top5 things that you hate about fantasy football (1 Viewer)

[netmau5]

Hello all, I've started a group to discuss aspects of game design with regards to fantasy football. My personal goal is to create a new fantasy football "game" this autumn. It's a non-profit for-fun endeavor to create the kind of football game I've always wanted to try. We're playing around with a bunch of funky ideas right now including special cards that you earn and play each week to give your team bonuses or your opponent's team restrictions (ie, Miraculous Catch: Your #1 WR has two drops negated or Excessive Celebration: Your receiver loses 15 receiving yards). We're also toying with an achievement system which also unlocks special things like new cards or new offensive/defensive formations. There are several things right now that I don't like about FF that I wanted to bring into the discussion of the game.

Here is my personal top 5:

1. Defense is highly underused in FF, but IDP leagues seem to add too many players to keep track of

2. RBBC breaks otherwise good RB production

3. TD are too heavily weighted compared to yards

4. Kicker scoring is erratic, and why not have coach scoring?

5. Playoff performance can be seriously hurt by teams who are resting players in weeks 15-17

I'd love to hear the gripes you guys have with your personal league or even ideas you've had for FF!

 

[Katana]

Fantasy Football hate.

Drafting a player and if he underperforms, you hate him for life, even if he's a good guy.

I will admit picking Culpepper once in the second round the year after Moss left. "He can still produce" mm mmmm was I wrong

Eff'ing Culpepper...

 

[Da Guru]

I was going to reply, but I do not want to get spotted in a one star thread.

 

[Jackal King]

Katana...I'm guessing that you are going to find that most 'hard core' fantasy players would not like a system that has potential to skew a win/loss based on an external influence such as a reward/punish card. I think that most ardent managers look for formats that wring as much of the 'luck' factor out as possible.

I can imagine that once a win turns into a loss because of the presence of a bonus / penalty card...there will be dissatisfaction.

If I were starting a new league...I'd look for a more balanced won/loss scoring system. The one I liked the most was used at Ants.com. Everyone hates to lose a game because their opponent 'blows up' during a given week. We've all had losses where our teams had the second highest score for the week.

Ants awarded a max of 4 points for each week.

If you won head to head...you got 2 points.

Additionally...the 4 top scoring teams for the week got 2 points.

High scoring teams 5-8 for the week got 1 point.

And, the 4 teams with the lowest scores for the week got 0 points.

I thought this blend of head to head and total points really was the fairest scoring format.

 

[brednbuddah]

#1 the non-active owner: I'm not talking about the guy who doesn't trade, I'm talking about the guy who drafts their team and you don't hear from them again until the next draft. they don't even make waiver claims. why join a league?

#2 The guy who wants to make changes to the rules mid-way through the season.

#3 I never played in a league like this, but I know I'd hate it if the league had to vote/approve a trade before it went through.

#4 The owner who doesn't pay league dues until November/December.

#5 when my team loses...

 

[netmau5]

Katana...I'm guessing that you are going to find that most 'hard core' fantasy players would not like a system that has potential to skew a win/loss based on an external influence such as a reward/punish card. I think that most ardent managers look for formats that wring as much of the 'luck' factor out as possible.I can imagine that once a win turns into a loss because of the presence of a bonus / penalty card...there will be dissatisfaction.If I were starting a new league...I'd look for a more balanced won/loss scoring system. The one I liked the most was used at Ants.com. Everyone hates to lose a game because their opponent 'blows up' during a given week. We've all had losses where our teams had the second highest score for the week.Ants awarded a max of 4 points for each week. If you won head to head...you got 2 points. Additionally...the 4 top scoring teams for the week got 2 points. High scoring teams 5-8 for the week got 1 point. And, the 4 teams with the lowest scores for the week got 0 points.I thought this blend of head to head and total points really was the fairest scoring format.

Good points. We were talking about removing the head to head entirely and just having the top half of the point scores get a W for the week and vice versa for L. I like the system you mentioned even more, it does well to combine head-2-head and roto.The card idea definitely brings in mixed reactions. We wanted to bring in some more strategy but have it add to the gameplay and not introduce a minigame so there is a difficult balance there. It's alot of fun to draft the initial roster but we felt like there was something missing to just setting the roster every week.

 

[Avery]

#1 the non-active owner: I'm not talking about the guy who doesn't trade, I'm talking about the guy who drafts their team and you don't hear from them again until the next draft. they don't even make waiver claims. why join a league?

:X Really irritates me when a guy doesn't bother to ever respond to trade offers. Give me a counter-offer, tell me, "No!", tell me my offer sucked but just tell me something.

 

[moderated]

I know this is going to sound bad, but for me it's the lack of challenge anymore. I pretty much dominate every keeper/dynasty league i'm in and have actually left championship teams so i can restart a new one for the challenge.

Redrafts are pretty much a joke so i don't play them anymore, but give an owner like me a few years to build a team and it's pretty much over.

 

[Avery]

People who think that their fantasy football success is due to 99% skill 1% luck.

 

[az_prof]

I don't "hate" anything but I guess I do wonder about why we even both with Team Defenses and PKs. They are pretty much a crap shoot from season to season and no one really cares about them and the difference between one and another in most leagues is minimal. Plus, do we really want someone's PK determining who wins a fantasy match? I would be content to get rid of them.

 

[TPW]

1. Bad team owners. People who don't make the effort to manage their team properly, don't pay on time, constantly complain, or try to manipulate the rules for their advantage can kill a league quickly.

2. Multiple injuries to key players on your fantasy roster. This will eventually happen to almost everyone but that doesn't make it any easier to stomach.

3. Close losses by fewer than 5-6 fantasy points. Same as #2.

4. Dumb luck. When the guy who has no business being in the playoffs makes them.

5. Cheering for the players on your fantasy team in one league while simultaneously having to cheer against them for another.

 

[footballguy#1]

1) When you are the highest scoring team for the season, but you don't finish high enough in head to head scoring to make the playoffs.

 

[The Future Champs]

Some good ones so far. I'll add...

6. Watching your starting RB1 do absolutely nothing, while your RB3 on the bench goes nuts in the best game of his life.

I have a suggestion for this- the half time substitution. A league where owners can swap players at half time IF BOTH players are in games that started at the same time. The substitution would have to clear before either game started the second half.

 

[Multiple Scores]

Watching your WR get a Touchdown only to have the booth review it and say he was down at the 1 yard line. What makes this even better is the next play they hand it off for a TD run by your competitions RB.

 

[bjabrad]

I don't "hate" anything but I guess I do wonder about why we even both with Team Defenses and PKs. They are pretty much a crap shoot from season to season and no one really cares about them and the difference between one and another in most leagues is minimal. Plus, do we really want someone's PK determining who wins a fantasy match? I would be content to get rid of them.

PK's and DEF's also raise an issue with me. They aren't predictable enough from one season to the next for superior knowledge to be a fantasy skill and the ones that are predictable only go two deep and are taken higher than their value justifies. Therefore, the PK and the DEF become one of the biggest gambles that can have the biggest impact on fantasy success.Decimal Scoring:Also on my pet peeve list are scoring systems that allow for head to head ties by having whole number scoring instead of decimal scoring. Nothing beats me down more than a scoring system that credits 19 yards of rushing as 1 point instead of 1.9 points. It sounds like a small thing but when you add up the fractional/decimal scoring of 10 players it can easily be a 5 point swing and 5 points is easily enough to impact a fantasy contest. Absentee/Inactive Owners:Loser teams that are active when they're still in the hunt and don't bother to change their lineup when they've been eliminated from the playoffs. It's not fair for team A to have to face team Z when team Z is actually trying and for team B to face team Z when Z has given up since it's like a free win for team B. To remedy this, my leagues pay out a bonus for the high point winner of each week to try to motivate team Z to keep trying. There may be better ways of preventing absentee owners as well such as a fine for managers that start players on byes or a fine for managers that start players that are known to be injured. Best Winning Percentage Team in the Playoffs:Fantasy leagues that don't put the best winning percentage teams in the playoffs. There are lots of leagues that have 12 players, three divisions with 4 teams per and the division winner gets an automatic berth. This is great until the division winner is a suck team in a suck division that just got lucky enough to be randomly placed into the suck division prior to the start of the season. I know that this is the same way that they NFL does it but I still think it's an unfair way to determine the participants of the playoffs. The playoffs SHOULD (IMO) be a select tournament involving only the best teams rather than something that's tricked up for the purpose of fan drama of bubble teams.

 

[deadzone]

I know this is going to sound bad, but for me it's the lack of challenge anymore. I pretty much dominate every keeper/dynasty league i'm in and have actually left championship teams so i can restart a new one for the challenge.Redrafts are pretty much a joke so i don't play them anymore, but give an owner like me a few years to build a team and it's pretty much over.

How about over-cocky owners who swim in guppy leagues and then cry about it "not being a challenge",. Clearly you seek out bottom dwellers and then beat up on them, or your full of it. Start a fresh dynasty league, and send some sharks an invite and I'm sure you'll get a challenge. I got 100 bucks that says.....we won't hear from you...............show me an over-confident fantasy owner, and I'll show you a mark (easy pickings)

 

[Gadabout]

Nerds who insist on using names like SJax, T-Cho, and CJ3.

 

[netmau5]

Some good ones so far. I'll add...6. Watching your starting RB1 do absolutely nothing, while your RB3 on the bench goes nuts in the best game of his life.I have a suggestion for this- the half time substitution. A league where owners can swap players at half time IF BOTH players are in games that started at the same time. The substitution would have to clear before either game started the second half.

How do you feel about moving away from individual players and running Team Rush Offense and Team Receiving Offense instead? Those positions might receive points for only the highest performing player in the rotation or maybe the average of the top 2 performers.

 

[The Future Champs]

Some good ones so far. I'll add...6. Watching your starting RB1 do absolutely nothing, while your RB3 on the bench goes nuts in the best game of his life.I have a suggestion for this- the half time substitution. A league where owners can swap players at half time IF BOTH players are in games that started at the same time. The substitution would have to clear before either game started the second half.

How do you feel about moving away from individual players and running Team Rush Offense and Team Receiving Offense instead? Those positions might receive points for only the highest performing player in the rotation or maybe the average of the top 2 performers.

Personally, I'm not in favor of Team Rush/Receiving Offense, but I'd probably give it a try. Starting an offensive coach could utilize that concept. I think it would be a shame to lose the individual players and the great abbreviations that everyone uses for them (i.e. SJax, CJ3, et al) Just to be clear, I was refering to RB1's and RB3's on your FF team, not ones on the same team in the real world.

 

[Loopdog]

i HATE this development. It's so f'n annoying. Type the damn guys name out. It's like when people write txt or thnks instead of text or thanks. Are you really saving that much time by leaving out letters?

Nerds who insist on using names like SJax, T-Cho, and CJ3.

 

[puckalicious]

#1 the non-active owner: I'm not talking about the guy who doesn't trade, I'm talking about the guy who drafts their team and you don't hear from them again until the next draft. they don't even make waiver claims. why join a league?#2 The guy who wants to make changes to the rules mid-way through the season.#3 I never played in a league like this, but I know I'd hate it if the league had to vote/approve a trade before it went through. #4 The owner who doesn't pay league dues until November/December.#5 when my team loses...

#6 FCFS waivers. Sorry, running to a computer and clicking a mouse faster than 11 other guys is NOT a FF skill.I think the biggest thing for me is having to pick starters. I drafted the guys on the bench for a reason and I deserve to get their points if they blow it up. Combined with a young family taking all of my time, I'm really liking the idea of a no-starters type of scoring format.

 

[zed2283]

People supporting rules that benefit their team/situation rather than what's best for the league or what makes the most sense. e.g. when to make cuts (before or after the draft), what week to hold the championship, etc.

 

[The High Priest]

I have played in an IDP league and love it. I aways wwish I could take my IDP (defence) points and subtract them from their Offensive position points.

I guess it isnt what I hate about FF but seems to go with the trying a "new way" thing.

 

[jwb]

#6 FCFS waivers. Sorry, running to a computer and clicking a mouse faster than 11 other guys is NOT a FF skill.I think the biggest thing for me is having to pick starters. I drafted the guys on the bench for a reason and I deserve to get their points if they blow it up. Combined with a young family taking all of my time, I'm really liking the idea of a no-starters type of scoring format.

I like the rest of the week FCFS after one weekly shot of W2F (or blind bidding, depending on your setup). That makes everyone happy.Your other suggestion sounds more like "draft and forget", which I doubt most here would like. I have seen leagues like that, though. You should look into those.

 

[jwb]

Hello all, I've started a group to discuss aspects of game design with regards to fantasy football. My personal goal is to create a new fantasy football "game" this autumn. It's a non-profit for-fun endeavor to create the kind of football game I've always wanted to try. We're playing around with a bunch of funky ideas right now including special cards that you earn and play each week to give your team bonuses or your opponent's team restrictions (ie, Miraculous Catch: Your #1 WR has two drops negated or Excessive Celebration: Your receiver loses 15 receiving yards). We're also toying with an achievement system which also unlocks special things like new cards or new offensive/defensive formations. There are several things right now that I don't like about FF that I wanted to bring into the discussion of the game. Here is my personal top 5:1. Defense is highly underused in FF, but IDP leagues seem to add too many players to keep track of2. RBBC breaks otherwise good RB production3. TD are too heavily weighted compared to yards4. Kicker scoring is erratic, and why not have coach scoring?5. Playoff performance can be seriously hurt by teams who are resting players in weeks 15-17I'd love to hear the gripes you guys have with your personal league or even ideas you've had for FF!

2, 3, and 5 are good things, and make roster management count more. I personally don't care much about 1 and 4.The card thing you propose sounds like Pokemon or Magic. Not really interested personally (hate the idea, in fact), but I could see where some guys that grew up playing that stuff might want to bring something like that into it. One thing I'd like to see added to leagues is a move towards more flex players. Make it a start 1 rb, 2 wr, 1 te and 3 flex. Let people start 4 rb if they want, or 1 rb and 4 wr. Or make one of the flex's a superflex, and allow it to be used on a QB if the owner wants. The more lineup options you give, the more competitive the league is. It makes it so multiple team makeups have a chance to compete. Right now, I'm seeing a trend towards hording WR's in "PPR, start 3, plus one flex" leagues (a fairly popular setup). I think that puts too much emphasis on the WR position, and makes trading for these guys next to impossible.

 

[On The Rocks]

1. Injuries to high impact players - even if they aren't on my roster - I hate to see a guy in my league lose a top pick early in the year for the entire season.

2. Guys in the league that talk like they are real NFL Team General Managers - as if they are actually motiviating the players on their rosters to do well.

3. (already mentioned) - sitting a guy that goes off, while playing a guy that lays a goose egg.

4. Making last minute roster changes that back fire.

5. Scoring more points than half the league - but getting a loss in head to head competition.

 

[heidbrink]

the off-season

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

1. dynasty banter

I don't care that you want to trade Adrian Peterson for Felix Jones and the 2035 1.01 pick. you won't be around in two years anyway and the league will just be looking for replacements to take over your sorry team (again...)

2. small rosters and/or benches

Leaving top-20 scoring guys on the waiver wire because your roster is so small is lame

3. touchdowns negated by penalty

I swear my guys always end up having more TDs called back than not. Following the scores as I'm watching a game, I'll see Calvin Johnson 78-yard TOUCHDOWN. Then, a minute later, NULLFIED by penalty, holding (some idiot not involved in the play), 10 yard penalty repeat down.

4. divisions

Seriously, just because my division is 10x better than the other division and that makes my record comparatively worse, I can't get into the fantasy playoffs. Lame. If the league were free, I wouldn't care, but it's my money on the line.

5. gametime decisions

nuff said

 

[KellysHeroes]

that guy who always makes a trade that rape another team... you sit there and go "wtf was that guy thinking"... and how come he turned down my trade.

 

[gonzobill5]

I'll second the waiver process in general. I once played in a league where you were allowed only 4 waiver pickups all year and it was the best format I've ever used. First come first served is stupid, and anything that rewards the worst teams is also stupid. I'd love to try a league where any waiver wire player that scores more than some set # of points is automatically eliminated from the pool of potential pickups, thereby forcing owners to try to make predictions rather than chase points.

 

[KellysHeroes]

acl injuries

 

[KellysHeroes]

I'll second the waiver process in general. I once played in a league where you were allowed only 4 waiver pickups all year and it was the best format I've ever used. First come first served is stupid, and anything that rewards the worst teams is also stupid. I'd love to try a league where any waiver wire player that scores more than some set # of points is automatically eliminated from the pool of potential pickups, thereby forcing owners to try to make predictions rather than chase points.

Blind Bidding, one of the best WW process out there

 

[finito]

People who don't respond to trade offers/inquiries.

 

[netmau5]

One thing I'd like to see added to leagues is a move towards more flex players. Make it a start 1 rb, 2 wr, 1 te and 3 flex. Let people start 4 rb if they want, or 1 rb and 4 wr. Or make one of the flex's a superflex, and allow it to be used on a QB if the owner wants. The more lineup options you give, the more competitive the league is. It makes it so multiple team makeups have a chance to compete. Right now, I'm seeing a trend towards hording WR's in "PPR, start 3, plus one flex" leagues (a fairly popular setup). I think that puts too much emphasis on the WR position, and makes trading for these guys next to impossible.

I think this idea is very good. I can see something like 1QB, 1RB, 1WR, 3 "Super Flex" where those flex spots could have any position but would receive a scoring penalty a counterbalance. I don't know what the numbers would be, but just as an example, QBs could have 60% of their points, RB 75%, and WR 90%. This would also serve to give you a real #1 WR and #1 RB as opposed to just ranking them that way by production as you'd be given an incentive to start WR1 at the WR position and not the flex.I'm also hearing alot of dislike of the waiver process, FCFS in particular. Here are some rough draft player management rules that I was thinking about. Nothing is set in stone but I'm a really big fan of auction style drafting and waiver wire dealings:

Player ManagementAll players begin with 1000 creditsInitial draft auction will contain the top 12 of each category fromthe previous season, 24 for RB/WROnly 900 credits may be spent during the initial draft auctionPlayers may only purchase the maximum starting positions for theirteam during the initial draftWeekly automated auctions will begin for the remaining positions afterweek 1, only 3 transactions maximum per weekAt any time, the team may release a player to free agency for 1/2 ofit's original auction priceAny trade must have an equal credit value or be offset by one playertrading credits to the other and have an equal number of players oneach side of the tradeTrading deadline is week 8Inactive Owners who do not login to the system for 10 consecutive daysloses their team to free agency

edit: should mention the above is based on a 12-team non dynasty format

 

[bostonfred]

Knowing who is going to blow up this week, or for the rest of the year, or whatever, but not being able to get them, no matter what you do. Alternately, losing the whole season on a somewhat random one or three week explosion, like Antonio Bryant this last year. Drafting one time at the start of the year is nice, but I'd like to have more of an interest in guys who aren't on my team later in the season, and I'd like to have one week variance like Bryant mean a little less.

 

[Jedeye]

Wow. I agree with many of the thoughts stated in this thread. Its for this reason that Im starting to like salary cap football better. Im sure most people on this board are experienced to know what I mean by salary cap football where each player is assigned a dollar (or points) value. Then the owner chooses any player he wishes keeping in mind that your entire team's salary must come in under the cap.

This format eliminates any worries over injuries for the season. Also no hassel with waiver wires.

The problem is that I've not seen any sites that run it the way I'd like to see it set up. I'd like to see a site that allows for a head-to-head system. Additionally, I'd like to see it reset each team's roster by dumping all players from the previous week so that you start over fresh each week. Essentially, you would be drafting a new team each week, which I find fun. An owner who did very poor the previous week won't feel like he's out of race because he gets to start over anew the next week. An injury ruined your team this week? So what. Pick someone else the next week. As mentioned earlier, you could reward the team that has the highest points each week and everyone would feel like they have a legit shot at it.

I know its not a perfect system and that many traditionalists probably won't like the idea. However, I find it to be much more engaging each week trying to figure out how I'm going to spend my salary cap each week.

I'd be curious to know what others think about it.

Thanks.

 

[brutha]

far and away #1 is that nowdays it seems like almost everyone who plays FF is either so casual about it they only half pay attention (kind of like office pools used to be ie betting on who wins games) or are such hard-core stat/FF freaks that they probably used to play "D&D" before it become so un-cool and are the kind of people you'd just as soon not hang out with, even in an FFL.

that aside, I hate IDPs and blind bidding and am also starting to hate picking starters since too much luck involved, so into the idea of best players automatically start.

 

[buddyboy]

Being the number 1 seed multiple times without winning the playoffs and money.

I'll also echo those who mentioned owners who don't bother to respond.

Bad, bad owners in otherwise good leagues. I mean poor drafting, non trading owners who are eliminated in the first half of the season.

Reading post that complain about an experts poor advice or projections losing their team a game.

One of my favorite parts of fantasy football is the draft. Owners who are too slow with their online draft picks drive me crazy.

 

[zdaddy]

Nerds who insist on using names like SJax, T-Cho, and CJ3.

you are cool!

 

[kolejo]

People supporting rules that benefit their team/situation rather than what's best for the league or what makes the most sense. e.g. when to make cuts (before or after the draft), what week to hold the championship, etc.

I don't get it? Are you going with NFL rules on cuts on that? Just hold your fantasy draft in between the last week of preseason and week 1 to fix any problems as far as that goes if you are talking FF cuts.

 

[GregR_2]

...1. Defense is highly underused in FF, but IDP leagues seem to add too many players to keep track of...

YMMV vary, but I have a league that uses a full 11 player 4-3 IDP defense, and I don't think that's too many players to keep track of. Adds to the fun.

4. Kicker scoring is erratic, and why not have coach scoring?

My league uses punters, whose scoring off of gross yardage is more predictable, and head coaches who get points for a win plus bonus points for margin of victory.

5. Playoff performance can be seriously hurt by teams who are resting players in weeks 15-17

Introduce double and/or triple headers and you not only can get in a good season and have your playoffs finished before teams start resting players, but you'll get a set of standings out of them that is more representative of how teams did than straight single game head to head, without losing the appeal of having head to head games.

...The card idea definitely brings in mixed reactions. We wanted to bring in some more strategy but have it add to the gameplay and not introduce a minigame so there is a difficult balance there. It's alot of fun to draft the initial roster but we felt like there was something missing to just setting the roster every week.

A long time ago I played in a few leagues that used flex players and IDPs to create some strategic matchups. It worked like this. The league started 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, and 3 flex RB/WR/TE. You also started 3 flex IDP split between DL, LB, and DB. For every DL you start in your lineup, your opponent's RB points are adjusted by -10% and his WRs are adjusted by +10%, since you are playing against the run. For each DB you start in your lineup, your opponent's RB points are adjusted by +10% and his WRs are adjusted by -10%, since you are playing against the pass.If you start a LB he doesn't affect your opponent's points at all.It could get into a real chess match. Start 4 RBs (if you have 4 worth starting) and your opponent could put in 3 DL who would give you a -30% on your 4 RBs and a +30% on just your 1 WR. If you instead went with 4 WRs and 1 RB, you'd have +30% on those WRs.The bad thing about that league was you could see other team's lineup submissions... so it frequently came down to waiting until the last 5 seconds before lineups locked and then submitting your lineup. I believe MFL and some other sites can now do things where you can't see opponent lineups until after the fact, which would be a lot better for this set up.I think someone could do the same sort of thing with formations as well which could be interesting. It would also be a more strategic game if RB and WR scoring was more balanced compared to one another, and if IDP scoring was balanced across positions.

 

[roadkill1292]

far and away #1 is that nowdays it seems like almost everyone who plays FF is either so casual about it they only half pay attention (kind of like office pools used to be ie betting on who wins games) or are such hard-core stat/FF freaks that they probably used to play "D&D" before it become so un-cool and are the kind of people you'd just as soon not hang out with, even in an FFL.that aside, I hate IDPs and blind bidding and am also starting to hate picking starters since too much luck involved, so into the idea of best players automatically start.

What is it about blind bidding that you don't like?

 

[zed2283]

People supporting rules that benefit their team/situation rather than what's best for the league or what makes the most sense. e.g. when to make cuts (before or after the draft), what week to hold the championship, etc.

I don't get it? Are you going with NFL rules on cuts on that? Just hold your fantasy draft in between the last week of preseason and week 1 to fix any problems as far as that goes if you are talking FF cuts.

We have 24-man rosters and we cut to 18 prior to our 6-round rookie draft, which starts in mid August. The owners who support this system are the ones who are plugging holes for a playoff run at the end of the year and don't plan on keeping the extra baggage anyway. The owners who support cutting after the rookie draft are the ones who like to pick up project players during the season. Still others would like to see the league move the rookie draft to May and then make cuts throughout the summer like the NFL does.

 

[puckalicious]

#6 FCFS waivers. Sorry, running to a computer and clicking a mouse faster than 11 other guys is NOT a FF skill.I think the biggest thing for me is having to pick starters. I drafted the guys on the bench for a reason and I deserve to get their points if they blow it up. Combined with a young family taking all of my time, I'm really liking the idea of a no-starters type of scoring format.

I like the rest of the week FCFS after one weekly shot of W2F (or blind bidding, depending on your setup). That makes everyone happy.Your other suggestion sounds more like "draft and forget", which I doubt most here would like. I have seen leagues like that, though. You should look into those.

I probably spend 20x more time looking for waiver wire pickups than obsessing about who to start/sit. To me, taking away the pointless and mind numbing 10 minutes each week I spend to pick my starting lineup would not be anything close to "draft and forget".

 

[Tanner9919]

I was going to reply, but I do not want to get spotted in a one star thread.

1. other GM's not returning emails/phone calls when you've offered a trade. Not only will they not say yes or no, but they won't call or email to even acknowledge your offer.2. QB pts weighted too much towards yardage..seems nobody uses QB ratings, comp % or stats like that.3. RB PPR - do you really need to count catches for a RB? Larry Centers ended the PPR in many leagues...RB's run, Wr's catch.. 4.a typical defensive INT/Fumble for TD is worth 3-4 pts, but a WR gets +6 for a TD?!..why are defensive TDs scored less than anyone else? 5. not enough use of IDP's..drafting LBs and DE's would be very cool! 6. paying $$ to 3rd and 4th places..why are we paying out to third place.you didn't win. you didn't finish as First Loser, either..so why are you getting money back?!

 

[netmau5]

A long time ago I played in a few leagues that used flex players and IDPs to create some strategic matchups. It worked like this. The league started 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, and 3 flex RB/WR/TE. You also started 3 flex IDP split between DL, LB, and DB. For every DL you start in your lineup, your opponent's RB points are adjusted by -10% and his WRs are adjusted by +10%, since you are playing against the run. For each DB you start in your lineup, your opponent's RB points are adjusted by +10% and his WRs are adjusted by -10%, since you are playing against the pass.If you start a LB he doesn't affect your opponent's points at all.It could get into a real chess match. Start 4 RBs (if you have 4 worth starting) and your opponent could put in 3 DL who would give you a -30% on your 4 RBs and a +30% on just your 1 WR. If you instead went with 4 WRs and 1 RB, you'd have +30% on those WRs.The bad thing about that league was you could see other team's lineup submissions... so it frequently came down to waiting until the last 5 seconds before lineups locked and then submitting your lineup. I believe MFL and some other sites can now do things where you can't see opponent lineups until after the fact, which would be a lot better for this set up.I think someone could do the same sort of thing with formations as well which could be interesting. It would also be a more strategic game if RB and WR scoring was more balanced compared to one another, and if IDP scoring was balanced across positions.

This idea is definitely one that adds more strategy to the weekly roster setting. I think it would work better going both ways instead of just defense examining the number of offensive players. Ie, if you have 1 more RB than DE, you get +5%, they get -5%; if they have one more DE than RB, they get +5% and you get -5%. I think this might better account for the relative scoring differences in positions between DL and RB as they both have % modifiers. Also, having a curve where the % modifier changes for each difference in value (+5, +13, + 25, etc) would make it so that there was still intrinsic value in having a decent RB2 instead of running 4 WR sets blindly against any defense. There are alot of directions that can be taken here.

 

[Hooper31]

IMO success is measured long term, so keep that in mind here. I feel fantasy football is very akin to grinding long hours at the poker table. Its all about controlled risk, percentages, odds, and the tenacity to withstand bad beats without losing emotional control.

Stuff I can't stand...

1. False bravado. The egomaniacs that "always win" really don't. Listening to chest thumping rants about how great an owner is beyond annoying.

2. Whiners. Opposite of the spectrum in relation to #1. Get over it and move on. Make good decisions and good things will happen for you in the long term.

3. "I'm right, and you're wrong" with extra layers of unnecessary attitude. Rational well intentioned people can have a difference of opinion. I see way too much of this on message boards.

 

[The Future Champs]

7. League commissioners who don't set a complete set of rules.

For example, my main league had a terrible fight two years ago when one owner was unable to make a lineup change before the Monday night game started. He phoned his change in to the commish five minutes before KO, and the commish was also unable to make the change. (neither of them was near a computer. The league system was working fine). The missed change would have made the difference in the weekly H2H, with important implications on the playoffs for 4-5 teams, in a big money league. The commish had no stated rule on dealing with the situation, just a promise to "be there for you guys". It was a mess.

 

[zed2283]

7. League commissioners who don't set a complete set of rules. For example, my main league had a terrible fight two years ago when one owner was unable to make a lineup change before the Monday night game started. He phoned his change in to the commish five minutes before KO, and the commish was also unable to make the change. (neither of them was near a computer. The league system was working fine). The missed change would have made the difference in the weekly H2H, with important implications on the playoffs for 4-5 teams, in a big money league. The commish had no stated rule on dealing with the situation, just a promise to "be there for you guys". It was a mess.

You mean phoning your lineup change to the commish doesn't count?

 

[GregR_2]

7. League commissioners who don't set a complete set of rules. For example, my main league had a terrible fight two years ago when one owner was unable to make a lineup change before the Monday night game started. He phoned his change in to the commish five minutes before KO, and the commish was also unable to make the change. (neither of them was near a computer. The league system was working fine). The missed change would have made the difference in the weekly H2H, with important implications on the playoffs for 4-5 teams, in a big money league. The commish had no stated rule on dealing with the situation, just a promise to "be there for you guys". It was a mess.

You mean phoning your lineup change to the commish doesn't count?

If I were structuring a league's rules I would suggest requiring such communications go to both the commish as well as to the team's opponent so there is never any doubt that something was legit.