Loose Ends: A Dynamic Interface for
Shawn's Contest-type League
I want to begin by thanking Dan for writing in with his suggestion
for how Shawn can allow the owners in his contest-type league to
enter their own teams online so that he doesn't have to do all the
data entry by hand to determine the winner.
As I explained last
week, the problem of roster overlap has made it impossible for
Shawn to rely on any number of league-hosting options, so Dan thinks
that Shawn should take a look at DraftDay.com, where the salary
cap option can be set so high that it essentially becomes a non-factor--and
can therefore be used in leagues that have no salary cap at all.
As Dan explains:
Draft Day allows users to create their own games
each week with up to 100 players or more. You can limit entries
with a password, and you can make it “free." You do have
to set a salary cap, but by taking it up to $150,000, most lineups
can be accommodated.
It sounds like a clever work-around to me, and I hope Dan's suggestion
is useful to anyone out there struggling to run an independent "contest-type"
league in which multiple teams are permitted to start the same players.
Last Week's Question: What Do Readers
Think of Peter's Playoff Model?
Thanks to everyone who wrote in to comment on Peter's proposed playoff
model, which, by Peter's own admission, is a response to a "fluke
loss" in the playoffs that left him "sore and bitter."
I'll start with Joe's response because I'm not sure when I will
next get the chance to use the word "rejigger" in a column:
(1) It's interesting, but seems counter to the
finality of the playoffs. I mean, isn't that what it's all about?
Isn't that what makes the championship so magical?
(2) I'm still unclear how teams 3-6 have a shot at the title in
Peter's scenario. 1 plays 2, that's fine. Then what? Are we rejiggering
the matchups every week of the playoffs? I don't get it.
I think the source of Joe's confusion is that Peter has the top-ranked
team (based on record) squaring off against the second-best team
each week of the playoffs. As the records of teams change in the
playoffs, the teams are reseeded (or rejiggered, which sounds way
cooler) so that whichever team has the best record is always playing
against whichever team has the second-best record (after tiebreakers
have been taken into account).
If I understand the system correctly, the team that finishes the
regular season with the best record is the one that starts the playoffs
in the #1 slot, but can be moved to the #2 slot after losing once--and
down even further after losing twice.
But even if that explanation makes sense of Peter's system for Joe,
it doesn't address Joe's first reservation, which was shared by
most of the other readers who wrote in, such as Lloyd:
Part of the fun about fantasy football is having
the potential for heartbreak for a “bad beat” just as
they do in the NFL. That’s why they play the games [instead
of simply comparing] stats. Who's to say that the fluke loss that
could happen in the third week isn’t the one that cost my
team the top spot at the end of the season? Plus, things have a
way of balancing out in life, and for every disappointing loss to
a lesser team, you are likely the recipient of a similar benefit
during the same season. At the end of the day, a tournament is simply
that, a tournament. . . . But if you are looking for “fairness”
in fantasy football, you are simply playing the wrong game.
"Fairness" came
up in Bill's response as well, but in Bill's case, the problem of
fairness boiled down to Peter's reliance on head-to-head matchups
and win/loss records. If Peter is really concerned about keeping
inferior teams from stealing undeserved championships, then Bill
thinks he should focus on total points rather than win/loss records:
I get where Peter is coming from as we have
all swallowed that pill once or twice. But you cannot fix the “unfairness”
in HTH football. While Peter’s system has merit, it does nothing
for the team that loses three times during the season while scoring
the second-most points.
If you want a pure test of fantasy football, play in a points-only
league. I play in one that is over 30 years old. [We use a] 15-man
roster, and all players start, so there are no lineups to set. If
my team is good I will win. I don’t care about the guy in
eighth place with three guys on IR because he does not affect my
team. And I don’t have to look to see who my opponent is starting
this week. I am playing against Manning, Brees and Rodgers every
week.
I will always play HTH because there is something to be said for
going one-on-one against your buddy's team. But if I can only win
one championship each year, I will take the points league every
time.
For Gary, there's "nothing wrong with a league like" Peter's,
but he isn't sure that Peter's system does a better job of determining
which team is "best" than the traditional tournament model.
As he explains:
[Team #1] might have been the best team up through
13 weeks, but I know in my league, you keep your eye on players
who might have an easier schedule during playoff time. Or you might
[struggle through the regular season,] pick up some late bloomers
[as the playoffs get underway,] and bam, you have the best team
the last five weeks rolling into the playoffs.
Jay echoed Gary's main point by observing that timing has everything
to do with trying to decide which team is "best":
Our league playoffs have been won by guys that
picked up Billy Volek or Bryce Brown at just the right time, so
who's the "better team" or "better owner" at
that point? Just like in "real football," if the week
your QB decides to throw up all over himself is in the playoffs,
I hate it for you but...
It's funny how easy it is to finish that last sentence from Jay
even though his note simply trailed off with that ellipsis.
So the general response to Peter's proposal was that it could be
a fun new twist on the fantasy playoffs, but no one who wrote in
was convinced that it would be superior (or "fairer" or
"better at determining best-ness") than the tournament
models with which they are already familiar.
Still, there was enough general interest in the proposal that I
hope to get a report from Peter if his league opts to implement
any of his suggestions.
This Week's Question: Do you have any
favorite websites that you re-purpose for fantasy football?
I love suggestions such as the one from Dan at the top of this column.
A lot of us would never have imagined that we could use a website
that relies on a salary cap formula (such as Draft Day) to host
a league with no salary cap (such as Shawn's contest-type league).
So it's time for all you creative web-savvy FFers to speak up and
share your secrets. What's your favorite website that you use in
an unexpected way? Whether the site is dedicated to fantasy football,
the NFL in general, or something completely unrelated to football,
I want to know how you
have twisted it from its intended use to suit your dark and nefarious
fantasy purposes.
Survivor Picks - Week 2 (Courtesy of
Matthew Schiff)
Trap Game: Indianapolis at Jacksonville
The last two upset picks that I have listed have included a nail-biter
and an actual upset, and this week I urge readers to beware of the
Indy-Jacksonville contest. It's a tempting game because the Colts
go into Jacksonville as clear favorites against a Jaguars team that
is 29th in defense and dead last in offense. That said, the Jags
are not that bad, and the Colts aren’t as good as their 8th-ranked
offense indicates. Trent Richardson is in jeopardy of being benched
in favor of Ahmad Bradshaw (who scored two touchdowns and outplayed
him in the Monday night loss to the Eagles). But even if the Colts'
running game shows up, the Indianapolis defense is 28th against
the pass. This is the perfect formula for a seven-point underdog
at home to steal a win against a divisional opponent widely considered
to be a potential playoff contender. Avoid this game at all costs
if you wish to remain alive in your survival pool.
#3: Cincinnati over Tennessee (1-1: Pit,
NO):
This game is a clash between two teams that look like potential
playoff contenders in the AFC. The Bengals will be without star
wide-out A.J. Green, who should return after the bye in Week 5,
and will find themselves relying on tandem running backs Gio Bernard
and rookie standout Jeremy Hill. Cincy's rushing attack will be
especially important this week, as Andy Dalton has to face Tennessee's
top-ranked pass defense. I expect the Bengals (who looked good against
both the Ravens and Falcons so far this season) to get the win,
but they will need to prove that they can win under adverse conditions
before this writer considers them one of the elite in the AFC in
2014. I can't rate this match any higher than #3 because there are
thunderstorms in the forecast, so anything is a possibility. This
is the sort of game where one freak play on special teams could
be the difference maker.
#2: New Orleans over Minnesota (0-2: CHI,
Sea):
With a disappointing 0-2 record on my second choice of the week,
even I take pause when selecting the Saints at home over the Vikings.
Marques Colston, the eight-year veteran, was targeted ZERO times
in New Orleans' loss to Cleveland last week, and the Browns have
provided the formula for beating this once powerful offense directed
by Sean Payton. But playing at home against a Vikings team that
is dealing with a media storm created by the “Child Gate case”
of Adrian Peterson might be too much for any team where there are
so many weapons to cover at one time. Drew Brees and the Saints
will need to show the NFL and their hometown faithful that they
still have a chance to be a playoff team in 2014 after starting
0-2. A game against the Peterson-less Vikes should get New Orleans
back on track, at least for one week. With that in mind, take the
Saints as they march to victory in the Superdome in front Benson
and his Bayou faithful to keep pace with the rest of the NFC South.
Image by Tilt Creative (Ty
Schiff)
#1: New England over Oakland (2-0: PHI,
DEN):
Apparently this season I am only able to get one to two games
a week correct. Thank goodness my number one choice each week
has been one of those games, so let’s stay with the hot
pick. Tom Brady and company host an opponent for the first time
this season after splitting their first two games on the road.
The perennial division champion Patriots haven’t looked
like the teams of the last decade under Bill Bellichik, but since
they are now squarely into the season, they should be a lock in
Gillette Stadium, where they are 11-1 in home openers since the
facility opened in 2002. Brady will try and correct his 3-20 completion
ratio on passes over 15 yards to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski,
but he may find that a Raiders defense that is second in passing
yards allowed is hard to go deep against. Then again, the Raider
defenders haven’t had to worry about teams passing against
them because they have given up a league-worst average of 200
yards per game on the ground over the first two weeks. Meanwhile,
Derek Carr hopes to put up more than two touchdowns in a game
and hold off Matt Schaub who has been relegated to backup duties.
Pats fans should enjoy a great opening day at home as New England
keeps its nine-game winning streak against AFC West opponents
going strong.
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.
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