with so little of the regular season left? Drew Brees and company
have hardly proven that they should make the playoffs (let alone
be perched atop an NFC South that is the weakest single division
we've seen in ages). As everyone seems to know, the combined record
of that division is the worst in the NFL, and there are thoughts
about changing the playoff seedings next year because of this. But
someone has to win this game, and the Saints are at home knowing
that a win against the Panthers would make their “magic number”
only two. So in spite of the fact that New Orleans is looking to
draft a quarterback high in 2015’s draft, this “old
man QB” should put together a special afternoon in front of
Tom Benson (owner) and his Nawlins faithful and bring home a victory.
Who dat gonna beat them Saints? Who dat? Not these Panthers. Not
in the Big Easy.
Mike Davis has been writing about fantasy football since 1999.
As a landlocked Oklahoman who longs for the sound of ocean waves,
he also writes about ocean colonization under the pen name Studio
Dongo. The latest installment in his science fiction series can
be found here.
|
