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

Funny while reading this thread, I feel the same about the gambling shows available now that it’s legal in a lot of states. no matter where you turn, both fantasy and gambling has some sort of expert that is screaming to the masses about the next hot subject and will fail. It’s not a bad idea to take a step back for some perspective.
 
Along with only playing in one league, after the draft I make a point to never look at opponents teams. Including not looking at my weekly matchup. It's more enjoyable to watch football when you don't have to root against anyone either. Eventually I forget most of who they drafted and ignorance is bliss.
I have been doing this for years. It really helps.
 
Along with only playing in one league, after the draft I make a point to never look at opponents teams. Including not looking at my weekly matchup. It's more enjoyable to watch football when you don't have to root against anyone either. Eventually I forget most of who they drafted and ignorance is bliss.
I have been doing this for years. It really helps.
Ditto. I also don’t check scores until the late afternoon games are over.
 
Having spent the last 1.5 years scratching and clawing in my main dynasty league trying to build a contender, making trades and scouring the waiver wire, all the hours put into assembling a winner... To see it all potentially shot to hell because Hall, Metcalf, and Mike Williams all go down in the same day leaves me with a giant "WTF am I doing all this for" feeling...

:ptts:
 
I picked the wrong year to go from 3 to 5 leagues. I used to obsess about my teams throughout the week and now I barely think about them. I used to look forward to Sunday’s like a kid excited about going to Disneyland. Not so much anymore. It just seems like such a struggle for teams to score or even just maintain a drive. I usually am over it after about week 12. Interestingly, I’m done playing golf after hole 12. Hmm!! Anyway, I’m already over it…Go Aves!

Here are a few reasons why I think this year sucks.

1) Two high safety’s taking away big plays

2) older hall of fame bound QB’s seemingly falling off a cliff…..This is effecting a bunch of great fantasy skill players.

3) Terrible calls and terrible rules in place.

4) Horrible offensive line play.

5) More players missing time due to concussions because of the new protocol.

6) Horrible coaching

7) Terrible QB play….It’s starting to look like some of the young new talent is not gonna pan out.

8) Broncos on Prime Time.
 
Having spent the last 1.5 years scratching and clawing in my main dynasty league trying to build a contender, making trades and scouring the waiver wire, all the hours put into assembling a winner... To see it all potentially shot to hell because [of] Hall, Metcalf [injuries]

This is nearly exactly the story of my dynasty team. I traded away a bunch for Metcalf and the 1.01 (Hall) and now it's just gone in one day. And to make matters worse, I'd made a win-now trade this week for Davante Adams and Ezekiel Elliott for the younger A.J. Dillon, Pickens, and a second. I overpaid, but wanted a 2nd RB and a definitive WR.

Now? I'm struggling to think about what to do. I don't know if I can stay afloat.
 
I noticed the David Montgomery feel good story during pregame yesterday and thought to myself wow. I haven’t seen a piece like that since like Thanksgiving last year. They need to get back to the PR type moves and have these players look like humans again.
 
Thursday night games need to go. I know the NFL has an appetite for more prime time games during the week, but the product they're putting on the field on short weeks is pure dreck. At least maybe flex those games, the matchups so far have been garbage.

And overall, most games just look sloppy and crappy this year. There seems to be less player pride about playing well, and more focus on "I got paid, I DGAF anymore". I realize that's maybe just a perception, but it's still there. And like someone said earlier, the feeling of constant consumerism and needing to squeeze every last dollar out of people being off-putting.
 
I quit cold turkey about 5 years ago after about 20 years of playing. I was in a few long-running leagues and ran a couple, but I just wasn't enjoying it much anymore. I had even tried to mix it up a bit in the later years going from redraft to auction to keeper but eventually just got tired of the same leagues and same managers doing the same things. I think another thing that has made FF boring in general is everyone has the same information if they make even the minimum effort. Everyone has basically the same strategy, the same draft cheatsheets and are going after the same FA's during the season... boring.

After a couple years my kids and their friends were interested in doing one, so I set it up with a live draft at our place. They my younger son wanted to set up his own league with his friends and I set that one up too. I started to get the bug a little bit again and found a league that looked different and interesting and tried it out. Two years later I'm back in four leagues and running two of them.

I think the main thing that helped was completely stepping away for a while and just enjoying football without worrying about the stats or my imaginary teams. The next important thing was finding some new formats that renewed my interest in playing. In my case it was best ball, dynasty, devy, superflex, TEP with large leagues and multiple player copies. That really opens things up with people trying different strategies (win now, build for the future, focus on TE, focus on QB, etc, etc) plus multiple copies of players = more options to trade for the guys you want. Best ball was key for eliminating those PITA Sunday morning time-suck starting decisions. I also started up and played in a guillotine league for the first time that's been alot of fun too, until I got chopped anyway.

Anyway, my advice would be to just step away for a while and/or try out new formats that you haven't before.
 
I agree with there being too much information out there which diminishes the excitement of the draft because everyone is drafting off the same sheet so to speak.


I have an idea for a league that I think would be interesting and it will be tailored to the old guys. Here is the idea:

  • Choose a time and place for an in person draft. All owners must be present in person to draft.
  • No computers or phones allowed.
  • When you show up to the draft you receive NFL stats for a particular year in the past.....say 1978 for example. Nobody knows what year until they show up to the draft.
  • Draft your team for that particular season.
  • Each week you will be emailed the "season to date" stats and that week's injury report. There has to be an honor system that you don't research the season being played. You set your lineup accordingly for the week.
  • Based on lineups and week being played the Commish calculates the stats and sends out the weekly results. Stats are based on the actual games played that year.
  • Do it all over each week until the season ends.

You can play with any number of teams and do it throughout the entire year. You can do a "week" every couple of days or one a week depending on how you want to do it. You could do it all in one weekend if you wanted. Lots of flexibility for the actual implementation but the basics are you choose a past season at random. Have nothing more than season long stats to draft your team and then play out the season. Better memory helps but it's not necessary.

Thoughts? Ideas? Changes? Stupid or Awesome?
 
I agree with there being too much information out there which diminishes the excitement of the draft because everyone is drafting off the same sheet so to speak.


I have an idea for a league that I think would be interesting and it will be tailored to the old guys. Here is the idea:

  • Choose a time and place for an in person draft. All owners must be present in person to draft.
  • No computers or phones allowed.
  • When you show up to the draft you receive NFL stats for a particular year in the past.....say 1978 for example. Nobody knows what year until they show up to the draft.
  • Draft your team for that particular season.
  • Each week you will be emailed the "season to date" stats and that week's injury report. There has to be an honor system that you don't research the season being played. You set your lineup accordingly for the week.
  • Based on lineups and week being played the Commish calculates the stats and sends out the weekly results. Stats are based on the actual games played that year.
  • Do it all over each week until the season ends.

You can play with any number of teams and do it throughout the entire year. You can do a "week" every couple of days or one a week depending on how you want to do it. You could do it all in one weekend if you wanted. Lots of flexibility for the actual implementation but the basics are you choose a past season at random. Have nothing more than season long stats to draft your team and then play out the season. Better memory helps but it's not necessary.

Thoughts? Ideas? Changes? Stupid or Awesome?

This would be fun as a Spring idea - no doubt. But definitely feels like a ton less investment and people may not take it as seriously. Gotta have a bunch of die hards.
 
I got back into FF this year after a pretty long layoff from hardcore dynasty leagues. Just played in one redraft league with locals. It was fine. But not active at all and a lot of guys had no idea what they were doing.

So anyway, I've got the itch to get back into dynasty now that this year is ending (for most) tonight. Trying to find a decent league to take over an orphan team is always difficult.

So I thought I'd throw this out there to you guys just to see if there is any interest. I want to start a new dynasty league that would draft/auction as soon after the NFL playoffs as possible.

A couple non-negotiable features for me:
  • All-play format
  • No IDP, kickers or team defenses
Then a few things I'd be very interested in debating and letting majority rule:
  • Some type of best-ball format?
  • Developmental (college) players?
  • Salary and contract caps (which would then obviously mean a start-up auction instead of a draft)?
  • Playoff format (all-play, H2H, no playoffs)?
  • Entry fee and prize payouts?
  • Super flex?
  • TE premium?
  • Balanced scoring so can build team in as many ways as possible
  • What else am I forgetting?
I think if we had some active people from here, it could be fun and competitive and what's best about fantasy leagues.

So if people are interested in something like the above, great. Just shoot me a message and/or post in this thread. I'll tag some of the people I've seen posting in here, but I'm certainly not trying to leave anyone out or make this an invite-only sort of thing. Anyone is welcome. Shooting for 12 people probably.

@Hot Sauce Guy @ignatiusjreilly @foxco @5-ish Finkle @Chaka @ChiefD @TampaMike19 @Mister CIA @Ilov80s @zamboni @Manster @zed2283 @BladeRunner @rockaction @Lehigh98 @Judge Smails
 
A couple non-negotiable features for me:
  • All-play format
  • No IDP, kickers or team defenses
These would make it a no go for me.
Basically same.

Ive been "out" on money'd FF since '17 myself, because I needed a break baaaad. I could live with all play, but i can't see coming back to a "serious" league that doesnt use IDP. It's the sex, for me.

But thanks for making me aware.
 
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Basically same.

Ive been "out" on money'd FF since '17 myself, because I needed a break baaaad. I could live with all play, but i can't see coming back to a "serious" league that doesnt use IDP. It's the sex, for me.
For me it's both no IDP and all play.
 
Appreciate the inclusion, but I expanded to 3 leagues this year (was at 1 for ~3 years, then 2 for another 3) and I’m afraid it’s my limit.

I get way too conflicted, and now I’ve got 3 completely different formats (2 dynasty, 1 redraft) and it’s almost to much.

I just can’t get back to the 5+ league days.

But best of luck putting this together. It sounds like a good time.
 
I’m wrapping up year 25 of playing FF and the excitement is as high as it has ever been. I’ve had to modify my style to help suit my changing lifestyle (wife, 3 kids, demanding job, Church making Sunday mornings challenging). I increased the #of leagues to 12 this year but now play mostly in highly competing 16 team IDP contract leagues with huge rosters. I love the management aspect of the leagues in the off-season with contract restructures, franchise tags, offers to tagged players, and free agent auctions in February-April. Then in June or July I get my rookie draft fix it. All of these features are slow and drawn out so they don’t have to be too taxing at any one point. The biggest draw is that there isn’t as much in season fighting over free agents, just roster decisions. I found that I no longer have time to spend hours and hours in season researching and putting in waiver bids. I do some of this but not a ton.

My advice:
- I’ll strongly echo those that said don’t look at your matchups and don’t look at scores until after the Sunday night game. Enjoy watching your favorite team or players on Sunday and not being tormented by the ups and downs of each play. We can’t control the scoring so it is what it is and just see what you need on Monday night. Some leagues I don’t even check until the week is over.

- Don’t bother with the win probability %. This just adds frustration frustration when your team that was a 65-35% favorite loses. That isn’t even that big of an upset. Pocket Aces lose to 2-7 offset 1 out if 5 times!

- don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s all luck. Yes, improbably weeks happen and the worst teams can beat the best teams. You can put your teams in better position to mitigate the unfortunate breaks. Your team will also be the benefactor of being lucky just as much ad it’s unlucky. With my 12 leagues, rarely does my most dominant team with the championship however if I get 2 championships out of 12, I’m thrilled.

- You have to be realistic with expectations that in 10-16 team leagues, you’re only going to win once every 10-16 years! If you’re always winning, you probably need to find more competitive leagues. If you never win, you might want to try less challenging leagues. Very few people would enjoy blackjack if you only won once every 10-16 times.

- play multiple different formats. I play in a little bit of everything so it keeps it entertaining. I also like to rebuild teams so occasionally, my goal isn’t to win but instead to set myself up to win in 2-4 years. This makes rookie drafts more excitinf

-play in leagues with rookie drafts! The sting of a bad year is removed when your reward is top notch rookie picks

- Don’t let it interfere with other priorities (family, etc.) There was a time when I spent so much time researching that my family was always annoyed with me and it amplified my disappointment when I lost or I had a bad week. Find what works for you and keep the top priorities as the top priorities! You won’t enjoy fantasy football as much if other parts of life are unenjoyable. If relationships, health, job stress, money, etc are becoming difficult to manage, scale back or take a break from playing and come back when it’s the right time.

- Don’t be afraid to admit the hobby gets stale. There are a lot of things that I don’t enjoy as much anymore. My 3 young boys have changed a lot for me and for many years, I had to find new hobbies or found I couldn’t enjoy some as much as I used to. I’ve also found that I’m starting to get back into some of those hobbies after a long break or now that my kids are at “easier” ages.
 
So if people are interested in something like the above, great. Just shoot me a message and/or post in this thread.

BeTheMatch, I just came across this, so the notification wasn't working for me (that's to let you know if you're not getting responses). I probably should call it with the amount of leagues I have now. I also don't play in any league that has an entry fee (I don't gamble. This goes along with my other addictions in life. I can't drink, either. Years have been lost. Just two things I cannot do.)

But your idea is awesome, and contrary to the posters above, I love the idea of all-play and no IDP. Just offense. Old school. It sounds like people aren't necessarily doing it, but let me know if they do and there's no entry fee.

Thanks for thinking of me. I always appreciate when somebody thinks of me to participate in a great idea for the board.

Best to you.
 
So glad this season is over.

If idiot Cardinals QB can hit Hopkins for 7 yards somewhere last week, I win the championship this week.

In my main league, I was #1 in PA and if I get one more win somewhere, anywhere, I make the playoffs and cruise to a championship.

I don't know why I keep track of those things, all it does is aggravate me. This has been one of the worst, most frustrating years ever (in 4 leagues) and it makes me want to quit.

@BeTheMatch I didn't get any notification either. I might be interested... I'm flexible on much of what you posted. I don't like PPR. I would really, really be interested in a more-complex-than-simple contract/salary cap type set up.
 
I got back into FF this year after a pretty long layoff from hardcore dynasty leagues. Just played in one redraft league with locals. It was fine. But not active at all and a lot of guys had no idea what they were doing.

So anyway, I've got the itch to get back into dynasty now that this year is ending (for most) tonight. Trying to find a decent league to take over an orphan team is always difficult.

So I thought I'd throw this out there to you guys just to see if there is any interest. I want to start a new dynasty league that would draft/auction as soon after the NFL playoffs as possible.

A couple non-negotiable features for me:
  • All-play format
  • No IDP, kickers or team defenses
Then a few things I'd be very interested in debating and letting majority rule:
  • Some type of best-ball format?
  • Developmental (college) players?
  • Salary and contract caps (which would then obviously mean a start-up auction instead of a draft)?
  • Playoff format (all-play, H2H, no playoffs)?
  • Entry fee and prize payouts?
  • Super flex?
  • TE premium?
  • Balanced scoring so can build team in as many ways as possible
  • What else am I forgetting?
I think if we had some active people from here, it could be fun and competitive and what's best about fantasy leagues.

So if people are interested in something like the above, great. Just shoot me a message and/or post in this thread. I'll tag some of the people I've seen posting in here, but I'm certainly not trying to leave anyone out or make this an invite-only sort of thing. Anyone is welcome. Shooting for 12 people probably.

@Hot Sauce Guy @ignatiusjreilly @foxco @5-ish Finkle @Chaka @ChiefD @TampaMike19 @Mister CIA @Ilov80s @zamboni @Manster @zed2283 @BladeRunner @rockaction @Lehigh98 @Judge Smails
I'd be interested depending on the buy in price
 
This has been my least enjoyable year in FF in all of my 35 seasons in my league. My pleasure actually started to dwindle a few years ago when one player in the league became incredibly politically belligerent any time we gathered as a league. He has been asked multiple times to tone it down, but he is the Commish's brother, so at best he gets admonished but then he gets stupid drunk, and it just gets worse from there at every gathering.
Decisions regarding covid that transformed transaction rules and from one year to the next, and NFL just became a less quality product. Thursday games are trash, and the additional week of play just creates less quality play (IMHO). Our Commish although he has navigated Covid and his idiot brother brilliantly, he does like to tinker with rules every single year when it's not necessary.

All that to say this year was the first time in my 35 years to finish last. I can make excuses as to why, but the reality is I drafted poorly, and over the last two to three years, I've just lost interest, although last year, I managed to be in battle for the championship right down to the last seconds of last year's Chargers - Raider's overtime finale. That brought me some enjoyment. I think I went into this year, holding out hope that the excitement of last year's finale would carry through into this year. It did not.
 
There were so many injuries this season it became all about the waiver wire. Looking back, the draft(s) feel pretty irrelevant for this season.
 
Feel like we saw a bunch of backup QBs this year. And a bunch of starting QBs playing like backups.

Brady had it right. There was a bunch of bad football this year.
 
Was just thinking about this thread that I started last year to try to figure out why the season was such a bummer. This year is also turning into a huge bummer, but this time I don't have to ponder the reasons. I haven't seen aggregate stats in terms of games missed due to injury, but it sure seems like a bunch of the league's biggest names have been getting hurt: Burrow, Kupp, Kelce, Andrews, Rodgers, Dobbins, Ekeler, AJones, Barkley and now Chubb. Some are more serious than others, obviously, but I think it's especially dispiriting when they all happen so early in the season -- in some cases, before it even started
 
What a year and it's only week 2...

Kupp goes on IR after preseason
Kelce misses week 1 after practice injury
Rodgers tears acchilles after 4 plays
Burrow reinjures calf
Tons of guys with hammy injuries
Ekeler, Barkley, chubb missing multiple games and season
 
I took Chubb and Kupp with my first 2 picks. It does suck, but I will plug in the back ups and root for them. Do I want to start Gus? No, but sometimes it all works out. Maybe my lottery ticket Spears will pay off when I need it.
 
What a year and it's only week 2...

Kupp goes on IR after preseason
Kelce misses week 1 after practice injury
Rodgers tears acchilles after 4 plays
Burrow reinjures calf
Tons of guys with hammy injuries
Ekeler, Barkley, chubb missing multiple games and season
I guess you didn't have Dobbins anywhere :-)
 
Was just thinking about this thread that I started last year to try to figure out why the season was such a bummer. This year is also turning into a huge bummer, but this time I don't have to ponder the reasons. I haven't seen aggregate stats in terms of games missed due to injury, but it sure seems like a bunch of the league's biggest names have been getting hurt: Burrow, Kupp, Kelce, Andrews, Rodgers, Dobbins, Ekeler, AJones, Barkley and now Chubb. Some are more serious than others, obviously, but I think it's especially dispiriting when they all happen so early in the season -- in some cases, before it even started
I may have to go back into fantasy football "retirement" again soon. Took a few years off about 7-8 years ago, then returned 4 years ago to start a new league with my brother-in-law once we got refreshed from a few years off. I was feeling the burn-out returning a bit last season and especially this season. I'm just spending the games in misery this season, feeling like another break might be necessary. Losing Chubb tonight in a game I could've won isn't helping. I genuinely feel bad for Chubb and wish I wasn't worried about how this is going to hurt my fake football team.
 
The only thing I truly, truly hate about this is how immediately opportunistic my brain becomes.

Chubb is a HoF caliber guy, a true joy to watch run. He's one of the reasons football is fun to watch. And it wasn't three seconds after I saw the play before I was wondering if Ford was the guy to target or is Kareem Hunt the "sneaky" play.

That's a terrible thing to think after watching someone's career potentially end.

But I did it.
 
The only thing I truly, truly hate about this is how immediately opportunistic my brain becomes.

Chubb is a HoF caliber guy, a true joy to watch run. He's one of the reasons football is fun to watch. And it wasn't three seconds after I saw the play before I was wondering if Ford was the guy to target or is Kareem Hunt the "sneaky" play.

That's a terrible thing to think after watching someone's career potentially end.

But I did it.
You're right and we all do it
 
The only thing I truly, truly hate about this is how immediately opportunistic my brain becomes.

Chubb is a HoF caliber guy, a true joy to watch run. He's one of the reasons football is fun to watch. And it wasn't three seconds after I saw the play before I was wondering if Ford was the guy to target or is Kareem Hunt the "sneaky" play.

That's a terrible thing to think after watching someone's career potentially end.

But I did it.
Yeah, I had the opposite reaction, where I just turned the TV off. Couldn't care less who wins, just ready for football to be over. I wish I could say it was 100% sadness for Chubb, but it was also some self pity for money I've likely lost as he was a cornerstone of several of my teams.

Having said that, having an hour to think about it/sulk, I realized one can't grieve forever (and other owners were instantly texting me trade offers) and I was able to essentially flip Nico Collins for Aaron Jones.

But yes, it does kinda suck that "how does this affect me?" enters the mind so quickly. Chubb is my favorite RB to watch, I hope he's able to fully recover.
 

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