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Playboy Magazine (1 Viewer)

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BAT1man

Footballguy
For credibility sake, portions of this post has been edited for accuracy. I was writing this late at night and from memory and after 'checking my sources' this morning, I realized I used some language that wasn't actually said in Mike Williams' answer during the Playboy interview. :bag:

Has anybody else had a chance to check out the August issue of Playboy's NFL Preview article? It is pretty well written in that the author interviews several current and former players and coaches and ask "the questions we've always wanted to ask." It is pretty interesting but not really FF related except for one question.

The following paragraph was edited for accuracy.

The author asked Mike Williams (WR) of the Lions if players play fantasy football. He replied that they do and that it is really big with the Lions players. He said that the Lions players had a fantasy league last season in which they drafted from all NFL teams, including the Lions. He said that Kevin Jones was the only guy that drafted himself. Roy Williams was the commissioner and made sure everybody updated their roster and managed their bench. He commented that he had the Dallas and Carolina defenses and that "we even played them in the real thing."

Doesn't this seem BLATANTLY wrong to you guys? Here is a group of NFL players from one team that are also trying to win their fantasy league. What if these guys actually set up their fantasy team in spite of their own real stats or performance? It sure would explain the Lions bad play last season.

Anyone else think this little piece of info might be something to consider when drafting a Lion player or someone else with similar talent?

For the record, I DO NOT only read Playboy for the articles. :eek:

 
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I'd assume the Lions players aren't the only ones that played fantasy football.

Whether or not they found it weird to play against guys on their fantasy teams, I don't believe it was the main reason they failed to live up to expectations.

 
I'm not sure what the problem is here. Are you suggesting that the Lions players put up like $100K a player to play fantasy football? If so, maybe that's an issue if you think a CB is going to let his WR, Terrell Owens, get a TD to pad his fantasy team's stats.

If they are mostly playing for fun or burger money, this should have no bearing on whether to draft them, nor should it impact how they play other than it may feel weird to them.

 
In response to the original question, no, I do not think this in ANY way impacted what happened during the Lions' crappy season. As David said, unless there was MAJOR money involved in the FF league, then there's no way the Lions players "tanked" any of the games. And no, this will not impact my decisions regarding the drafting of Lions players.

But it is a very interesting subject nonetheless. I mean, how cool would it be to be a professional football player, and be in a FF league? You could draft yourself. You could draft your teammates. You could draft your opponents (could you imagine being a Raiders player and drafting Tony G?). You could bench yourself, your teammates, or your opponents. Things that happen during your game on Sunday also impact your for-fun FF league, just the same as every regular Joe in America. That just seems so cool to me. It's like seeing yourself in a video game, only cooler, because your actual real-life performance impacts what happens in the "game".

 
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When I was in college, the guy across the hall from my dorm room was the star of our Division I basketball team (he lost his sweet campus apartment in a minor scandal and had to move into the regular student housing). Anyway, he'd always come over to play against my roommate on Playstation, and he'd always want to play as himself in NCAA Basketball.

He sucked just as much in the game as he did on the court. But he'd always be shouting out stuff like "I totally would have made that shot!" Never could in a real game, though, so I guess the Playstation was pretty accurate.

 
In response to the original question, no, I do not think this in ANY way impacted what happened during the Lions' crappy season. As David said, unless there was MAJOR money involved in the FF league, then there's no way the Lions players "tanked" any of the games. And no, this will not impact my decisions regarding the drafting of Lions players.

But it is a very interesting subject nonetheless. I mean, how cool would it be to be a professional football player, and be in a FF league? You could draft yourself. You could draft your teammates. You could draft your opponents (could you imagine being a Raiders player and drafting Tony G?). You could bench yourself, your teammates, or your opponents. Things that happen during your game on Sunday also impact your for-fun FF league, just the same as every regular Joe in America. That just seems so cool to me. It's like seeing yourself in a video game, only cooler, because your actual real-life performance impacts what happens in the "game".
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I actually think it could be a good motivator. If your league had guys on your team's defense playing with you, you could draft a lot of guys in your division and start them against your own NFL team's safety or cornerback. Hey, I'm starting Randy Moss against you this week, I'm gonna kick your butt this week . . . Maybe the guy would actually DO BETTER because of the fantasy football element.I know a lot of players play fantsay football. Here in New England, some of the Pats players call in to a local radio station and talk about who's on their teams and ask who they should start. It's kind of intriguing to listen to to be honest. One of the New England defenders drafted Peyton Manning over Tom Brady and heard about it for the past two seasons (but look how well Manning did in 2004). I don't think the Patriots internal fantasy league impacted how they played.

 
Williams was smart enough to not mention if and how much money was involved. If it was MLB, Selig's head would have exploded. Originally, I thought his quote would have had a lot more run in the mainstream media. My guess is the NFL Commissioner's Office and most sports reporters saw the Stacey Dash layout and forgot about the Williams quote. I know I did...

 
Williams was smart enough to not mention if and how much money was involved. If it was MLB, Selig's head would have exploded. Originally, I thought his quote would have had a lot more run in the mainstream media. My guess is the NFL Commissioner's Office and most sports reporters saw the Stacey Dash layout and forgot about the Williams quote. I know I did...
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This is why MLB is :loco: They'll turn a blind eye to steroids, but get in a tissy about fantasy sports?Nothing wrong with this, although I do wonder if there's trash talk when your FF WR scores on your NFL team's corner.

 
Lets say each of the Lions players in that league put up $10,000. The winner (assuming it is a 12 team league) has a shot at $120,000 unless they ar paying out to 2nd and 3rd places too.

Probably the lowest paid guy in that league is making triple that amount in salary alone. I can't imagine that a player would jeopardize his JOB to win a league even with this kind of money floating around. If he screws up and plays like he sucks then the next thing you know he isn't on a team anymore. Other than TO, I think most of these guys know where their bread is buttered and understand that they better play well if they want to get paid well.

If it does effect their performance then it is a problem, but I'd like to think they are smart enough to know the difference between a game of chance and a real job that supports them.

 
I heard about this on the radio. Seems like the NFL and NFLPA might chat about it at some point but they didn't seem concerned. Least that's what I got out of the chat.

 
The articles I usually read sound like this:

"I like to take long walks on the beach. I love animals, tight shirts and pillow fights. My pet peeves are people who don't use coasters".

GB Hugh Heffner

The only numbers or stats I want to see in Playboy are 36-24-36

 
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I suppose most players in the NFL are smart enough to separate Reality Football from Fantsay Football and would not jeopardize their career by taking an action that would help the Fantasy team and hurt the real team.

The problem is some players are just not that smart. They throw away promising careers on drugs (Rickey Williams, Ontario Smith, etc) all the time.

If a player is gambling monitarily on the outcome of his own team's games, or the stats of his own teams players or those of his team's opponents, there is the possibility that the player may alter the outcome of the game to his benefit.

Think why it was such a big deal when Pete Rose was caught gambling or the accusation Micheal Jordon had to fight through.

I'm just saying, if even once during the entire season, a guy takes a play off in order to allow his fantasy player on the opposition to increase his stats, the integrity of the game becomes tarnished.

If the Lions play for burgers or 'fun' and its just a distraction from the daily grind, it is still something that could take their focus from what is really important, which is giving their NFL team every chance to win a Championship.

I am not suggesting that the fantasy league is why the Lions sucked last season. I am implying that it may have contributed to their sucking.

I just don't see this as harmless.

 
i think that any time they are wasting thinking about anything other than than that weeks opponent or earning a job in training camp is far from harmless.

they are professionals and they should be trying to make their team something other than the laughing stock of the NFL.

 
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Just curious but what were Playboy's playoff predictions?

A little while back I remember reading where Playboy's annual predictions were consistently better than the sports heavyweights like SI, TSN and others.

 
I'm going to assume that there was not any money involved just pride.

If that is the case then I see this as a good thing, something to build team chemistry and build friendships. Something to talk about other than football. I know these guys are pros but they can't think about football 24/7 it isn't healthy. Having something these guys can relax on can only be good.

Now if there is money involved I find that of being a problem, because the word gambling would have to be associated, not good.

 
I'm going to assume that there was not any money involved just pride.

If that is the case then I see this as a good thing, something to build team chemistry and build friendships. Something to talk about other than football. I know these guys are pros but they can't think about football 24/7 it isn't healthy. Having something these guys can relax on can only be good.

Now if there is money involved I find that of being a problem, because the word gambling would have to be associated, not good.
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I know the rules are against it, but as long as you aren't betting against your own team in any way, I have no problem with athletes gambling.
 
Something to talk about other than football. I know these guys are pros but they can't think about football 24/7 it isn't healthy
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:confused: So playing fantasy football is an escape from football...how?On another note, I'd imagine it adds a whole new level of trash talking come gameday.It also explains Kevin Jones's extreme antics at Mariucci's misuse of him....maybe jvcwxyz was actually Artose Pinner after all....
 
tje lowest paid guy in that league is making triple that amount in salary alone. I can't imagine that a player would jeopardize his JOB to win a league even with this kind of money floating around. If he screws up and plays like he sucks then the next thing you know he isn't on a team anymore. Other than TO, I think most of these guys know where their bread is buttered and understand that they better play well if they want to get paid well.
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EXACTLY, no one is gonna jeopardize their job so they can win a ff league. And it's not if they were to get kicked off the team someone else would take him. No sports franchise would deal with a player who tanks games, so you're talking about someone willing to end their NFL career(and potentially millions in endorsement money) in order to win $100,000 or whatever.
 
Some of the Playboy NFL info articles are pretty good. Sure its a T&A magazine, but they also can get some of the best writers to get into the NFL. I forget the main guy they use each year for the NFL.

 
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