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Worst. Fantasy. Season. Ever. (1 Viewer)

ignatiusjreilly

Footballguy
In his thread about retiring from fantasy, @BobbyLayne repeatedly says he doesn't want to get into why he's found this year to be so dispiriting. Which is ironic, because for the past few days I've been thinking about starting a thread to discuss exactly that.

Some of it is definitely of the :ptts:variety. In the three leagues I care about, I have a combined record of 5-13. It feels like every MNF ends up with me on the short end of a nailbiter, including two losses by exactly 1.07 during weeks where I got zeroes from my TE and the matchup was decided in the final minute of MNF. And some of it is definitely a function of guys who haven't been very fun to have on my roster: the three QBs I drafted were Herbert, Brady and Russ (I've since dropped the latter).

But I can't help wonder if there's something more going on. I've been playing fantasy since 2004, and I've had down years before, but I never remember having this little fun. I suppose there are some macro trends across the league -- scoring down, bummer storylines like Tua and Snyder -- but we've had that before, too. And there have actually been some great games; I heard a stat the other day that an unusually high percentage of games this year have been decided by one score. Still, I can't remember watching games and feeling such a distinct lack of joy

Anyone else experiencing these feelings? What do we think is going on?
 
NFL politics have me down for sure. Ruggs death didn't help and all the instagram bs really adds debbie downer vibes. Guns + Drugs + Snyder's bad doings have made me kinda waiting for another shoe to drop that's going to kill it all. It's a lot. It was going to take a lot to take down the SS NFL and so far they are doing their best to do just that. OH and a goat without family is not a good look. Fan or no.
 
I still enjoy it but will be cutting back a few leagues, mostly because trade talk is essentially non-existent in most of my leagues. In 1 league I'll send an offer and it usually expires after a few days with no response. Had 1 team reply to my trade offer for Dak Prescott; they rejected my deal and countered with my Tee Higgins, Javonte Williams (after injury), Miles Sanders and a '23 1st for Prescott. This is not a SF league or anything, but that's about as good as offer I've gotten in years in this league. So it's just dead and no fun.

Still have a league with some fun trash talk and will be staying in that for sure.
 
Random comments.

Maybe it's because I suck at FF, but I'm getting my *** kicked by disappointment.

The refereeing is also a big issue, and I'd be remiss if I did not blame the players more than the refs.

Thursday nights games are the suck.

Coaches who lack rudimentary game management skills.

I won't go all in on conspiracy theory, but the games feel a lot more "influenced" since the owners jumped into bed with gambling interests. Would not be surprised in the least to see a major scandal break in the next few years. Call it a hunch.

Red Zone multibox. Let's see one play at a time. My experience won't be affected if I have to wait 5 seconds for the other play (s).

Joe Buck.
 
Super oversimplified but touchdowns are way down.

Teams scoring at least 3.4 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 3
  • 2021 - 5
  • 2020 - 8
  • 2019 - 5
  • 2018 - 4
Teams scoring at least 3.0 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 5
  • 2021 - 8
  • 2020 - 14
  • 2019 - 8
  • 2018 - 11
Teams scoring at least 2.0 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 23
  • 2021 - 26
  • 2020 - 30
  • 2019 - 25
  • 2018 - 26
This is especially relevant when we’re talking about stud RB production and TE production outside the Top 2.

Games are not fun. It’s not great defense, it’s just inept offenses who won’t take risks. Boring af.

IMO
 
Thursday night football has been the worst. Browns Steelers (Brissett Trubisky) , Colts Broncos and Bears Commanders :yucky:
I am not really excited about tonight's matchup. Many games have been really dull - especially for me since i am a Bears fan

Note: In fairness to tonight it looked decent going into the season.
 
Thursday night football has been the worst. Browns Steelers (Brissett Trubisky) , Colts Broncos and Bears Commanders :yucky:
I am not really excited about tonight's matchup. Many games have been really dull - especially for me since i am a Bears fan

Note: In fairness to tonight it looked decent going into the season.
I think all the island games have been lame. Though that’s partly because 63% of them have involved Russ and Hackett
 
In his thread about retiring from fantasy, @BobbyLayne repeatedly says he doesn't want to get into why he's found this year to be so dispiriting. Which is ironic, because for the past few days I've been thinking about starting a thread to discuss exactly that.

Some of it is definitely of the :ptts:variety. In the three leagues I care about, I have a combined record of 5-13. It feels like every MNF ends up with me on the short end of a nailbiter, including two losses by exactly 1.07 during weeks where I got zeroes from my TE and the matchup was decided in the final minute of MNF. And some of it is definitely a function of guys who haven't been very fun to have on my roster: the three QBs I drafted were Herbert, Brady and Russ (I've since dropped the latter).

But I can't help wonder if there's something more going on. I've been playing fantasy since 2004, and I've had down years before, but I never remember having this little fun. I suppose there are some macro trends across the league -- scoring down, bummer storylines like Tua and Snyder -- but we've had that before, too. And there have actually been some great games; I heard a stat the other day that an unusually high percentage of games this year have been decided by one score. Still, I can't remember watching games and feeling such a distinct lack of joy

Anyone else experiencing these feelings? What do we think is going on?

Last week I had so many injuries plus bye weeks that I barely paid attention to my fantasy teams and just enjoyed watching my Jets crush GB. Then I watched KC vs Buf. For once I didn't watch some terrible teams just to follow a player. It was the best football Sunday that I've had in a long time. It was a nice day in the Twilight Zone (Are the Jets really 4-2???) Back to the grind this week though.
 
In his thread about retiring from fantasy, @BobbyLayne repeatedly says he doesn't want to get into why he's found this year to be so dispiriting. Which is ironic, because for the past few days I've been thinking about starting a thread to discuss exactly that.

Some of it is definitely of the :ptts:variety. In the three leagues I care about, I have a combined record of 5-13. It feels like every MNF ends up with me on the short end of a nailbiter, including two losses by exactly 1.07 during weeks where I got zeroes from my TE and the matchup was decided in the final minute of MNF. And some of it is definitely a function of guys who haven't been very fun to have on my roster: the three QBs I drafted were Herbert, Brady and Russ (I've since dropped the latter).

But I can't help wonder if there's something more going on. I've been playing fantasy since 2004, and I've had down years before, but I never remember having this little fun. I suppose there are some macro trends across the league -- scoring down, bummer storylines like Tua and Snyder -- but we've had that before, too. And there have actually been some great games; I heard a stat the other day that an unusually high percentage of games this year have been decided by one score. Still, I can't remember watching games and feeling such a distinct lack of joy

Anyone else experiencing these feelings? What do we think is going on?

Last week I had so many injuries plus bye weeks that I barely paid attention to my fantasy teams and just enjoyed watching my Jets crush GB. Then I watched KC vs Buf. For once I didn't watch some terrible teams just to follow a player. It was the best football Sunday that I've had in a long time. It was a nice day in the Twilight Zone (Are the Jets really 4-2???) Back to the grind this week though.
I’ve found I often enjoy Week 18, when I can watch solely for the playoff implications, more than any week I’m playing fantasy
 
I've been above average at fantasy for sure but this season definitely feels different. Feels like my edge is gone. More random than ever. 1st in PF, 1st in PA, 2-4, you guessed it.

I think a new metric needs to be added to all leagues - median scoring or something.

I will probably drop more.

Also, there's just no talent on waivers this year. I don't remember waivers being this bad like ever. Probably has to do with awful scoring.

Teams are playing to not lose vs. playing to win. Taking minimal risk as they are hoping the other team makes a mistake. That's how games are won these days I guess.

Fantasy football feels like it's dying while gambling is thriving- that's probably where people will be putting their effort and money going forward.
 
I highly recommend playing in only one league.
I agree. Having more teams means more joy and more agony. Been playing in the same local one for 30+ years. Some of our kids now have teams, as the league grew and a few GMs dropped out. My childhood friend is a co-GM, so we talk alot of FF during the season. Those few seasons when I had more than 1 team, non-local leagues, were less enjoyable. Having a good commish helps.
 
I have felt this way for a while... the main reason is that the last 6 years in a row I have been plagued by injuries in both my leagues each year. This year is no different. I am not sure why the injuries have increased, but it definitely feels like more of the skill guys have been getting hurt each year. Based on my experience it feels like it atleast.

The NFL owners having more of a relationship with the Gambling companies has something to do with it for sure, and the possibility for more fixed outcomes seems likely due to the millions of dollars made each week

Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch

Anaylytics... all this crap every game about anayltics say to do this... but anayltics don't have a feeling for the game, or how the offensive line matches up with the defensive line... can't prove it, but I feel like some how this has made football in general more boring to watch

As far as fantasy football, almost every team has some form of an RBBC... this has made fantasy football so much more difficult, as RB used to be the core of your team.. Now it feels like coaches try to outsmart themselves and some rando vultures a 1 yd TD all the time

Thursday night football is still a thing even though it is awful....

just a few I can think of
 
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I have felt this way for a while... the main reason is that the last 6 years in a row I have been plagued by injuries in both my leagues each year. This year is no different. I am not sure why the injuries have increased, but it definitely feels like more of the skill guys have been getting hurt each year. Based on my experience it feels like it atleast.

The NFL owners having more of a relationship with the Gambling companies has something to do with it for sure, and the possibility for more fixed outcomes seems likely due to the millions of dollars made each week

Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch

Anaylytics... all this crap every game about anayltics say to do this... but anayltics don't have a feeling for the game, or how the offensive line matches up with the defensive line... can't prove it, but I feel like some how this has made football in general more boring to watch

As far as fantasy football, almost every team has some form of an RBBC... this has made fantasy football so much more difficult, as RB used to be the core of your team.. Now it feels like coaches try to outsmart themselves and some rando vultures a 1 yd TD all the time

Thursday night football is still a thing even though it is awful....

just a few I can think of
I echo all of this, with the exception of the gambling stuff. Maybe I'm naive (probably am, but I'm ok with that) but I don't think games are being fixed in any way. Too much for the owners to lose in the long-run if a scandal ever did come to light, and it would.

I'd also add that I miss when kickoffs had a real chance of being returned for TDs. Understand the concussion issue, but it made the games more exciting.
 
As far as fantasy football, almost every team has some form of an RBBC... this has made fantasy football so much more difficult, as RB used to be the core of your team.. Now it feels like coaches try to outsmart themselves and some rando vultures a 1 yd TD all the time
I know this is an unpopular opinion but the RBBC issue is another big reason I recommend trying a super-flex league. It shifts the importance from RB, which has become the least important position in real football to the QB which is by far the most important position in football. It flips draft strategy on its head and gives everyone an opportunity to land top tier talent.

It might also help reframe your opinions about defense.

Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch
 
Age.

As I've gotten older I just find I care less and less about stuff like this. And that includes fantasy football and sports in general. The constant controversies and look-at-me's and the constant attempt to squeeze money out of consumers is off-putting to me.
 
Age.

As I've gotten older I just find I care less and less about stuff like this. And that includes fantasy football and sports in general. The constant controversies and look-at-me's and the constant attempt to squeeze money out of consumers is off-putting to me.
Get off my lawn bro!
 
I believe the NFL turned political has hurt the league, just as it has for ESPN in general. People want to watch sports without having all this stuff shoved done their throats. Sports is an escape, not an avenue to tell everyone how bad they are.
That's hardly a new development though isn't it? Sports has been politicized ever since they added the Patriotism Test by singing the National Anthem before every game.

Adding an "End Racism", or whatever, decal to the back of helmets hardly seems like a sea change in that context.

I think most politicization comes from external factors. I don't want to hold the NFL responsible for politicians and pundits trying to score points with their bases.
 
If it's really bothering you here are some eaay things to do:

Play in one league
Pay less attention
Don't feel like you have to watch every game
Don't care if you win or lose
That's cute.
I play in one league.
I watch about 30 minutes of football per week
I don’t enjoy watching the slow games.
If you are not trying to win a game, you should not play the game. I don’t really care much if I lose but I care enough to continue to try.
 
As far as fantasy football, almost every team has some form of an RBBC... this has made fantasy football so much more difficult, as RB used to be the core of your team.. Now it feels like coaches try to outsmart themselves and some rando vultures a 1 yd TD all the time
I know this is an unpopular opinion but the RBBC issue is another big reason I recommend trying a super-flex league. It shifts the importance from RB, which has become the least important position in real football to the QB which is by far the most important position in football. It flips draft strategy on its head and gives everyone an opportunity to land top tier talent.

It might also help reframe your opinions about defense.

Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch
So, it's OK to take importance away from one position and give it ridiculous importance to another? IMO FF <> NFL and shouldn't be. There is something wrong when lower tier QBs become more important than stud WRs and RBs.
 
I hate the crawl at the bottom of the screen. So distracting and absolutely takes away from enjoying the game on screen.

I think we have lost the art of patience. Watching a game develop feels slow and boring to many because we are flooded by so much external information. We see a score happened in another game and wonder why there hasn't been one in the game we're watching. The crawl creates FOMO.

RedZone is even worse. It creates a sense that football has always been all action all the time, so when we try to watch a single game we feel it's boring.

I have a phone if I want to know all the stats from the other games.

Stopped watching RedZone years ago and tune in to a single game and stick with it, unless it's a rout like Buf/Pit. It was a transition that took some time, but single games are much more fun to watch now.

I wish there was an option remove the crawl.
 
I've been above average at fantasy for sure but this season definitely feels different. Feels like my edge is gone. More random than ever. 1st in PF, 1st in PA, 2-4, you guessed it.

I think a new metric needs to be added to all leagues - median scoring or something.

I've been above average at fantasy for sure but this season definitely feels different. Feels like my edge is gone. More random than ever. 1st in PF, 1st in PA, 2-4, you guessed it.

I think a new metric needs to be added to all leagues - median scoring or something.
That's why I only play in play-all leagues. At least that removes that one piece of blind luck from the process.
 
As far as fantasy football, almost every team has some form of an RBBC... this has made fantasy football so much more difficult, as RB used to be the core of your team.. Now it feels like coaches try to outsmart themselves and some rando vultures a 1 yd TD all the time
I know this is an unpopular opinion but the RBBC issue is another big reason I recommend trying a super-flex league. It shifts the importance from RB, which has become the least important position in real football to the QB which is by far the most important position in football. It flips draft strategy on its head and gives everyone an opportunity to land top tier talent.

It might also help reframe your opinions about defense.

Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch
So, it's OK to take importance away from one position and give it ridiculous importance to another? IMO FF <> NFL and shouldn't be. There is something wrong when lower tier QBs become more important than stud WRs and RBs.
I said it was an unpopular opinion. I believe it is mostly driven by unfamiliarity.

You're right, it's not reality, that's built into the name Fantasy Football. So why be bothered if you can super-flex a QB?

In the first two rounds of a typical super-flex does not see a majority of QBs drafted at the expense of other positions. You see about 8 QBs, 8 RBs and 8 WRs (and TEs depending on how that position is handled) drafted. And it continues that way throughout. It creates balance and adds depth to strategy as there are more ways to build a winning franchise.

Again, I know it's an unpopular opinion. But the days of RBs dominating the NFL landscape, when Fantasy Football was born, have been dead for decades.
 
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RedZone is even worse. It creates a sense that football has always been all action all the time, so when we try to watch a single game we feel it's boring.

I have a phone if I want to know all the stats from the other games.

Stopped watching RedZone years ago and tune in to a single game and stick with it, unless it's a rout like Buf/Pit. It was a transition that took some time, but single games are much more fun to watch now.
Agree on Red Zone. I pay for it but never use it unless my buddy comes over to watch football. He loves it.

It's too distracting for me.

Damn people -- we are getting OLD. :lol:
 
Because I'm in an All-Play league I also have a weird quirk that, IMO, allows me to enjoy the fantasy management aspect of the game absent wins and losses.

I never check my league standings. Ever. I set my team's free agent watch list as my landing page. Of course I know how my players did but, being in an All-Play league I really have no idea how that translates to the league standings. I monitor my roster, try to find sneaky FA pickups and good trade opportunities. But I don't check the standings, I keep my focus on improving my team today. I can't control the rest so, why worry?

It's a philosophy I picked up from outdoor endurance exercise (cycling & jogging). I keep my focus on an immediate goal in front of me (the stop sign ahead, the rise of the hill etc). It creates mini successes along the way as you pass each one and keeps your mind off of how far you really have to go.
 
I hate the crawl at the bottom of the screen. So distracting and absolutely takes away from enjoying the game on screen.

I think we have lost the art of patience. Watching a game develop feels slow and boring to many because we are flooded by so much external information. We see a score happened in another game and wonder why there hasn't been one in the game we're watching. The crawl creates FOMO.

RedZone is even worse. It creates a sense that football has always been all action all the time, so when we try to watch a single game we feel it's boring.

I have a phone if I want to know all the stats from the other games.

Stopped watching RedZone years ago and tune in to a single game and stick with it, unless it's a rout like Buf/Pit. It was a transition that took some time, but single games are much more fun to watch now.

I wish there was an option remove the crawl.

I honestly only really watch the games of teams i care about. Nothing else holds my attention unless it's just a must see matchup. Very few of those though.

I enjoy redzone. Although it's mostly just background noise for me during sunday
 
RedZone is even worse. It creates a sense that football has always been all action all the time, so when we try to watch a single game we feel it's boring.

I have a phone if I want to know all the stats from the other games.

Stopped watching RedZone years ago and tune in to a single game and stick with it, unless it's a rout like Buf/Pit. It was a transition that took some time, but single games are much more fun to watch now.
Agree on Red Zone. I pay for it but never use it unless my buddy comes over to watch football. He loves it.

It's too distracting for me.

Damn people -- we are getting OLD. :lol:
RedZone had it's moment in my life but it made me forgot how much fun it is to just watch a game. Which is where most of us fell in love with the sport to begin with.

I can't imagine what the next iteration of RedZone will be for the kids who grew up knowing nothing else.

I'm thinking it's going to be some kind of wireless networked subdermal haptic feedback sensors throughout the body that vibrate with different intensity keyed to whichever players you are monitoring.

Fun.
 
I honestly only really watch the games of teams i care about. Nothing else holds my attention unless it's just a must see matchup. Very few of those though.
Love it.

I always watch my Raiders. For the other game I usually decide between the most intriguing matchup. Sometimes it's BUF/KC like last week and sometimes it's DET/DAL which, will probably be a blowout but looks fascinating to me this week because it pits the strengths of two of the best units in the NFL (IMO) against each other in Detroit's offensive line and Dallas's ferocious pass rush.

I also think Detroit has a puncher's chance because neither team has a top level coaching staff that will consistently out scheme you.
 
Defense blows.. you cannot even sack the QB anymore, and heaven forbid if your fat and you fall on the QB... I saw this video on twitter of Tom Brady getting wrecked early in his career by a Bills player, and his helmet gets knocked off. It really shows how much Defense used to make football much more fun to watch
Nate Clements. My favorite play of all time. I usually look it up every couple years and watch it a few times.

That said, I agree with the general sentiment. All these restrictions on the defense, that keep piling up are ultimately going to do more harm than good. 20 years from now we might have the same feeling we all had about 10 years ago about the Pro-Bowl. "Why don't we just play flag football. These games are a joke."

Anyway, as to the actual OP, I'm not experiencing less interest in FF this year. Actually, I think I'm liking it more than the past few years on average. I'm not sure why - just my feeling. And, it's not like it's because I have a bunch of winning teams or anything like that. It could be because I'm at an all time low league count. I'm only in 3 (and a couple eliminators that I don't care much about.)
 
I hate the crawl at the bottom of the screen. So distracting and absolutely takes away from enjoying the game on screen.

I think we have lost the art of patience. Watching a game develop feels slow and boring to many because we are flooded by so much external information. We see a score happened in another game and wonder why there hasn't been one in the game we're watching. The crawl creates FOMO.

RedZone is even worse. It creates a sense that football has always been all action all the time, so when we try to watch a single game we feel it's boring.

I have a phone if I want to know all the stats from the other games.

Stopped watching RedZone years ago and tune in to a single game and stick with it, unless it's a rout like Buf/Pit. It was a transition that took some time, but single games are much more fun to watch now.

I wish there was an option remove the crawl.
Agreed. The crawl seems completely unnecessary now.
 
Super oversimplified but touchdowns are way down.

Teams scoring at least 3.4 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 3
  • 2021 - 5
  • 2020 - 8
  • 2019 - 5
  • 2018 - 4
Teams scoring at least 3.0 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 5
  • 2021 - 8
  • 2020 - 14
  • 2019 - 8
  • 2018 - 11
Teams scoring at least 2.0 TDs / g:
  • 2022 - 23
  • 2021 - 26
  • 2020 - 30
  • 2019 - 25
  • 2018 - 26
This is especially relevant when we’re talking about stud RB production and TE production outside the Top 2.

Games are not fun. It’s not great defense, it’s just inept offenses who won’t take risks. Boring af.

IMO
I'm not sure that's a fair metric considering we're only about 1/3 of the way into the season. Many teams obviously start slow and take a bit of time to get into a rhythm. This has only gotten worse in the past few years, with the reduction of pre-season games/participation.
 

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