Cornerback scoring in IDP (1 Viewer)

[wgoldsph]

For those of you who play ipd how do you handle cornerback scoring?  Most positions are simple as the job of most defenders on most plays is based on taking down the man with the ball. Meanwhile the best cornerbacks can eliminate a wr from a game and have nothing to show for it on the stat sheet.  How do you go about factoring that into your scoring, if at all?

 

[JoeSteeler]

May have more luck posting this here 

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/forum/9-idp-forum/

 

[Gally]

For those of you who play ipd how do you handle cornerback scoring?  Most positions are simple as the job of most defenders on most plays is based on taking down the man with the ball. Meanwhile the best cornerbacks can eliminate a wr from a game and have nothing to show for it on the stat sheet.  How do you go about factoring that into your scoring, if at all?

We do the following:

1 pt per tackle

1 pt per assist

7 pts for INT

3 pts for Forced Fumble

3 pts for recovered fumble

3 pts for pass defensed

1 pt for 20 yds punt return

1 pt for 40 yds KO return

It keeps the DB's relative with respect to scoring among other positions but the real issue is that the turnover at the top and the grouping of so many players scoring about the same makes them a lot like kickers.  They are relevant but interchangeable. 

 

[BoltBacker]

How do you go about factoring that into your scoring, if at all?

Unfortunately, I think there's no way getting around the fact that a very good corner(especially when playing across from a very bad corner) just isn't going to have a lot of measurable stats. The result in most good IDP leagues I've played in is CB's are just devalued. Run stuffing LB's get valued to high and cover corners too low(relative to the value in the real NFL). Better to chalk it up as a quirk of fantasy football than try to "fix" a problem that really can't be fixed. Here are a couple things that help minimize the frustration imo.....

- DO NOT make CB tackles score very much. Otherwise, the best CB for any particular week is probably the waiver wire free agent rookie that was just thrust into the lineup because of an injury. I know some people think that fantasy football is best enjoyed when you grind on the waiver wire day after day but that's not as fun to me as team building.

- Make CB scoring more of a big play position. Still, bad corners will have more opportunities to make big plays if they are being picked on all game.

Really, this is my biggest gripe with fantasy football in general though. The mundane "counting stats" are valued way too high in fantasy football (tackles, receptions, yards, etc) and are almost always "opportunity based" while the actual big plays that turn the game in real football (TD, distance TD's, INT's, Forced Fumbles, Fumble Recoveries) are so much less important in fantasy football. To some extent I blame it on those making money in the industry because you can project counting stats much easier than you can project big plays. 

 

[BigSteelThrill]

This will be year 31 for us.  We use 11 IDP for each of the 16 teams. We have 3 mandatory DBs (CB/S) and 1 mandatory CB.  We also have an IDP flex that can be any LB or DB.

• Typically we score .5 point for a solo or an assist or a pass deflection.   .5 for FF or FR.  3 per sack or Int. 4 per TD.
  
• But we score CBs differently.  .5 solo. 0 for assist. 1 for pass deflection. 5 for Int. 
  

Our scoring and values are extremely balanced.  We still see LBs and DLs go earlier with better trade value, but its hard to get around the supply/demand of tons of DBs and their volatility.

 

[Penguin]

Give them an extra point for every pass defended as they age because they are evolving into the ultimate diva

 

[Flying Elvis]

@BoltBacker is dead on about the true "shutdown corner" when it comes to FF. They have almost no value. If QBs don't target them they will only get scraps when picking up a tackle or splash plays like forced/recovered fumbles, etc. There isn't really a solution to this, aside from not having these CBs on your roster. They are typically IDP gold as a rookie b/c that's the year QBs and OC's target them and learn they shouldn't do that any more.

 

[-OZ-]

The only way to (sort of) increase the best corners value would be to include something like negative points for targets or team score but these are far from perfect solutions and may cause more headaches

 

[Gally]

Unfortunately, I think there's no way getting around the fact that a very good corner(especially when playing across from a very bad corner) just isn't going to have a lot of measurable stats. The result in most good IDP leagues I've played in is CB's are just devalued. Run stuffing LB's get valued to high and cover corners too low(relative to the value in the real NFL). Better to chalk it up as a quirk of fantasy football than try to "fix" a problem that really can't be fixed. Here are a couple things that help minimize the frustration imo.....

- DO NOT make CB tackles score very much. Otherwise, the best CB for any particular week is probably the waiver wire free agent rookie that was just thrust into the lineup because of an injury. I know some people think that fantasy football is best enjoyed when you grind on the waiver wire day after day but that's not as fun to me as team building.

- Make CB scoring more of a big play position. Still, bad corners will have more opportunities to make big plays if they are being picked on all game.

Really, this is my biggest gripe with fantasy football in general though. The mundane "counting stats" are valued way too high in fantasy football (tackles, receptions, yards, etc) and are almost always "opportunity based" while the actual big plays that turn the game in real football (TD, distance TD's, INT's, Forced Fumbles, Fumble Recoveries) are so much less important in fantasy football. To some extent I blame it on those making money in the industry because you can project counting stats much easier than you can project big plays. 

The bolded is the case is due to a couple things.  One you touched on in that it's easier to predict the counting stats so it is easier to prepare track and those are a lot more consistent so scoring/competitiveness stays consistent. 

The second is that big plays are so random and occur less often that fantasy games really wouldn't be very competitive.  If more scoring was based on that then if your guy got the big play that game you win.  There really wouldn't be great fantasy games. 

It's just the nature of the game.  You can't predict important plays, score them properly, or have enough for them to be competitive from a fantasy perspective.  It's part of the reason that IDP is hard to score in general.  You get a lot of boom (sacks, int, etc) or bust scores so it is very volatile.  One way we have tried to combat that is to dissect the stats from a play like a sack.  You get a QB hit, a TFL, a tackle, and a sack.  Instead of having points only for the sack, redistribute the points across all those categories.  That way you can still have a decent game with some QBH or TFL without getting a sack.  We did that and it really helped smooth out the DL scoring.   It's not as easy to do this for DB's because and INT only has the PD tied to it as a big play. 

 

[Arodin]

The only way to (sort of) increase the best corners value would be to include something like negative points for targets or team score but these are far from perfect solutions and may cause more headaches

This has potential.  Especially if paired with a baseline score for not being targetted.

I wonder how something like

+0.1 per on-field snap

-0.3 per target

+1 per pass defensed

+3 to 5 per INT

would do at adding value to the elite coverage guys?

Not in a place to run those numbers right now but may play around with it during my covid-19-induced downtime (now “working” from home).