What would be the Perfect League? (1 Viewer)

[tomarken]

* I searched for something like this and didn't find anything, sorry if it's a repeat... *

If you wanted to set up a brand new league right now that was an ideal mix of competitive, simple, fair for everyone involved, and fun every year what would it be?

Here are some parameters to consider:

Number of teams

Draft type

Roster size

Starting lineups

Scoring

Keeper rules

Free agency rules

Tiebreakers

Schedule / Playoff format

...whatever else I'm forgetting right now.

I know a lot of this is very subjective, but I wanted to see if there was a general consensus on any of these things. Try to be objective, and an explanation would be great, too. Don't just say "14 teams" or "Auction" - explain why you think it is the best option, to facilitate a discussion.

 

[Sullie]

* I searched for something like this and didn't find anything, sorry if it's a repeat... *

If you wanted to set up a brand new league right now that was an ideal mix of competitive, simple, fair for everyone involved, and fun every year what would it be?

Here are some parameters to consider:

Number of teams

Draft type

Roster size

Starting lineups

Scoring

Keeper rules

Free agency rules

Tiebreakers

Schedule / Playoff format

...whatever else I'm forgetting right now.

I know a lot of this is very subjective, but I wanted to see if there was a general consensus on any of these things. Try to be objective, and an explanation would be great, too. Don't just say "14 teams" or "Auction" - explain why you think it is the best option, to facilitate a discussion.

I've been playing for 15 years. I've played in dynasty/keepers, redrafts, 8, 10 and 12 team leagues. In my experience I've found I'm most comfortable with the following:- 10 teams is the best size to me of ffl - it's just right! 8 is not enough, 12 sucks if lose someone.

- 1 to 10, 10 to 1 works best I think

- 16 is good roster size for the starting team I'll list below

- 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 FP, 1 K, 1 D

- Standard scoring rules I like best 4 pt throwing, 6 points running/receiving, etc. 1 pt per 10 yards rush/recieve and 1 pt. per 20 throwing, etc.

- Tiebreakers I like using the bench scores against each other for ties

- Standard playoff schedule division winners have 1st week bye, top 4 sqaure off in week 14, those winners play the division winners in week 15, etc.

One thing left out is IR. I've eliminated it from our league and it's a better league because of it, no more crying about who belongs on IR and who doesn't, no more player "nesting/hoarding" like we used to have.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[AcerFC]

Number of teams

I would say that the optimal amount of teams is 12. 14 is ok but it really is a benefit if you have a top 9 draft pick. While different dtartegies are employed, the only way I can see a 14 team league being optimal is if all players are scored somewhat evenly. (As evidenced this year, there just arent that many top flight RBs)

Draft type and keeper rules

I think the best type of draft is a Live limited keeper draft. IMO, the best day of the year outside of your wedding and kids being born is the draft day. I dont like going into a draft or a league knowing that I will never get LT, Peyton, SA or LJ. Because of that we have a keeper rule that states you can only keep a player if they were drafted in rounds 6-22. The max time a player can be kept is 3 years so even if you invest a 6th round pick on a rookie, you can only keep that guy for three years and then he goes back into the pool. We also have a rule that if you keep 2 players, you lose each of the rounds that you drafted them in and a 3rd round pick. Think about it this way, you draft S Smith in the 7th and LJ in the 8th in last years draft. Would it be worth it to you to lose a 7th, 8th and 3rd this year. I would say so. I think the most fair way to draft is a normal serpintine draft. I need to know where I am going to pick every round. It would be too unsettling to change after every round or two.

Roster size

I think that 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 2 WRS, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 Def, 1 DE, 1 DT, 1 LB, 1 CB and 1 S is the best way to go. W ehave never used 2 QBs but it makes the draft and the league a lot more unpredictable and competitive

Starting lineups. We also have 8 bench spots and no IR.

Scoring

I like 1 pt for 25 yrds thrown, 6 for all TDs, 1 pt for 10 yds rushed/recieved.

0.5 ppr for RB, 1 ppr for WR and 1.5 ppr for TE

3 point bonus for 300 yds passing, 5 pt bonus for 400

3 point bonus for 100 yds rushing/recieving, 5 for 200

1 pt for all IDP tackles, .5 for assited tackles, 3 pts for sacks bonus 2 at 3. 4 pts for INT

Free agency rules

We have a $30 budget for all teams that they can use to bid on players all year. This adds a ton of strategy and forces guys to look more towards trading which is part of the game

Tiebreakers

We leave ties as ties but in the playoffs, each team picks a player that is not starting and that is the tiebreaker guy. The team whose tiebreaker guy scores more points wins

Schedule / Playoff format

We have 12 teams in the league and a 13 week schedule. Playoffs start in week 14 and go to the 16th. Each team plays the other once and 2 others twice. We used to have 3 divisions with 4 teams each but it was not fair because there would always be one division that was bad and then the leading team in that division had the advantage so we scrapped divisions. 6 teams make the playoffs with the topo two getting byes.

Money/Payout

Our league fee is $230 with a lot of payout opportunities. We have a $50 high score of the week payout. All playoff teams get 50. 3rd and 4th get money as well.

League Extras

I think a live draft is essential. if all guys cant make it then of course its up to you but the live draft adds so mush to a league. We have a drfat board that I have laminated and player labels that are laminated as well. I put velcro on the the board and labels so we can continue to use the board and label every year. We give out a championship ring to all the winners as well as give the league champion a travelling trophy every year that they can keep until the end of the season (like stanley cup)

Have Fun

Remember that its just a game and dont allow your Sundays to be ruined like I do. DOnt be mean to your wife or kids because you scored the 2nd most points but lost to the guy who scored the most (I am guilty of that). Use some of your winnings on the family so they dont begrudge it. Buy a custom jersey, it is awesome and your league mates will be jealous and just have fun

 

[Wilbur Wood]

# of Teams

12 or 14. I find that having too much surplus talent in 8 or 10 team leagues negates the importance of a sound draft. 12 is probably the ideal size

Roster

16 to 18. Need to reward teams for depth and encourage use of WW by restocking the bench and playing for future matchups

Starting Lineup Requirement

Very important. The Luck Factor in leagues can be reduced by increasing the starting lineup requirement. Also, heavily endorse the Super Flex Option (can be any position including QB or Def).

Start:

1 QB, 2 RB, 4 WR, 1 TE, 1 Def, 1 K, 1 Super Flex (any position) -- This format will make leagues less RB-centric and diminish the "Sean Alexander of 2005 Effect" (one replace the name and/or year, but the Effect can be dominant in leagues that play 1 QB, 2RB, 2 WR, 1 D, 1K).

Scoring Format

In conjunction with Starting Lineup requirement very important.

Make this Mega High Performance. Decreases Luck Factor (and somewhat randomness of TDs) and make less TD-centric. You want points accumulated if your players do good things.

1 pt per 10 yards rush/rec, 1 pt per 25 yards passing, 6 pts td scored (include punt or K/Off for indiv) and 4 pt for TD thrown

1 pt per First Down Reception for WRs and TEs only - make less RB-centric. Bonus pts for runs and receptions(not limited to TD runs and receptions). For runs > 20 yds 1 pt, > 40 yds 2 pts. For receptions or passes thrown > 40 yds, 2 pts, again don't have to Tds. Bonus pts for yards-per-carry, completion % and yds-per-reception, subject to a min. # of carries, or catches. Lose points for fumbles and interceptions.

Defensive Scoring

Make very high performance such that top D's on any Sunday can score as much as top point producers at other positions. Use sliding scale for Defensive pts allowed (strip out pts given up the offense) and yardage allowed. Pts for sacks, turnover, blocked FGs/punts, TDs, etc.

In conjunction, with the Super Flex this adds another great strategic element to allow some teams to play matchups and use 2 Defenses.

Waiver Wire

Bidding $$. Also charge real $$ that go into the payout pot for pickups

Payouts

Make sure that regular season division winners are rewarded as this can be harder than winning a game or two in the playoffs

 

[tomarken]

Wow, great stuff so far guys. I'll add my own thoughts:

Number of teams: I would probably go with 12. I've been in 10-team and 12-team leagues, and I definitely like the 12 better. With only ten teams it seems like everyone has a stacked roster. I've never played 14-teams but it seems like that might stretch the player pool a little thin (for my tastes at least).

Draft type: I've always used a serpentine in my leagues, but I'm going to say an Auction draft would be best. I know that's odd, since I've never done one, but it seems like it would be a lot of fun, and it gives everyone an equal shot at every player available. Definitely doing the draft live in person is a must. The day of the draft in my main league is the best day of the year.

Starting lineups: Here's another one I've never used before but would love to - starting 2 QB's. It seems like that would definitely increase the value of QB's so they are more on par with RB's and WR's. I'm not sure what else I would add...but I guess I would be in favor of whichever format did the best job of eliminating RB dominance. I think owners should be able to construct teams differently and still be competitive - i.e. one guy focuses on QB's, another guy goes for stud WR's and TE's, and they can all hang with the guy who has the 2 stud RB's...

Roster size I guess would be dependent on the starting requirements, but I guess about 16 players is good. 8 starters/8 backups or 9 starters/7 backups. Ensures that everyone has a solid roster but there is also some talent left available in free agency. I don't like the IR, I think as long as the roster size is big enough you shouldn't need to put players on IR.

I also don't like roster requirements (like they use on cbs), where your roster must contain 3 QB's, 4 RB's, 4 WR's, etc. If you don't want to draft a 2nd kicker, for example, I don't think you should have to! I've been in leagues like this and it annoyed me that there were sleeper RB's and WR's that I wanted to stash on my bench but couldn't because of the roster limits...

Free agents: Similar to my reasoning for using an auction draft, I think there should be a bidding process for free agents. That way everyone has an equal shot at all players.

 

[tomarken]

For runs > 20 yds 1 pt, > 40 yds 2 pts. For receptions or passes thrown > 40 yds, 2 pts, again don't have to Tds.

Isn't this dependent on luck, though? I've never been a big fan of yardage bonuses, as it seems to be pretty arbitrary.On that note, I think decimal scoring is better than the 1pt/10 yards, etc. If a guy gets 89 yards rushing, isn't that better than 80 yards rushing? I think so, and I think it should be scored as such...