Federal
Footballguy
i have developed/commisshed a 10 year old contract-dynasty hybrid league with an offseason free agency system and mostly traditional scoring with a few wrinkles (head coaches, home field, DNP replacements, etc). there is a small movement to move to a point per reception scoring in this league. while i strongly oppose this scoring change i find myself intrigued with the idea of moving towards a point per first down scoring system.
over the past 3 or 4 years i have undergone a small devolution from fantasy obsession towards my roots as an nfl fan. basically taking a different perspective from full on fantasy dominated viewing, to actually watching football games for final scores and not fantasy point totals. the one thing that has stood out to me is the value of a first down. when i settle in on sunday morning to root on my team (the cardinals), i am fixated on the yellow line. in the absence of clock issues, i begin every play with a down and distance evaluation looking for a play that will put our offense in a great or good 2nd or 3rd down position or will get us beyond the first down marker (or on defense, making key stops to force bad 2nd down, 3rd down, or punt situation).
After teaching my girlfriend the football basics last year (her first year watching), this years lessons seem to revolve around the importance of first downs and what has to be done to pick up them up to keep a drive alive. i know it is a fairly simple concept, but it is one i kind of forgot about (with my fantasy only perspective), and makes me wonder why this stat doesn't receive greater attention in fantasy football or nfl coverage for that matter.
when edge drives his legs through a pile for a 2 yards on a 3rd and 1, it's a BIG PLAY! i am jumping out of my chair and pumping my fist...i'm excited. if anquan boldin puts his head down and bowls over a db 2 yards down the field on a quick pass and gets free to pick up 5 more yards and a first down it's a BIG PLAY! on the books, these plays come up as a 2 yard run or 7 yard reception, no big deal. but they are key plays that make a much bigger impact than given credit for.
whats the bigger play, picking up 12 yards on a screen pass in a 3rd and 14 situation, or plunging ahead for 3 yards in a 3rd and 2 scenario? which is easier? your player is gonna pick up one point in traditional leagues, and 2 points in ppr leagues in the first situation and get at best a fractional point in the second.
obviously i am confusing fantasy vs. nfl production, whats good for an nfl team is not easy to translate to fantasy scoring, i know that. what i don't know is if that is even truly the goal when developing a fantasy scoring system. if it is, i gotta think first downs should get some sort of credit, especially when compared to the growing trend of awarding points for a reception.
still i have lots of questions. are individual first downs an easily accessible stat made available by the nfl or easily found on the interweb? what would it do to scoring? what is the average for individual first downs? should qb's be given the same credit for passing for a first down? what would this do to average scoring? how would it impact individual players value? is one point per 1st down the best value to reflect the impact? i haven't used my fantasy league or any other hosting site other than cbs for years, can any of them incorporate the stat into a scoring system? if so, why isn't it used, if not why isn't it available?
i have done a little search on the subject, but i have never mastered the search function here. if this topic has already been addressed, please point me in the right direction.
thanks!
-FEDERAL
over the past 3 or 4 years i have undergone a small devolution from fantasy obsession towards my roots as an nfl fan. basically taking a different perspective from full on fantasy dominated viewing, to actually watching football games for final scores and not fantasy point totals. the one thing that has stood out to me is the value of a first down. when i settle in on sunday morning to root on my team (the cardinals), i am fixated on the yellow line. in the absence of clock issues, i begin every play with a down and distance evaluation looking for a play that will put our offense in a great or good 2nd or 3rd down position or will get us beyond the first down marker (or on defense, making key stops to force bad 2nd down, 3rd down, or punt situation).
After teaching my girlfriend the football basics last year (her first year watching), this years lessons seem to revolve around the importance of first downs and what has to be done to pick up them up to keep a drive alive. i know it is a fairly simple concept, but it is one i kind of forgot about (with my fantasy only perspective), and makes me wonder why this stat doesn't receive greater attention in fantasy football or nfl coverage for that matter.
when edge drives his legs through a pile for a 2 yards on a 3rd and 1, it's a BIG PLAY! i am jumping out of my chair and pumping my fist...i'm excited. if anquan boldin puts his head down and bowls over a db 2 yards down the field on a quick pass and gets free to pick up 5 more yards and a first down it's a BIG PLAY! on the books, these plays come up as a 2 yard run or 7 yard reception, no big deal. but they are key plays that make a much bigger impact than given credit for.
whats the bigger play, picking up 12 yards on a screen pass in a 3rd and 14 situation, or plunging ahead for 3 yards in a 3rd and 2 scenario? which is easier? your player is gonna pick up one point in traditional leagues, and 2 points in ppr leagues in the first situation and get at best a fractional point in the second.
obviously i am confusing fantasy vs. nfl production, whats good for an nfl team is not easy to translate to fantasy scoring, i know that. what i don't know is if that is even truly the goal when developing a fantasy scoring system. if it is, i gotta think first downs should get some sort of credit, especially when compared to the growing trend of awarding points for a reception.
still i have lots of questions. are individual first downs an easily accessible stat made available by the nfl or easily found on the interweb? what would it do to scoring? what is the average for individual first downs? should qb's be given the same credit for passing for a first down? what would this do to average scoring? how would it impact individual players value? is one point per 1st down the best value to reflect the impact? i haven't used my fantasy league or any other hosting site other than cbs for years, can any of them incorporate the stat into a scoring system? if so, why isn't it used, if not why isn't it available?
i have done a little search on the subject, but i have never mastered the search function here. if this topic has already been addressed, please point me in the right direction.
thanks!
-FEDERAL
