Week 6
10/23/09
Every industry has experts; those sages that dispense wisdom
and truth from atop the mountain. In philosophy these learned men
wear long, flowing robes and an equally lengthy beard is required.
In fantasy football, a backwards ball cap, clipboard of notes, and
half empty bottle of Coors Light is more likely. But are these guys
truly experts? Do they know any better than the rest of us schmucks?
Each week Analyzing the Experts will take aim at one or more of
these so-called oracles and find out…
Another gruesome week is in the books. When our high score is a
whopping 84 and we have multiple Experts scraping through the 70’s,
it only highlights how worthless our competitors can be. Since they
don’t seem to be doing much from the knowledge side of things,
some of them should be focusing on entertainment value. Maybe KFFL
can give their rankings in haiku? And I am looking forward to a
limerick from FFToday.
There were a couple interesting items that arose as I took down
the Experts’ rankings Saturday. Now, I need to be completely
honest here. I don’t actually pull any of the various numbers
from these often difficult to deal with websites. A few weeks
back, my lovely bride saw me throwing things and screaming at
my computer and kindly took over the tough work of this series.
In an effort to maintain my dubious sanity and some semblance
of peace and tranquility in our home, she spends a couple hours
of her Saturday combing the Experts’ sites, navigating their
often confounding pages (Huddle being the hardest to get actual
information from), and compiling everything. I only need to write
stuff.
Anyway, she stumbled across an intriguing situation. FF Sharks
posts separate rankings for RBs, WRs, TEs, and the Flex position.
The Flex list includes all of the previous positions of course.
One would think that the Flex rankings would simply be the other
three rankings thrown together. Kind of RB#1, RB#2, WR#1, TE#1,
etc. on down the list. Unfortunately, either through an oversight
or some incomprehensible logic, this didn’t always happen
in Week 6. For example, their RB rankings listed Mendenhall above
Hightower while their Flex rankings had the two reversed. We went
with the RB rankings of course, but I wonder why Hightower is
a better Flex play but worse RB play….
Something else that caught my eye was the return of what I call
“closet indexing”. I talked a little about this in
Season One, but it bears repeating since it says a lot about the
methodologies different Experts use to rank their players. My
day job is financial planning and I deal with mutual funds on
a regular basis. Many fund managers are guilty of closet indexing
- essentially they just try to invest in the same companies as
everyone else. If a mutual fund deals with large US companies,
the manager simply buys whatever is in the S&P 500 Index and
calls that managing. Some of our Experts appear to have similar
philosophies. Rather than take a risk, try something new, or just
apply some original thought, many seem to spend most of their
research time looking over other Experts’ rankings. I could
be wrong and most of these guys may just come to the same conclusions
about all these players each and every week. Even if that is the
case, why bother looking at more than one of them? Each week,
I typically look at a middle-of-the-road Expert and then a couple
who are willing to leave it all hanging out there. That always
made sense to me and has served me well. I leave it up the readers
to determine which Experts fall into the categories of unoriginal
schmuck and free thinker.
Our team this week, Franco’s Italian Army, is owned by
Dan from Atlanta. Other than his mad skills at fantasy football,
Dan claims there is nothing interesting about him, leaving me
without much material to ridicule or even comment on. Thanks a
lot Dan….He does have a very solid team though. We only
had NR rankings on a kicker and one running back this week, meaning
this is either a deep roster or our Experts are improving. Trust
me – it’s the first one.
Week Six’s Games
| Pick Color Codes |
|
| Correct |
|
| Missed by: 1 |
|
| Missed by: 2 |
|
| Missed by: 3 |
|
|
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| KFFL |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
74 |
| FFSharks |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
78 |
|
Right out of the gate we get a big old heaping pile of crap. I’m
curious whether a randomly generated set of rankings could beat
these scores on any kind of consistent basis. That is one more idea
for next year. Even though FF Sharks completely screwed the pooch
on Royal, they were still better than KFFL. A massive two correct
picks for our new favorite Expert, who has once again managed to
secure the lowest points for the week. KFFL was also the only Expert
to hose the defensive position, costing not only themselves points,
but also FFToday and The Huddle, who each get the Experts’
average rounded down.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| FFCafe |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
82 |
| FB
Guys |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
82 |
|
On to some better, although still mediocre, scores. Two of our more
superior teams struggled to a highly unimpressive tie. Royal continues
to confuse our competitors (a couple return TDs will do that) and
not much is being ranked correctly. The quarterback position was
tough this week as all three of our QBs ended up in the top six.
Nice for Franco’s Italian Army, bad for our Experts.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| Rotoworld |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
84 |
| FFToday |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
81 |
|
Rotoworld continues its highly impressive charge, tying the high
score for the week. Meanwhile, FFToday continues to post average
to slightly below average scores. With a little luck FFToday could
have a couple more wins, but both luck and good picks seem to be
in short supply so far. Nine points for FFToday’s defense
based on the other Experts’ picks.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| AOL |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
NR |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
NR |
2 |
1 |
84 |
| FFToolbox |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
84 |
|
And now we have a second tie for the week. Remember what I said
about closet indexing? It can by very illuminating to scan the picks
for our Experts and see how many are exactly the same across the
board. Regardless, other than some stumbles at WR and TE, both of
these guys put up solid scores.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| ESPN |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
NR |
2 |
1 |
82 |
| NFL |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
84 |
|
Our last winless team finally pulls one out, much to my disappointment.
ESPN wasn’t horrible, but was still wrong much more than right
this week. At the same time, NFL Fantasy didn’t exactly nail
much, but other than the enigma that is Robert Royal, was awfully
close on everything else. I guess congratulations are in order now
that every Expert at least has a single win.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| Fox |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
84 |
| CBS |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
82 |
|
Here are two more average scores. Bleh. This week, not a single
Expert got an entire position correct other than the extraordinarily
easy Kicker and Defense rankings. I believe that is a first for
the season.
| |
F
a
v
r
e |
B
i
g
B
e
n |
S
c
h
a
u
b |
H
i
g
h
t
o
w
e
r |
M
c
C
o
y |
M
e
n
d
e
n
h
a
l
l |
M
o
o
r
e |
D
.
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s |
A
v
e
r
y |
H
e
s
t
e
r |
H
o
l
m
e
s |
T
.
O
. |
R
o
y
a
l |
C
e
l
e
k |
F
i
n
l
e
y |
S
h
o
c
k
e
y |
C
r
o
s
b
y |
R
e
e
d |
B
e
a
r
s |
S
t
e
e
l
e
r
s |
TPts |
| Correct |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
| Huddle |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
NR |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
77 |
| Yahoo! |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
82 |
|
Yahoo! wins with another solid but uninspiring score while The Huddle
continues to charge fantasy football owners good money for horrible
advice. A score in the 70’s is shameful, and 77 was the second
worst this time around, beating only KFFL. As always, Huddle got
their defensive points based on the other Experts’ scores
– average rounded down for the position.
| ATE Week 6
Standings - East |
| EAST |
Record |
Pts |
| Rotoworld |
4-2 |
490 |
| Fox |
3-2-1 |
488 |
| FF Cafe |
2-2-2 |
482 |
| ESPN |
2-2-2 |
477 |
| The Huddle |
2-4 |
471 |
| AOL |
1-3-2 |
480 |
| KFFL |
1-4-1 |
462 |
|
|
| ATE Week 6
Standings - West |
| WEST |
Record |
Pts |
| FF Toolbox |
4-0-2 |
500 |
| Football Guys |
4-1-1 |
488 |
| CBS |
4-1-1 |
480 |
| FF Sharks |
3-1-2 |
476 |
| Yahoo! |
2-4 |
478 |
| NFL |
1-4-1 |
481 |
| FF Today |
1-4-1 |
476 |
|
|
The only change in the standings this week is FF Today sliding down
into the basement of the West division based on NFL Fantasy’s
miraculous win. I was calling the season all but over for NFL last
week, but there is still a glimmer of hope for all our sad competitors
at the bottom. None of our four-win teams managed to add another
W to their lead, leaving only a three game gap with seven weeks
to go in the regular season. Our one-win teams have a lot of work
to do if they hope to catch up…
At the same time, we are rapidly approaching parity between our
divisions. This week saw the East win two, West three, and two
ties. Not exactly scintillating, but every week can’t have
someone pulling away. As a matter of fact, we haven’t seen
tons of that. The worst team so far is clearly KFFL, but no one
has stepped up and said, “I am King of the Experts!”
FF Toolbox has come closest, with the highest overall points scored
and no losses. Week Seven will bring the final inter-divisional
games before we go to match ups inside the divisions the rest
of the way. I am looking forward to the Battle of the Pay Sites
as The Huddle prepares to get destroyed by Football Guys next
week. At least that is what I am expecting. I could certainly
be wrong, both AOL and NFL have wins, meaning I’ve been
wrong at least twice this season.
|
