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Autodraft A.I. Ruined Draft - Advice Please (1 Viewer)

H

hoen42

Footballguy
Hi all,

Yesterday our long established (17 year) league drafted via the snake format on a site for which we pay $150 per season. This is a 10-team league with 18 rounds. All of our owners are friends and experienced FFL players. One owner unexpectedly could not attend and autodrafted. The problems began in round 6 when the autodraft A.I. selected a defense for this owner. In round 11 a kicker was autodrafted. Kickers were subsequently drafted by the "A.I." in rounds 14, 16, 17 and 18. The autodraft system drafted 5 kickers for this single team.

The owner was obviously very upset by what happened and now wants to quit the league. The league's competitive balance is impacted. As commissioner in retrospect I should have stepped in and overruled the autodraft when the 3rd kicker was selected, but that ship has sailed. I contacted the site to inform them and complain.

The question is what if anything should be done? We've discussed allowing waiver transactions for only this owner prior to the start of the season (the rule has been no transactions before week 1.) We've thought about redrafting from the 14th round onward. We cannot redo the entire draft, as that would not be fair to the other owners who traveled.

One other note. We expected this owner to draft online. He did not respond to calls when the draft was about to begin, and later said he had an emergency.

Thanks for your input.

 
 this is the owners fault. Every software system I know allows an owner to set up their own rankings prior to the draft in case they have to auto draft. He clearly didn't do this. What did he expect you to do draft his team for him? He sounds like a whiney loser. 

 
Sucks for the guy, but 90% of the league is issue free. If he quits, you as the commissioner should manage that team. 

Do you do FAAB or waiver wire? Give him 1st spot on the wire after week 1 or a little extra money. 

 
 that being said no reason you can't have free agent pickups for all teams before the season starts. As a good gesture, let him have first dibs before the season starts. 

 
shadyridr said:
 this is the owners fault. Every software system I know allows an owner to set up their own rankings prior to the draft in case they have to auto draft. He clearly didn't do this. What did he expect you to do draft his team for him? He sounds like a whiney loser. 
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I would be interested in the what the system was, though it also sounds like the auto-draft was due to a last-second emergency.  without knowing more about the details, I would probably consider giving him a few free transactions now before week 1.

 
If it was so important to him he should have drafted his own team.  He should have expected his team to suck in some ways due to Auto draft.  

 
for $150 league this guy should've set up his stuff ahead of time. the impact wasn't huge in that it was mostly at the end of the draft.  let him have his pick of any FA at no costs and maybe give him first waiver priority.

Just out of curiosity, what is he suggesting should happen to fix it? Does he want a redraft?

 
It's a league of friends, it's supposed to be fun. The guy had an emergency. Let the guy drop the extra kickers and replace them with available players before the waiver period opens.

 
"The problems began in round 6 when the autodraft A.I. selected a defense for this owner. In round 11 a kicker was autodrafted. Kickers were subsequently drafted by the "A.I." in rounds 14, 16, 17 and 18. The autodraft system drafted 5 kickers for this single team."

This makes me think that he did have a pre-draft list. He but he put in a bunch of kickers at the "end" of his list but the list wasn't long enough so the program just picked the only players left on his list. Same thing with the defense in round 6. 

 
mcd said:
It's a league of friends, it's supposed to be fun. The guy had an emergency. Let the guy drop the extra kickers and replace them with available players before the waiver period opens.
Click to expand...
This. Give the a break if it has never happened before. I'd freeze the waiver and allow him to fill the rest of his roster.

 
Borden said:
"The problems began in round 6 when the autodraft A.I. selected a defense for this owner. In round 11 a kicker was autodrafted. Kickers were subsequently drafted by the "A.I." in rounds 14, 16, 17 and 18. The autodraft system drafted 5 kickers for this single team."

This makes me think that he did have a pre-draft list. He but he put in a bunch of kickers at the "end" of his list but the list wasn't long enough so the program just picked the only players left on his list. Same thing with the defense in round 6. 
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You might be right. I have never seen an auto draft give an owner that many kickers on its own. I have seen auto draft get an owner several TE in a non-TE mandatory league but never that many kickers. That is strange...

 
mcd said:
It's a league of friends, it's supposed to be fun.
Click to expand...
This argument is a pet peeve of mine when people use it to fix their mistakes. The rest of the league made it either to the draft or online. This guy screwed up and now wants the rest of the league to change to fix his mistake. Plus, he's complaining about it and threatening to quit. 

It's a league of friends so you should have enough respect for their time, efforts and things they put off to be there that you accept the results or at least be the one to find the solution. Not start threatening to quit. 

 
Borden said:
This argument is a pet peeve of mine when people use it to fix their mistakes. The rest of the league made it either to the draft or online. This guy screwed up and now wants the rest of the league to change to fix his mistake. Plus, he's complaining about it and threatening to quit. 

It's a league of friends so you should have enough respect for their time, efforts and things they put off to be there that you accept the results or at least be the one to find the solution. Not start threatening to quit. 
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Exactly. Pet peeve of mine too. Everyone thinks their time is more valuable than everyone else's including their friends. 

 
Never, ever autodraft. Even when it "works" it screws things up. Auctions are typically thrown out of whack by even one autodrafted team. I don't see where there's a recourse here for this guy.

 
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mcd said:
It's a league of friends, it's supposed to be fun. The guy had an emergency. Let the guy drop the extra kickers and replace them with available players before the waiver period opens.
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yes.  let him drop & add to his content before the season & let him have 1st pick in waivers after week one.  IMO

 
Also, if it's only the last 4 out 5 rounds, the leagues competitive balance should be fine. He should have 13 proper players likely that's his starters and 3 back ups. 

 
Borden said:
This argument is a pet peeve of mine when people use it to fix their mistakes. The rest of the league made it either to the draft or online. This guy screwed up and now wants the rest of the league to change to fix his mistake. Plus, he's complaining about it and threatening to quit. 

It's a league of friends so you should have enough respect for their time, efforts and things they put off to be there that you accept the results or at least be the one to find the solution. Not start threatening to quit. 
Click to expand...
I had a problem with computer freeze a few years ago in a $100 friends league.  Ended up with garbage due to auto draft-3 TEs, 3 QBs., you get the picture..  Bit the bullet, sent in my $100 & wished everyone good luck.  I'm still in this league.

 
mcd said:
It's a league of friends, it's supposed to be fun. The guy had an emergency. Let the guy drop the extra kickers and replace them with available players before the waiver period opens.
Click to expand...
Was it an emergency?   It wasn't until he first said he couldn't make it, and multiple attempts to call him, and then apparently well after the draft was over when he said it was an emergency.

Doesn't he know anybody that could have drafted for him?   It sucks that auto draft did this to him, but that's what happens when you let the computer do it for you.

 
How much do you value the guy's friendship? If the answer is "None", then take his money and laugh at his stupidity.

 
Let him make all the drops and adds he wants.

In a 10 team league with just 18 roster spots, you can find plenty on the WW.

 
Borden said:
This argument is a pet peeve of mine when people use it to fix their mistakes. The rest of the league made it either to the draft or online. This guy screwed up and now wants the rest of the league to change to fix his mistake. Plus, he's complaining about it and threatening to quit. 

It's a league of friends so you should have enough respect for their time, efforts and things they put off to be there that you accept the results or at least be the one to find the solution. Not start threatening to quit. 
Click to expand...
It was mentioned that an emergency came up.  I've never gone through the painstaking efforts of setting up 15+ rounds for drafts that I would be certainly there to complete online...

If an emergency happened, maybe I find a way to do a decent enough job of ranking guys and then, as noted above, put like 5 kickers at the end and then get on with, well, my freakin' emergency.

It sounds like this situation is not beyond repair.  He got a defense too early, but seems the other first 12 or so rounds were "ok" at least.  Let him get two or three free agents ASAP (as in, don't give him any benefit by waiting the next week, just let him swap out his kickers now) and be done with it.  Perhaps "penalize" him by having him be able to pick up all but two of his kickers, which he can then correct during the first "formal" free agent period.

Guy had an emergency. Still seems like it was not the worst possible outcome, considering.  Give him a little help, move on.  Seems like the right thing to do, pretty fair (nothing's perfect) and will get the league back on good footing for the season.

 
Koya said:
It was mentioned that an emergency came up.  I've never gone through the painstaking efforts of setting up 15+ rounds for drafts that I would be certainly there to complete online...

If an emergency happened, maybe I find a way to do a decent enough job of ranking guys and then, as noted above, put like 5 kickers at the end and then get on with, well, my freakin' emergency.

It sounds like this situation is not beyond repair.  He got a defense too early, but seems the other first 12 or so rounds were "ok" at least.  Let him get two or three free agents ASAP (as in, don't give him any benefit by waiting the next week, just let him swap out his kickers now) and be done with it.  Perhaps "penalize" him by having him be able to pick up all but two of his kickers, which he can then correct during the first "formal" free agent period.

Guy had an emergency. Still seems like it was not the worst possible outcome, considering.  Give him a little help, move on.  Seems like the right thing to do, pretty fair (nothing's perfect) and will get the league back on good footing for the season.
Click to expand...
good post!

try to make it right with the available resources you have right now.  don't throw him under the bus.

 
Charlie Harper said:
This. Give the a break if it has never happened before. I'd freeze the waiver and allow him to fill the rest of his roster.
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this is fair to me, emergency or not it isnt the league's fault he no showed. as a commisioner, i get REALLY sick of whiners who threaten to quit over not getting their way... it happens on major stuff or minor stuff

 
iamkoza said:
this is fair to me, emergency or not it isnt the league's fault he no showed. as a commisioner, i get REALLY sick of whiners who threaten to quit over not getting their way... it happens on major stuff or minor stuff
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While not the league's fault that he no showed (regardless of the emergency or not), it is in the league's interest to find a fair way to move forward that neither alienates a friend (assuming it was a real conspiracy) and moreso to the league, enables a full, complete, competitive and fun season. 

Regardless, if there was an emergency, I don't see the "whining" here.

 
180 players gone there is still plenty of talent left for him to drop the 4 or 5 kickers
and get some decent players. This is not the disaster the absentee owner is making
such a big fuss over.

 
Koya said:
It was mentioned that an emergency came up.  I've never gone through the painstaking efforts of setting up 15+ rounds for drafts that I would be certainly there to complete online...

If an emergency happened, maybe I find a way to do a decent enough job of ranking guys and then, as noted above, put like 5 kickers at the end and then get on with, well, my freakin' emergency.

It sounds like this situation is not beyond repair.  He got a defense too early, but seems the other first 12 or so rounds were "ok" at least.  Let him get two or three free agents ASAP (as in, don't give him any benefit by waiting the next week, just let him swap out his kickers now) and be done with it.  Perhaps "penalize" him by having him be able to pick up all but two of his kickers, which he can then correct during the first "formal" free agent period.

Guy had an emergency. Still seems like it was not the worst possible outcome, considering.  Give him a little help, move on.  Seems like the right thing to do, pretty fair (nothing's perfect) and will get the league back on good footing for the season.
Click to expand...
Open up waivers, sure. It's an easy fix. Him not having a draft list made up is his fault. What if there's an internet or power outage? Or his computer freezes? Or one of other many things that can go wrong when drafting online? Other people travelled to be at the draft but this person couldn't even take the time to put in a draft list? At this point though, there's nothing "wrong". The problem is that he's threatening to quit the league. If they just said "Sorry guys. The wife was in car accident (she's fine now though), is there anyway to correct it? I will look into options and help the commish wherever I can." Then it's a different story. But that's not how it is being described. 

Koya said:
While not the league's fault that he no showed (regardless of the emergency or not), it is in the league's interest to find a fair way to move forward that neither alienates a friend (assuming it was a real conspiracy) and moreso to the league, enables a full, complete, competitive and fun season. 

Regardless, if there was an emergency, I don't see the "whining" here.
Click to expand...
Threatening to quit the league is whining.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all the great replies. To clarify, the buy-in for the league is $150, but this also happened on a site (cbssports) that costs per season $150 to use. It is not free to play. Another note about our league is that a QB can be used in the flex spot, meaning most owners start 2 QBs each week. This owner kept Drew Brees and the autodraft A.I. did not draft a single additional QB. The best waiver wire QBs are Hoyer and Glennon.

Anyway, it seems reasonable to allow him to add/drop prior to the season with a waived transaction fee.

 
Late round picks aren't that valuable, and 9 of the first 11 picks were offensive players. I don't think that the competitive balance is impacted all that much. And it is a 10 team league so the waiver wire should be flush with talent.

In this case, the solution is pretty obvious. Let him make his team whole; give him 2 or 3 days to pick up whoever he wants from the freely available players, and treat the rest of the preseason as you would normally.

And I wouldn't worry too much about the owner quitting. This just happened, and he is understandably upset. Treat him with respect and try to make things right, and everything should be fine.

 
hoen42 said:
Thanks for all the great replies. To clarify, the buy-in for the league is $150, but this also happened on a site (cbssports) that costs per season $150 to use. It is not free to play. Another note about our league is that a QB can be used in the flex spot, meaning most owners start 2 QBs each week. This owner kept Drew Brees and the autodraft A.I. did not draft a single additional QB. The best waiver wire QBs are Hoyer and Glennon.

Anyway, it seems reasonable to allow him to add/drop prior to the season with a waived transaction fee.
Click to expand...
$150 a season to use CBS!!??! Why? 

Yahoo is free and you can setup keepers and QB Flex leagues.

Edit: If you want the deepest customization MFL (My Fantasy League) is the best and it's $40 or $50 a year I think. It's not the prettiest but has the most options and is a 3rd of the price. 

 
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jerry jones said:
Exactly....it's a redraft league among friends, quit? Jeez, laugh about it and play the season.

I do agree with allowing him to use waivers to clean up the roster before Thursday 
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You can't let these kind of people get off scot-free.  We once had a guy in our league who forgot to put in a TE because of his mother's funeral.  Couple weeks after that, he murdered his whole family.  These things are a slippery slope.

 
I speculate that he fiddled with his pre-draft rankings. At Yahoo you could touch nothing and you'd end up with a better roster than that and I have no reason to believe CBS wouldn't be similar.

That said, there's no way to know and I agree that the good will gesture is to offer the free waiver transactions. If he baulks at that, I wouldn't be inclined to offer more.

 
Wow some of you are harsh if the guy really had an emergency.  Why would he set up a list if he attended to plan the draft.  Life happens.

Ultimately it's his responsibility but at the same time the commish should take some of the blame.  Why on Earth did he not stop the draft after the 3rd kicker went?  Also the league setup shouldn't allow someone to roster that many kickers so that wasn't set up right either.

Give him free roster moves but that owner does have a beef unless of course there was no emergency and he just blew it off.

 
shadyridr said:
 this is the owners fault. Every software system I know allows an owner to set up their own rankings prior to the draft in case they have to auto draft. He clearly didn't do this. What did he expect you to do draft his team for him? He sounds like a whiney loser. 
Click to expand...
Why would he set up a list if he truly was planning on attending the draft.  Also commish screwed up too by not setting up roster position limits correctly.  

 
I always set up predraft rankings just in case something goes wrong. I've never had to rely on them, but you never know what will happen; it's my responsibility to be prepared. And I would never set position limits and hate leagues that do. Let teams draft as many players as they want to regardless of where they play.

 
dlcb1 said:
I always set up predraft rankings just in case something goes wrong. I've never had to rely on them, but you never know what will happen; it's my responsibility to be prepared. And I would never set position limits and hate leagues that do. Let teams draft as many players as they want to regardless of where they play.
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Why would they hate limits on kickers and team defenses?  We usually set something like 4 QBs, 8 RBs, WR's and TE's and 2K and Def for this very reason.  Never heard of so many kickers being picked but something that takes a minute to set up could've prevented this headache.

 
Borden said:
"The problems began in round 6 when the autodraft A.I. selected a defense for this owner. In round 11 a kicker was autodrafted. Kickers were subsequently drafted by the "A.I." in rounds 14, 16, 17 and 18. The autodraft system drafted 5 kickers for this single team."

This makes me think that he did have a pre-draft list. He but he put in a bunch of kickers at the "end" of his list but the list wasn't long enough so the program just picked the only players left on his list. Same thing with the defense in round 6. 
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I was thinking.  I run a free couples league and it's a full auto draft.  I set my pre-rankings and it ended up drafting me 2 QBs, 3 TEs and 2 defenses.  I thought I had it ranked well but obviously not.

 
Make sure to make a note to yourself to address this before next years draft.  "Make sure you set your pre-set in case you miss the draft....remember what happened to Smokey last year"

 
It ain't easy to use FBG's Draft Dominator while simultaneously using online drafting suites. Draft Dominator with a sticker board is much easier.  :ptts:

 
If this were a "league of friends" why did you all continue to draft after he picked a second kicker?

Did you all just sit back and laugh at the guy as the system took a 3rd and a 4th and a 5th kicker?

I would like to know what the emergency was for sure.

I stopped at the store on the way to my fantasy draft last week and locked my keys in the trunk.

My phone was also in the car. I no longer have anyones phone number memorized to use the stores phone and call family for assistance.

I had two choices.

Call a tow truck and wait for them to come unlock the doors ... likely a hour or two into the draft. (Not an option)

... or break a window. So I borrowed a crowbar from the guy parked next to me. I drove to the draft with a window blown out and glass all over the back seat.

 
following up on this, if it truly was an emergency, I don't know why it is a problem to let him drop the excess kickers and defense.  everyone else in the draft still gained an advantage by getting to pick better values at the time.  he is able to make some corrections, but still gets lesser total value at the other positions.  

i guess that's partly colored by me devaluing kickers and defenses though.  If I didn't, I suppose I could understand that the draft was the draft and the integrity of the draft was sort of compromised by the occurrence.  but what's done is done, so trying to fix it by doing anything out of the ordinary invites further unintended consequences.

i don't know anymore.  cut the baby in half, i guess.

 
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