Keeper Leagues (1 Viewer)

[swirvenirvin]

I am in 3 keeper leagues, and in 2 of them, there is some kind of limitation for keeping players, such as lose draft pick where you orginally drafted the player, can only be kept 3 total years etc etc.

But I am in one league where there are no restrictions on anything, and you can keep players for however long you want, and do not lose any draft picks.

Should an owner basically automatically make the playoff for 4 years in a row because they have LT or LJ. Yes they did a good job drafting them when they did, but should they be rewarded for 3 or 4 years in a row because of a pick they made a few years ago? Lt is an absolute monster and LJ is not too far behind, and has the potential to put up LT numbers. But if you own these guys unless you have very bad luck you are basically a lock for the playoffs and a lot of high weeks along the way for a few years in a row.

Also I own LJ in this league, but just want to get thoughts on the subject. Should there be new rules proposed to prevent this for the good of the league?

Are there many of you who have leagues like this, and have you thought about implementing anything because of LT.

 

[Quadrazu]

I am in 3 keeper leagues, and in 2 of them, there is some kind of limitation for keeping players, such as lose draft pick where you orginally drafted the player, can only be kept 3 total years etc etc.But I am in one league where there are no restrictions on anything, and you can keep players for however long you want, and do not lose any draft picks.Should an owner basically automatically make the playoff for 4 years in a row because they have LT or LJ. Yes they did a good job drafting them when they did, but should they be rewarded for 3 or 4 years in a row because of a pick they made a few years ago? Lt is an absolute monster and LJ is not too far behind, and has the potential to put up LT numbers. But if you own these guys unless you have very bad luck you are basically a lock for the playoffs and a lot of high weeks along the way for a few years in a row.Also I own LJ in this league, but just want to get thoughts on the subject. Should there be new rules proposed to prevent this for the good of the league?Are there many of you who have leagues like this, and have you thought about implementing anything because of LT.

The LT owner in my league did not make the playoffs, and we are even a PPR league... Tomlinson had 384 points, LJ at 264 was next... and lots of guys in the 240s after that.We had a guy start the year with Larry Johnson, Edgerrin James, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson. You'd think he'd have ruled before the season started, especially using the FBG's projections. He ended up 4-9.We keep 5. Whoever wins the league gets the last pick the following year, and it doesn't snake back and forth. It works out.

 

[swirvenirvin]

I am in 3 keeper leagues, and in 2 of them, there is some kind of limitation for keeping players, such as lose draft pick where you orginally drafted the player, can only be kept 3 total years etc etc.But I am in one league where there are no restrictions on anything, and you can keep players for however long you want, and do not lose any draft picks.Should an owner basically automatically make the playoff for 4 years in a row because they have LT or LJ. Yes they did a good job drafting them when they did, but should they be rewarded for 3 or 4 years in a row because of a pick they made a few years ago? Lt is an absolute monster and LJ is not too far behind, and has the potential to put up LT numbers. But if you own these guys unless you have very bad luck you are basically a lock for the playoffs and a lot of high weeks along the way for a few years in a row.Also I own LJ in this league, but just want to get thoughts on the subject. Should there be new rules proposed to prevent this for the good of the league?Are there many of you who have leagues like this, and have you thought about implementing anything because of LT.

The LT owner in my league did not make the playoffs, and we are even a PPR league... Tomlinson had 384 points, LJ at 264 was next... and lots of guys in the 240s after that.We had a guy start the year with Larry Johnson, Edgerrin James, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson. You'd think he'd have ruled before the season started, especially using the FBG's projections. He ended up 4-9.We keep 5. Whoever wins the league gets the last pick the following year, and it doesn't snake back and forth. It works out.

That might be something no snake Yes we do draft order based on playoff finish.We get to keep any 2 players on your roster, and then keep a 3rd who you drafted after the 7th round, so a total of 3 players. No limitations on how many from one position you can keep.One guy kept LT S-Jax, and FWP.

 

[DoubleG]

While I see your point and do agree with it - I'm in a dynasty league and the LT owner is in my division; this year I have the 2nd best record (behind him) but no bye, as I am a wildcard team - the fact is, unless your league had the foresight to work in some sort of rule to deal with it, there really isn't much to talk about

Just do your best and hope for the best. If it's any consellation, I won the league 2 years ago, and a different owner won it last year (with LT sitting alot in the 4th quarter and during FF playoffs the last few years as well as the Colts resting starters, and Steve Smith out an entire year, the LT owner had some problems come playoff time). The LT owner has won points, but has never captured a top 3 $ spot...although I fear this year will be different. I guess the good news is, if I do face him, it will be in the Super Bowl.

 

[AcerFC]

I would think that it would not be very fun for the other owners in the league. Just because someone got lucky with the 1 or 2 pick doesnt mean that they should keep them forever. That sounds more like a dynasty then a keeper even though it is limited.

I know my league is different then most but we only allow players drafted in RD6-22 to be kept. They can only be kept then for 3 years so it keeps all of the best players in the draft. If you keep one, you lose that round pick. If you keep 2 then you lose those picks and a third rounder to ensure that your team is not stacked even if you drafted smartly (like last year I had S Smith in the 7th and LJ in the 8th but we werent keeper yet)

In a dynasty, all bets are off because you are always building for the now and later. In a Keeper league though it makes sense to allow everyone to stay competitive year to year. I would not want to be in a league where LT is never draftable again

 

[supermark_28]

My keeper league is simliar but we work w/ a salary cap. Initially I hated the idea but the

league has been around about 3 years and LJ has been traded 2x and LT has been shopped

several times. Can you guys offer next years picks in trades? I would guess that since you

have LJ other owners in your league are complaining? Tell 'em to nut up and come to the table

w/ some trade offers.

 

[swirvenirvin]

My keeper league is simliar but we work w/ a salary cap. Initially I hated the idea but the league has been around about 3 years and LJ has been traded 2x and LT has been shoppedseveral times. Can you guys offer next years picks in trades? I would guess that since you have LJ other owners in your league are complaining? Tell 'em to nut up and come to the tablew/ some trade offers.

Nope no one is complaining, I think I am the only one that has thought of this, or at least it has not been mentioned to everyone from another ownerI was just thinking about the best way to bring this up to the league. Yes we can trade future round draft picks, and made it that if someone does trade picks they have to pay next yrs entry fee in advance. League has been around since 98, I think we changed to a keeper format in 01 or 02. 10 team league with 20 roster spots

 

[Game Time]

Personally, I think a keeper league is just that... keeper. If you are fortunate to have a stud hold on to him. The CHargers are not going to let LT go because the rest of the league wants him. Our league is a keep up to 3 league with no restrictions and I love it. It gives each team a sense of identity to it. Just my thoughts....

 

[bentley]

We used to have a three player no restriction keeper league before we went to an auction format. If the league's together for long enough it will all work out.

Generally, one player is not going to be so dominant over a long period of time that it creates a noncompetitive situation, even though I can clearly remember people saying "How can anyone compete with Mark when he was lucky enough to draft Terrell Davis?" And before that it was "As long as Stacey has Emmitt Smith, he'll never lose."

Part of the theory behind a keeper league to me is the long term aspect.

 

[videoguy505]

I'm in a 12-team unrestricted keep 3. Teams balance themselves out pretty fast. Last year's #1 overall team--the highest scoring team and the highest power-ranked team in our league's 4 year history--finished 2-11. The last place team last year was a playoff wildcard this year. The LT owner is a wildcard as well. The LJ owner finished ahead of him (me).

There's so much luck involved in a weekly basis that it's not a walk for anyone. And, there's plenty for the other owners to play for, and plenty of opportunity to move up. I built my team by snagging guys of IR at the end of the year and keeping them--Steve Smith, Javon Walker--and making the right WW pickups (LJ two years ago). Things any other owner could have done if they were faster on the trigger.

Plus, keeping the right 3 is a hard decision sometimes. I end up with 5 guys who are legit keepers every preseason, and it takes a lot of strategy to pick the right 3 to keep and to plan my draft to take advantage. Picking the wrong 3rd guy with "upside" can drastically turn the whole league around.

 

[AngryPatriot]

I'm in a keeper league where we keep eight year to year, no strings, awesome league. We trade alot and all the big players have changed hands (draft picks can be traded). Really only one guy has been perenially bad but its his own doing- he's snoozed over countless 1st rd. picks, ww pickups and trade offers. I am one of the few megamorons to trade away LT this year... but I have Addai, Maroney and Norwood for the long haul (I hope).

 

[videoguy505]

I just wanted to add that, IMHO, people put too much importance on the draft and the day 1 roster. There are many, many opportunities during the season to pick up hot-hand QBs, WRs, TEs, DSTs, and Ks and ride them pretty far. How many people drafted Romo, Colston, or Gould in your leagues? But the owner that snagged them early probably did pretty well. In fact, anyone who rode Grossman early and Romo late probably did really, really well.

Also wanted to say that in my keep 3 league, the Shaun Alexander owner missed the playoffs, the McNabb owner just missed on a wildcard tiebreaker, and the Portis/Ronnie Brown RB-tandem owner got in by going on a 3 game win streak to end the season. Edgerrin James' owner clinched a playoff spot after week 10 with Grossman and Gradkowski as his QBs. The Phil Rivers-Westbrook-T.O.-Colston-Gould squad was eliminated the same week. The Romo-Steven Jackson-Corey Dillon-Travis Henry-Boldin-Shockey owner is out too.

Throw any three keepers together and it's still a lot of luck.

 

[shimtown]

We keep 5 no strings attached. We do not snake picks. A couple of years ago you would say it's not fair to the owner who had Marshall Faulk. 3 years ago it was Priest Holmes. Then SA. Now LT2. Things change. Also, All of these players have changed teams in our league.

 

[swirvenirvin]

I just wanted to add that, IMHO, people put too much importance on the draft and the day 1 roster. There are many, many opportunities during the season to pick up hot-hand QBs, WRs, TEs, DSTs, and Ks and ride them pretty far. How many people drafted Romo, Colston, or Gould in your leagues? But the owner that snagged them early probably did pretty well. In fact, anyone who rode Grossman early and Romo late probably did really, really well.Also wanted to say that in my keep 3 league, the Shaun Alexander owner missed the playoffs, the McNabb owner just missed on a wildcard tiebreaker, and the Portis/Ronnie Brown RB-tandem owner got in by going on a 3 game win streak to end the season. Edgerrin James' owner clinched a playoff spot after week 10 with Grossman and Gradkowski as his QBs. The Phil Rivers-Westbrook-T.O.-Colston-Gould squad was eliminated the same week. The Romo-Steven Jackson-Corey Dillon-Travis Henry-Boldin-Shockey owner is out too.Throw any three keepers together and it's still a lot of luck.

Kinda funny actually 2 were drafted. Romo in the 23rd round (we draft 23 and cut 3 players after week 4) because the cowboys were playing on TV and some reporter i dont remeber which chick it was mentioned something about romo. The guy then picked Romo and we all gave him crap for drafting his team based on a girls information. Gould was drafted by the Bears freak, and it was his only kicker.I picked up Colsten and then traded him before I even got to play him :(

 

[crush304]

don't play in keeper leagues ???

 

[NOONAN]

In my main league(18 year keeper), we keep up to 7 on offense and up to 7 on defense. You start 11 on both sides. Reverse order of playoff finish for draft. If you keep 7, you begin to draft in round 8. No other penalties. If you have the foresight to draft LT and not trade him, good for you. But, as stated above, "the man" changes all the time. We have had guys go from last one year to champs the next and the reverse also. Sometimes, owners will drop their entire team to draft in round one.

Injuries, drafting, trading, luck all play a huge part in FFL and our league is no exception.

 

[salmonstud]

I commish a 10 team keeper league. It's a keep 5 player no restrictions league (don't give up any draft picks for keeping). The league was setup to completely redraft after 4 years. We are in the 4th & final year.

We are going to a keep 6 format with NO redraft after 4 years. 20 player roster with no drop/add. You can trade draft picks for the upcoming year. With no drop/add - undrafted players like Colston, etc. are available in the next year's draft along with the rookies, etc....so there is talent for the worst teams and the bad teams can get good quickly unless they trade off all their draft picks. The league has been very competetive & we have had 3 different Championship winners over the past 3 years.

In that league I had a ton of depth after the end of the 3rd season & with only being able to keep 4 players...I traded Portis/Walker/Wayne for Larry Johnson to pair with Tomlinson. My other keepers were Gates, D.Jackson. This year with LT & LJ I have been very difficult to beat, but I do have 2 losses.

I prefer keeper leagues with few restrictions myself as long as you play with good owners & have rules built into the league design to help the bad teams get better. We used a snake draft in this league & are going to change it to a same drafting slot every round to help out the bad teams even more. So if you are the worst team, you get the 1st pick in every round.

 

[eefflrat]

we have a salary cap keeper league, and the guy that has LT won the title 3 years ago and hasn't made the playoffs the last two years.

LT isn't singlehandeldly and automatically going to win games. It doesn't hurt to have him, but it's not always a given. FWIW the LJ owner didn't make it either.

It's a 12 player keeper/auction keep up to 10 guys and IDP'ers.

The LT owner starts

Hass/Farve

LT/Jamal

A. Johnson/Branch and Vernon davis among otheres

The LJ owner starts

Leinhart

LJ/K Jones

TO/Fitzgerald and LJ Smith

Sometimes it's all luck, as both of these guys are under .500 and neither has made the playoffs in the last 2 years.

Go figure.

The point is, keeping players doesn't guarantee anything.

 

[GregR_2]

We used to have a three player no restriction keeper league before we went to an auction format. If the league's together for long enough it will all work out. Generally, one player is not going to be so dominant over a long period of time that it creates a noncompetitive situation, even though I can clearly remember people saying "How can anyone compete with Mark when he was lucky enough to draft Terrell Davis?" And before that it was "As long as Stacey has Emmitt Smith, he'll never lose." Part of the theory behind a keeper league to me is the long term aspect.

Exactly. Few studs remain studs for such a long time, especially at RB. It used to be you couldn't beat the guy who had Emmitt, then it was TD, then Edge, then Faulk, then Priest, then SA/LJ/LT. Portis, Ahman Green, Jamal Lewis, Deuce, etc, all of those guys have been up there and fallen off. LT's consistency is an exception and not a rule.When I took two of my redraft league's keeper, we discussed a limit on how long you can keep them. I went and got the top 10 RBs for the last 5 years and when the league looked at how they turned over from one year to the next, we decided they weren't necessary.I think a better thing to add is instead of mandatory keepers with no cost, you let people forego a keeper and take a player normally. So if you keep 3, they count as your first 3 draft picks. If everyone keeps 3 the draft effectively starts in round 4. But if someone only keeps 2, he makes his 3rd round selection normally, before anyone else uses a pick. That's what my league does and we've found it helps teams turn things around quicker. Teams with uber studs miss out on the first chance to get the incoming rookies or guys who moved into a starting role like Gore to teams who didn't really have 3 guys who would have gone in the first 3 rounds of a redraft.

 

[swirvenirvin]

We used to have a three player no restriction keeper league before we went to an auction format. If the league's together for long enough it will all work out. Generally, one player is not going to be so dominant over a long period of time that it creates a noncompetitive situation, even though I can clearly remember people saying "How can anyone compete with Mark when he was lucky enough to draft Terrell Davis?" And before that it was "As long as Stacey has Emmitt Smith, he'll never lose." Part of the theory behind a keeper league to me is the long term aspect.

Exactly. Few studs remain studs for such a long time, especially at RB. It used to be you couldn't beat the guy who had Emmitt, then it was TD, then Edge, then Faulk, then Priest, then SA/LJ/LT. Portis, Ahman Green, Jamal Lewis, Deuce, etc, all of those guys have been up there and fallen off. LT's consistency is an exception and not a rule.When I took two of my redraft league's keeper, we discussed a limit on how long you can keep them. I went and got the top 10 RBs for the last 5 years and when the league looked at how they turned over from one year to the next, we decided they weren't necessary.I think a better thing to add is instead of mandatory keepers with no cost, you let people forego a keeper and take a player normally. So if you keep 3, they count as your first 3 draft picks. If everyone keeps 3 the draft effectively starts in round 4. But if someone only keeps 2, he makes his 3rd round selection normally, before anyone else uses a pick. That's what my league does and we've found it helps teams turn things around quicker. Teams with uber studs miss out on the first chance to get the incoming rookies or guys who moved into a starting role like Gore to teams who didn't really have 3 guys who would have gone in the first 3 rounds of a redraft.

Not bad

 

[baronson]

We used to have a three player no restriction keeper league before we went to an auction format. If the league's together for long enough it will all work out.

Generally, one player is not going to be so dominant over a long period of time that it creates a noncompetitive situation, even though I can clearly remember people saying "How can anyone compete with Mark when he was lucky enough to draft Terrell Davis?" And before that it was "As long as Stacey has Emmitt Smith, he'll never lose."

Part of the theory behind a keeper league to me is the long term aspect.

Exactly. Few studs remain studs for such a long time, especially at RB. It used to be you couldn't beat the guy who had Emmitt, then it was TD, then Edge, then Faulk, then Priest, then SA/LJ/LT. Portis, Ahman Green, Jamal Lewis, Deuce, etc, all of those guys have been up there and fallen off. LT's consistency is an exception and not a rule.When I took two of my redraft league's keeper, we discussed a limit on how long you can keep them. I went and got the top 10 RBs for the last 5 years and when the league looked at how they turned over from one year to the next, we decided they weren't necessary.

I think a better thing to add is instead of mandatory keepers with no cost, you let people forego a keeper and take a player normally. So if you keep 3, they count as your first 3 draft picks. If everyone keeps 3 the draft effectively starts in round 4. But if someone only keeps 2, he makes his 3rd round selection normally, before anyone else uses a pick. That's what my league does and we've found it helps teams turn things around quicker. Teams with uber studs miss out on the first chance to get the incoming rookies or guys who moved into a starting role like Gore to teams who didn't really have 3 guys who would have gone in the first 3 rounds of a redraft.

that's how ours works. except all unused keeper spots are entered into a "predraft" lottery. that's where guys like Bush, Addai, Maroney, DeWilliams were all taken this year. i agree, it helps bad teams turn things around quicker. rather than keeping Chris Chambers from last year, you can dump him back and take a shot at the next RB stud.the only way to compete with the LT2 owner is to go out and find another LT2, or the next best thing. every year or two there is a new stud on the scene. you have to make sure you get him.

besides, what has happened in our league, where you can only keep guys for 3 years, is last year, the SA owner and the LT2 owner were at the end of their ropes, and they traded one for the other. and if you think about it, even if there is no comparison to LT2, the guy can still trade him for a bunch of draft picks or a group of studs and still dominate.

the answer is the pre-draft lottery, i think. when LT2 gets hurt, or starts to tail off, the problem will take care of itself. besides, leagues should be formed under the assumption that it's a looong commitment. therefore, over time, everyone will have equal opportunities to get the next LT2.

 

[Andrew74]

I think a better thing to add is instead of mandatory keepers with no cost, you let people forego a keeper and take a player normally. So if you keep 3, they count as your first 3 draft picks. If everyone keeps 3 the draft effectively starts in round 4. But if someone only keeps 2, he makes his 3rd round selection normally, before anyone else uses a pick. That's what my league does and we've found it helps teams turn things around quicker. Teams with uber studs miss out on the first chance to get the incoming rookies or guys who moved into a starting role like Gore to teams who didn't really have 3 guys who would have gone in the first 3 rounds of a redraft.

This is how a league of mine does it and it helps out the weaker teams. We are 4 years into it and no one has come close to repeating as champ. Actually, neither the LT or SA owner have won so far.

 

[Marburg]

We have a 16 team dynasty league with 20 players each. The protections are based on the previous year's scoring. Each team gets a set number of points they can protect based on where they finished in the previous season. The commish then takes all the players, drops the defenses and divides them up into rounds. So if you protect a player it uses up your protection points and you give up your pick in the appropriate round.

For instance the LJ owner had to decide if LJ, who scored 260 in 2005, is worth half their protection allotment and their first round pick in 2006. It also makes for interesting trades late in the season as a team who is out of the running can trade a performer, like Colston, that will be difficult to protect for an injured player who will probably outplay his draft position in the next season. In 2005 Daunte Culpepper scored 61 points and was worth a 7th round pick. Obviously that protection didn't pan out, but it could have been a steal. To use Colston as an example, he is likely to be a first round pick, maybe second depending on how he recovers. He might be worth trading away to a playoff team (prior to the ankle injury) for a rookie RB who can be protected in the 12th round and might start next season.

We don't trade draft picks per se, so there is no need to collect the payment in advance of the upcoming season. It also helps if we lose an owner because we don't have to worry about the abandonded team having no draft picks.

The league is in its 8th season and seven different owners have won the superbowl. Of the eight teams in the playoffs this season five are previous Superbowl winners, so there is a good chance that this season is our first repeat, but it isn't guaranteed.

The system allows for plenty of turnover, but the best owners are typically in the playoff hunt year to year.