Playoffs or No playoffs? That is the question..... (1 Viewer)

[Gally]

I have been playing FF since 1985. That league (which is still going) did not have playoffs. We played the full season and the best record won the title. This is how I was "raised" on FF and prefer this to playoffs for a myriad of reasons. I do play in both formats but for my bigger, more serious leagues I prefer non-playoff as I believe it gives a better a representation of the best team winning the title.

I have also started a couple leagues with more novice players and I prefer the playoff format in those cases as they are a better way of keeping interest because I have all teams make the playoffs. I have found in these type leagues this is a much better way to keep all teams involved throughout the regular season. Leagues where the playoff teams are limited tend to lead to more owners giving up and coasting out the regular season if the beginning of their season started out badly.

It got me to thinking to see what percentage of leagues are non-playoff vs playoff formats. So vote and then post why you prefer one over the other. If by some chance there is an a different format to award a champion post the particulars. I would be interested to see what other ways there are.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I used to play roto baseball back in the day.

Every year the same 4-6 teams would be competing, and by July/August the same 6-8 teams would be eliminated.

And the eliminated teams would stop paying attention.

Those also-rans would drop out all the time - even though hope springs eternal in redraft, I’d have to replace 4-6 mangers every couple of years.

When Yahoo put out the weekly H2H/hybrid format, everything changed. I’ve had no turnover for 7 seasons, and we’re about to expand to two more teams.

Divisions & playoffs in fantasy sports do help a little in giving a better chance to all teams to win. Any given Sunday, and stronger / weaker divisions, “get hot at the right time” and all that.

When I was in 6 leagues many, many moons ago, I found it was always the 1st or 2nd place teams that lost in the playoffs who lobbied the loudest to eliminate playoffs. They felt it’s unfair that they were the 1-or-2-seed but didn’t make the LCG. Tough break kid - so sad, too had, bye bye.

I love playoffs. In my 16 team league there are no divisions, 6 make it - and it’s 1-5, then the wildcard is the highest scoring team that didn’t make the playoffs regardless of record. I love that.

12-team dynasty, 6 make the ‘offs. 2 week playoff then LCG. Lots of opportunity for the top seeds to be eliminated.

In the 12-team IDP I commission, 3 divisions of 4 teams, 3 division winners + WC advance for 1 week playoff.

I enjoy all of those formats. I don’t want to play in a league where 3/4 of the teams likely have no chance by November.

Thinking back, I only enjoyed it for straight roto FBB because I was always one of the top teams.

 

[travdogg]

I play in 4 leagues. 2 are traditional schedule/playoffs leagues. 1 is a points league, where there are no weekly games, and the team who scores the most points at the end of the season (through week 18) wins, and 1 is a no schedule points league, but restarts with 4 teams for the playoffs (weeks 16/17)

I see the pluses and minuses for all, but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning. It eliminates the luck factor a lot. Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning.

I kind of agree, but I also kinda think that’s a negative. I’m a socialist like that. lol

I love the luck factor, but moreover, because of attrition, the “most deserving” team” is a bit of a misnomer.

With playoffs, I love that a scrappy team who had some terrible injury luck early can make shrewd trades, smart waiver adds, and fight their way to the wildcard where anything can happen. I’ve seen teams lose several high round drafted starters & still win a ‘ship this way.

It eliminates the luck factor a lot.

Except it sort of doesn’t - it seems like that format punishes teams for having bad luck, while rewarding teams lucky enough to stay healthy. Luck is always a factor regardless of how well teams draft.

Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

That’s my biggest issue with the roto-style systems. I played in that format for 1 season and hated it. Seemed like half the teams stopped setting a lineup after week 9.

 

[Boston]

Both my Dynasty leagues have a head-to-head/playoffs winner (Runner-up gets $) and an overall winner (as well as second and third getting$) and gives $ for weekly high scores…solves all issues.

 

[Gally]

I play in 4 leagues. 2 are traditional schedule/playoffs leagues. 1 is a points league, where there are no weekly games, and the team who scores the most points at the end of the season (through week 18) wins, and 1 is a no schedule points league, but restarts with 4 teams for the playoffs (weeks 16/17)

I see the pluses and minuses for all, but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning. It eliminates the luck factor a lot. Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

We have helped lessen the impact of teams running away with the title in that we pay down 5 places. So even though the trophy may get sewn up a couple weeks early there is still plenty to play for as there is money at stake. We also have an "eliminated bonus" for the last four weeks where all teams eliminated from a money spot are playing for 1% as the highest scoring team (from the eliminated teams) for the week.


I cannot remember a title being sewn up more that 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time and usually it comes down to the last two weeks. This may be due to the fact that we have incorporated "position" weeks into the schedule where it lines up as 1st v 2nd, 3rd v 4th, etc. It's like a mini playoff week so you can gain ground on those around you. It worked great in a 17 week schedule with 14 teams as you played every team once (13 weeks) and then 4 position weeks (week 4, 8, 12, 16). Completely balanced schedule. With the 18 week schedule we just added another position week but they don't get as evenly spaced out.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

It's simple, really. Playoffs are the least fair way to pick a winner, but the most fun.

Look at this team I've got.

13-1
52 FFPC Victory Points (14 more than the next closest team)
2400 total points (no other team over 2000pts)

It's by far the most dominant FF team I've ever had.

This is a $500 buy-in league, so $2500 prize pot. Easy win if it were just best record. For all intents and purposes, this team is essentially eliminated now after putting up 120pts in week 16 (previous season low was 165pts).

It was the same story last year. Dominant regular season, worst week of the year came in the playoffs.

I have another team, in another $500 league, that was almost as good, with the same story. In two years between two absolutely dominant teams I'll have 0 championships, even though I should have had 4 (and $10,000 in prize money).

And I STILL prefer playoffs by a huge margin. It's just more fun. Both of those leagues would have been over 7 weeks ago without playoffs. And while I'd love the prize money, obviously, from a fun factor it would have been a bore.

These last 2 years have been insanely frustrating for me with 11 leagues, 19 playoff appearances, 8 #1 overall seeds, and 0 championships to come out of all of it. But I still wouldn't trade it for playing roto style. I am actually in a couple of leagues like that, and they are, simply put, a total bore.

 

[Gally]

Every year the same 4-6 teams would be competing, and by July/August the same 6-8 teams would be eliminated.

We hated this about fantasy baseball as well so we came up with a Pod system. We play 5 week pods that count as individual seasons. We play 4 of them and then the fifth pod is the playoffs. Here is how it works:

• Pod 1: You play all other teams (we have 12 teams) for 11 games over those first 5 weeks. Each "game" is one week. We do have a couple double headers and a triple header to get all 11 games in for the 5 weeks. Based on this the teams get divided into two divisions. The upper division (top 6 teams by record) called Hobbs and the lower division (bottom six teams) called Ueker. Best record gets a percentage of the pot. Second place gets a lesser percentage.
• Pod 2. You play every team in your division once. The winner of Hobbs gets 11% and the winner of Ueker gets 4%. Bottom three teams get relegated from Hobbs and top 3 get promoted from Ueker.
• Pod 3 & 4: A new season with the new divisions. Then payout, relegation, promotion same as Pod 2.
• Pod 5: This is the playoffs. Teams get seeded by number of times in the Hobbs division. Top 4 teams get a bye week. Remaining 8 teams play with #5 v #12 etc. The World Series is for the final two weeks of the MLB season to award a Champion.

This has worked out great as your seasons are only 5 weeks long and then it starts over (you keep the same team but records clear and you have a shot again). It's a points based system for the weekly matchups and we have two lineup days (prior to first game on Monday & Friday) where you can change your lineup. We didn't want daily lineups. This has worked extremely well and every team stays active the entire year. It also helps the season fly by so you don't ever get bored because you have a restart in 5 weeks if you get hit with injuries or a bad couple weeks. It's awesome.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Every year the same 4-6 teams would be competing, and by July/August the same 6-8 teams would be eliminated.

We hated this about fantasy baseball as well so we came up with a Pod system. We play 5 week pods that count as individual seasons. We play 4 of them and then the fifth pod is the playoffs. Here is how it works:

• Pod 1: You play all other teams (we have 12 teams) for 11 games over those first 5 weeks. Each "game" is one week. We do have a couple double headers and a triple header to get all 11 games in for the 5 weeks. Based on this the teams get divided into two divisions. The upper division (top 6 teams by record) called Hobbs and the lower division (bottom six teams) called Ueker. Best record gets a percentage of the pot. Second place gets a lesser percentage.
• Pod 2. You play every team in your division once. The winner of Hobbs gets 11% and the winner of Ueker gets 4%. Bottom three teams get relegated from Hobbs and top 3 get promoted from Ueker.
• Pod 3 & 4: A new season with the new divisions. Then payout, relegation, promotion same as Pod 2.
• Pod 5: This is the playoffs. Teams get seeded by number of times in the Hobbs division. Top 4 teams get a bye week. Remaining 8 teams play with #5 v #12 etc. The World Series is for the final two weeks of the MLB season to award a Champion.

This has worked out great as your seasons are only 5 weeks long and then it starts over (you keep the same team but records clear and you have a shot again). It's a points based system for the weekly matchups and we have two lineup days (prior to first game on Monday & Friday) where you can change your lineup. We didn't want daily lineups. This has worked extremely well and every team stays active the entire year. It also helps the season fly by so you don't ever get bored because you have a restart in 5 weeks if you get hit with injuries or a bad couple weeks. It's awesome.

That’s a fascinating solution, and I applaud your league for recognizing the flaws with roto & coming up with this. Bravo. Very cool idea.

 

[Gally]

But I still wouldn't trade it for playing roto style. I am actually in a couple of leagues like that, and they are, simply put, a total bore.

Is it actually roto style (all play or total points)? I would agree roto style would be terrible for football but it is much different than a H2H league that plays 18 weeks. H2H still gets you the competitive nature of going against a specific opponent where you still have a shot even if your team has a down week because they could to. In roto you are playing against everyone so if your team has a down week you are screwed no matter what. You don't get the opportunity to root against a specific opponent and I think that is the best feature of the football schedule. Playing roto style takes that away.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Mine splits it right down the middle. Half of the money goes to regular season winner + 2nd place, half to post season winner + 2nd place.

 

[Gally]

Mine splits it right down the middle. Half of the money goes to regular season winner + 2nd place, half to post season winner + 2nd place.

We give 30% to the regular season winner and 70% to the Super Bowl Winner

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I am actually in a couple of leagues like that, and they are, simply put, a total bore.

Well said. The trash talking from H2H is unparalleled. If a top 3 team trash talks a lower team in roto it just comes off as obnoxious bullying, but when a 2-9 team potentially knocks an 8-3 team out of the playoffs with an unexpected upset, it’s just magical.

And we have a fiesty league, so we’ll often get side bets going too. I’ve won $120 that way over the course of the season (I’ve won 11 games in a row) so it’s already been a profitable season before I even play in the LCG.

That stuff can only happen in H2H.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Mine splits it right down the middle. Half of the money goes to regular season winner + 2nd place, half to post season winner + 2nd place.

We give 30% to the regular season winner and 70% to the Super Bowl Winner

In the IDP Redraft league I commission we go 65% LCG winner, 25% LCG loser, 10% points total.

We also have $50 in-season prizes for AWB (a## whoopin bonus) and single game high score that come off the top.

 

[travdogg]

but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning.

I kind of agree, but I also kinda think that’s a negative. I’m a socialist like that. lol

I love the luck factor, but moreover, because of attrition, the “most deserving” team” is a bit of a misnomer.

With playoffs, I love that a scrappy team who had some terrible injury luck early can make shrewd trades, smart waiver adds, and fight their way to the wildcard where anything can happen. I’ve seen teams lose several high round drafted starters & still win a ‘ship this way.

It eliminates the luck factor a lot.

Except it sort of doesn’t - it seems like that format punishes teams for having bad luck, while rewarding teams lucky enough to stay healthy. Luck is always a factor regardless of how well teams draft.

Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

That’s my biggest issue with the roto-style systems. I played in that format for 1 season and hated it. Seemed like half the teams stopped setting a lineup after week 9.

Some of attrition stuff is counterbalanced at least in my league, by it being a thin league with no IR spots. That league is 7 starters (1-2-3-1) and only 13 roster spots between 10 teams, so the waiver wire isn't your Deon Jacksons of the world. Guys like Trevor Lawrence, Evan Engram, Brian Robinson, and Jerick McKinnon were all waiver pickups in the last 2 weeks.

I agree with the scrappy team that gets together sometimes, but I also feel bad about the team who just has 1 down week. There is 1 team in one of my regular leagues that went 14-0 in the regular season, and was BY FAR the best team in the league, like almost 40 PPG ahead of everyone else, they lost last week. Even though I'm probably the favorite to win that league now, because I avoid having to play that team, I know that team is WAY better than mine. So, I feel a little bad for them.

 

[efactor]

I play in 4 leagues. 2 are traditional schedule/playoffs leagues. 1 is a points league, where there are no weekly games, and the team who scores the most points at the end of the season (through week 18) wins, and 1 is a no schedule points league, but restarts with 4 teams for the playoffs (weeks 16/17)

I see the pluses and minuses for all, but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning. It eliminates the luck factor a lot. Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

Bolded part is true but just way more fun IMO to play head to head and have playoffs, especially when playing in league with friends, some of whom may not be as into FF as people like us that hang out on this site all year, even off-season.

 

[tricky92]

Mine splits it right down the middle. Half of the money goes to regular season winner + 2nd place, half to post season winner + 2nd place.

My league is similar... but, we give prizes to the 1st and 2nd in total points, and those points keep accumulating through the post season.
It keeps teams interested. I'm in 2nd place in points currently, but missed the playoffs with a 6-8 record.

Our last place team (standings) actually has to buy the beer for next season's draft.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I know that team is WAY better than mine. So, I feel a little bad for them.

I never, ever feel bad for that team. Surely they have angered the FF gods with their hubris, and have been smited for it.

 

[BeTheMatch]

Every year the same 4-6 teams would be competing, and by July/August the same 6-8 teams would be eliminated.

We hated this about fantasy baseball as well so we came up with a Pod system. We play 5 week pods that count as individual seasons. We play 4 of them and then the fifth pod is the playoffs. Here is how it works:

• Pod 1: You play all other teams (we have 12 teams) for 11 games over those first 5 weeks. Each "game" is one week. We do have a couple double headers and a triple header to get all 11 games in for the 5 weeks. Based on this the teams get divided into two divisions. The upper division (top 6 teams by record) called Hobbs and the lower division (bottom six teams) called Ueker. Best record gets a percentage of the pot. Second place gets a lesser percentage.
• Pod 2. You play every team in your division once. The winner of Hobbs gets 11% and the winner of Ueker gets 4%. Bottom three teams get relegated from Hobbs and top 3 get promoted from Ueker.
• Pod 3 & 4: A new season with the new divisions. Then payout, relegation, promotion same as Pod 2.
• Pod 5: This is the playoffs. Teams get seeded by number of times in the Hobbs division. Top 4 teams get a bye week. Remaining 8 teams play with #5 v #12 etc. The World Series is for the final two weeks of the MLB season to award a Champion.

This has worked out great as your seasons are only 5 weeks long and then it starts over (you keep the same team but records clear and you have a shot again). It's a points based system for the weekly matchups and we have two lineup days (prior to first game on Monday & Friday) where you can change your lineup. We didn't want daily lineups. This has worked extremely well and every team stays active the entire year. It also helps the season fly by so you don't ever get bored because you have a restart in 5 weeks if you get hit with injuries or a bad couple weeks. It's awesome.

Geez, that sounds pretty cool. Any openings????

 

[travdogg]

I know that team is WAY better than mine. So, I feel a little bad for them.

I never, ever feel bad for that team. Surely they have angered the FF gods with their hubris, and have been smited for it.

I've been that team too many times not to feel a little for them.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

In my long-time redraft (the only league I am still in):

We play out all regular season weeks (no FF in-season playoffs). We have weekly payouts for high team ($25), high player ($20), and 2nd high team ($10). The 3 Division winners get a payout equal to their buy-ins ($200)and the two WC teams (highest total points among non-division winners) get a lesser payout ($100). Then those 5 teams redraft from the NFL playoff teams (with a keep-one-player option as their 1st round pick). During the NFL playoffs, it's a 5-team sprint for total points through the Super Bowl. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the playoffs win money. Been doing this in some form or another since 1989.

 

[Gally]

Geez, that sounds pretty cool. Any openings????

It's a dynasty league and we have a wait list right now.....

 

[BeTheMatch]

Geez, that sounds pretty cool. Any openings????

It's a dynasty league and we have a wait list right now.....

 

[Keith R]

In four leagues right now. 3 have 4-team playoffs. One is straight redraft, so there are some issues regarding the interest levels of the lesser teams.

The ones I have more say over have ways to combat this. One is a dynasty league where the playoff teams will draft 9-12 next year. The bottom 8 teams have a dice roll for the top 8 spots and while the lowest teams get more dice rolls, non-playoff teams that win their final regular season game get an additional roll while those that lose lose one of their rolls.

The third one is my premier league. While the top four teams make the playoffs, the bottom four fall into the Toilet Bowl Bracket. The losers of the TBB semifinals play in the Toilet Bowl, where the loser is flushed from the league in order to make room for the champion of the feeder leagues. Needless to say, interest levels remain very high for all teams throughout the year.

 

[Gally]

I figured it would be skewed to playoffs but I didn't think I would be the only one that doesn't have playoffs

 

[dmac37]

Mine splits it right down the middle. Half of the money goes to regular season winner + 2nd place, half to post season winner + 2nd place.

We give 30% to the regular season winner and 70% to the Super Bowl Winner

This is basically what our league does but if it was up to me I would reverse it tilted 70% for the regular season. Place the higher reward for the larger part of the season, not the team with the best breaks for a 2/3 week stretch.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

“Playoffs” running away with it. Jim Mora would be proud.

 

[FairWarning]

I am the other - we do roto-style fantasy points. There are also payouts for weekly high score, and position high score yearly (but you have to start him that week).

 

[Deamon]

I have been playing FF since 1985. That league (which is still going) did not have playoffs. We played the full season and the best record won the title. This is how I was "raised" on FF and prefer this to playoffs for a myriad of reasons. I do play in both formats but for my bigger, more serious leagues I prefer non-playoff as I believe it gives a better a representation of the best team winning the title.

I have also started a couple leagues with more novice players and I prefer the playoff format in those cases as they are a better way of keeping interest because I have all teams make the playoffs. I have found in these type leagues this is a much better way to keep all teams involved throughout the regular season. Leagues where the playoff teams are limited tend to lead to more owners giving up and coasting out the regular season if the beginning of their season started out badly.

It got me to thinking to see what percentage of leagues are non-playoff vs playoff formats. So vote and then post why you prefer one over the other. If by some chance there is an a different format to award a champion post the particulars. I would be interested to see what other ways there are.

You're right it's a better representation of the best team winning the title, but it's also super boring that way. In many cases you're going to have the champion decided so early, and half the teams out of the running for the title with like 30% of the season to go.

All teams making the playoffs is a huge over adjustment, as you went from regular season meaning TOO much, to regular season meaning NOT ENOUGH.

 

[Gally]

You're right it's a better representation of the best team winning the title, but it's also super boring that way. In many cases you're going to have the champion decided so early, and half the teams out of the running for the title with like 30% of the season to go.

That league has been going on for over 35 years and the title has been decided "early" only a handful of times. We also pay down 5 places so there is a lot to play for and keeps things interesting and owners trying to win. In playoff leagues that have 4 or 6 teams make it you also have the playoffs sewn up early where teams just give up with nothing to play for. I find that worse in most cases than the league with no playoffs.

With any of this you need good owners or bad things happen. You say it's super boring playing that way. Have you played with no playoffs before?

 

[Deamon]

You're right it's a better representation of the best team winning the title, but it's also super boring that way. In many cases you're going to have the champion decided so early, and half the teams out of the running for the title with like 30% of the season to go.

That league has been going on for over 35 years and the title has been decided "early" only a handful of times. We also pay down 5 places so there is a lot to play for and keeps things interesting and owners trying to win. In playoff leagues that have 4 or 6 teams make it you also have the playoffs sewn up early where teams just give up with nothing to play for. I find that worse in most cases than the league with no playoffs.

With any of this you need good owners or bad things happen. You say it's super boring playing that way. Have you played with no playoffs before?

I played a total points/no playoffs league once and it was so awful.

 

[Mitchie]

One of the leagues I'm in is no playoffs, we made the switch about 5 years ago and everyone loves it (we stop after week 17).

I will say for this to work it needs to be a competitive league. By that I mostly mean everyone has to stay engaged and no deadbeat type owners of any kind.

You do miss out on the excitement of the playoffs but on the flip side the rest of the season is more meaningful.

 

[Gally]

I played a total points/no playoffs league once and it was so awful.

That is not at all what I am talking about. My league is a H2H league that plays 18 weeks. Best record is the champ. Have you played a league like that?

 

[Deamon]

I played a total points/no playoffs league once and it was so awful.

That is not at all what I am talking about. My league is a H2H league that plays 18 weeks. Best record is the champ. Have you played a league like that?

No I have not. Looks like you and 1 other person are the only one's that have.

 

[Gally]

No I have not. Looks like you and 1 other person are the only one's that have.

Maybe so but you can't really say it's super boring when you have never played that format. It's just like a typical playoff format league without having one week make or break your season.

 

[Deamon]

No I have not. Looks like you and 1 other person are the only one's that have.

Maybe so but you can't really say it's super boring when you have never played that format. It's just like a typical playoff format league without having one week make or break your season.

All I know is I'd hate to be 8-6 after week 14 and instead of prepping for some fun playoffs, I'd have no shot to win the title since there's a guy at 12-2, and needing a small miracle to even catch a 10-4 guy. That's just me though and if you like that format then there's nothing wrong with that. Likely would be a very small minority though.

 

[DangerMonkey]

12 Team dynasty league. 4 Teams make the playoffs

• Winning a division: 10%
• Becoming the Wild Card team: 7.5%
• Best regular season record: 7.5%
• Most regular season points scored: 7.5%
• Best regular season All Play record: 7.5%
• Winning a semi-final playoff game: 10%
• Winning the Big Game: 20%

 

[Mitchie]

No I have not. Looks like you and 1 other person are the only one's that have.

Maybe so but you can't really say it's super boring when you have never played that format. It's just like a typical playoff format league without having one week make or break your season.

All I know is I'd hate to be 8-6 after week 14 and instead of prepping for some fun playoffs, I'd have no shot to win the title since there's a guy at 12-2, and needing a small miracle to even catch a 10-4 guy. That's just me though and if you like that format then there's nothing wrong with that. Likely would be a very small minority though.

You'd like it if you were the 12-2 team. It rewards the best team.

 

[Gally]

No I have not. Looks like you and 1 other person are the only one's that have.

Maybe so but you can't really say it's super boring when you have never played that format. It's just like a typical playoff format league without having one week make or break your season.

All I know is I'd hate to be 8-6 after week 14 and instead of prepping for some fun playoffs, I'd have no shot to win the title since there's a guy at 12-2, and needing a small miracle to even catch a 10-4 guy. That's just me though and if you like that format then there's nothing wrong with that. Likely would be a very small minority though.

You'd like it if you were the 12-2 team. It rewards the best team.

It also makes winning the title very difficult because you need to be solid the entire year and have a great team from top to bottom. Championships are very difficult to come by because it takes more than a few hot weeks.

 

[jm192]

but I do think the no playoffs leagues lead to the most deserving team winning.

I kind of agree, but I also kinda think that’s a negative. I’m a socialist like that. lol

I love the luck factor, but moreover, because of attrition, the “most deserving” team” is a bit of a misnomer.

With playoffs, I love that a scrappy team who had some terrible injury luck early can make shrewd trades, smart waiver adds, and fight their way to the wildcard where anything can happen. I’ve seen teams lose several high round drafted starters & still win a ‘ship this way.

It eliminates the luck factor a lot.

Except it sort of doesn’t - it seems like that format punishes teams for having bad luck, while rewarding teams lucky enough to stay healthy. Luck is always a factor regardless of how well teams draft.

Of course, sometimes you also end up with the league basically being wrapped up by week 14 or so.

That’s my biggest issue with the roto-style systems. I played in that format for 1 season and hated it. Seemed like half the teams stopped setting a lineup after week 9.

I agree with a lot of this.

It's frustrating to be the best team all season and not win it. But that happens in real life too.

In-season management matters. The "process" matters. Picking up a guy who has a big opportunity and having him blow up in the playoffs is part of it. Is there some luck to it? Of course. Is there some well thought out logic also involved? Of course. And that deserves to be rewarded.

 

[Gally]

In-season management matters. The "process" matters. Picking up a guy who has a big opportunity and having him blow up in the playoffs is part of it. Is there some luck to it? Of course. Is there some well thought out logic also involved? Of course. And that deserves to be rewarded.

That gets rewarded in season long (no playoffs and not roto) leagues as well. If you don't stay active and try and improve throughout the season you will have losing streaks and fall out (or into) contention based on how you manage your team for the entire year.

I am not talking about a roto-style total points league. I am talking about a H2H best record after 18 weeks league. It seems many are confusing having no playoffs with it being a pts only roto-style league. That is not the style of league I was referencing.

 

[jm192]

In-season management matters. The "process" matters. Picking up a guy who has a big opportunity and having him blow up in the playoffs is part of it. Is there some luck to it? Of course. Is there some well thought out logic also involved? Of course. And that deserves to be rewarded.

That gets rewarded in season long (no playoffs and not roto) leagues as well. If you don't stay active and try and improve throughout the season you will have losing streaks and fall out (or into) contention based on how you manage your team for the entire year.

I am not talking about a roto-style total points league. I am talking about a H2H best record after 18 weeks league. It seems many are confusing having no playoffs with it being a pts only roto-style league. That is not the style of league I was referencing.

Not a fan of the idea.

It seems like an attempt to award the Championship to "the actual best team." And take away the idea that 1 bad week in the playoffs costs you the season.

My problem with this is that--if we're just trying to say best team throughout the season--total points is the way to do it.

The point of the game is to score fantasy points. Almost by definition--the "best team" is the one that scores the most points. But we've all been in that situation where we have multiple weeks against the top scoring team and we lose despite being the 2nd or 3rd highest scoring team.

If we're going to say that--1 bad week shouldn't cost you--why are we going to punish you for playing against multiple teams on their spike weeks? If we're saying no playoffs--I think total points at the end of the season makes the most sense.

 

[Gally]

Not a fan of the idea.

It seems like an attempt to award the Championship to "the actual best team." And take away the idea that 1 bad week in the playoffs costs you the season.

My problem with this is that--if we're just trying to say best team throughout the season--total points is the way to do it.

The point of the game is to score fantasy points. Almost by definition--the "best team" is the one that scores the most points. But we've all been in that situation where we have multiple weeks against the top scoring team and we lose despite being the 2nd or 3rd highest scoring team.

If we're going to say that--1 bad week shouldn't cost you--why are we going to punish you for playing against multiple teams on their spike weeks? If we're saying no playoffs--I think total points at the end of the season makes the most sense.

It's a way to take away the one bad week and your season is over aspect of playoffs while also keeping the H2H competitiveness that is great about FF. You will always have luck in this game as you can't control in game injuries or the schedule maker situation but for any given week you have a shot to win and one loss doesn't kill you for the entire season (like it does in the playoffs). It allows for the H2H competitiveness that you won't get in a roto-style total points league because there you aren't really playing an opponent so it takes away that week to week matchup. It may not be the absolute most points = best team scenario but it's a closer than playoffs.

I see both sides and play in both types of leagues. For big money leagues I prefer the no playoff-play 18 week approach so one bad week doesn't kill your season. For leagues where you have a wide variety of skill players then playoffs is a good equalizer to give the lesser players a better chance.

There is no right or wrong. It's all personal preference.

 

[Mitchie]

In-season management matters. The "process" matters. Picking up a guy who has a big opportunity and having him blow up in the playoffs is part of it. Is there some luck to it? Of course. Is there some well thought out logic also involved? Of course. And that deserves to be rewarded.

That gets rewarded in season long (no playoffs and not roto) leagues as well. If you don't stay active and try and improve throughout the season you will have losing streaks and fall out (or into) contention based on how you manage your team for the entire year.

I am not talking about a roto-style total points league. I am talking about a H2H best record after 18 weeks league. It seems many are confusing having no playoffs with it being a pts only roto-style league. That is not the style of league I was referencing.

Not a fan of the idea.

It seems like an attempt to award the Championship to "the actual best team." And take away the idea that 1 bad week in the playoffs costs you the season.

My problem with this is that--if we're just trying to say best team throughout the season--total points is the way to do it.

The point of the game is to score fantasy points. Almost by definition--the "best team" is the one that scores the most points. But we've all been in that situation where we have multiple weeks against the top scoring team and we lose despite being the 2nd or 3rd highest scoring team.

If we're going to say that--1 bad week shouldn't cost you--why are we going to punish you for playing against multiple teams on their spike weeks? If we're saying no playoffs--I think total points at the end of the season makes the most sense.

Total points leagues eliminate the H2H aspect. A no playoff league that uses the record for the entire year keeps this. Only difference is that the entire season doesn't depend on last 2 or 3 weeks of the season. It thereby places more weight on the other 13 or 14 games. Technically Total points would better identify the best team but this provides a bit of balance.