Rule change- #1 pick playoff tournament

July 28, 2013

Hi league,

As stated earlier, my goal is to fully explain my vision and philosophy for this league and make a full argument to support my idea for having an end of the season tournament for the #1 pick in the rookie draft.

Since I began the league in 2002 with our own ‘Original Six’, I have tried to ensure that the NFFL maximizes what is great about fantasy football while minimizing some of the negative features that many feel is ‘required’ to have a strong league.   Over time, I have tried many things to constantly move the league toward these two goals with mixed success- no defenses, no kickers, the league cup, the keeper format, the rookie draft, the website, my articles, on and on- but I think this idea up for vote now is the most significant to achieve these goals.

What I consider to be great about fantasy football covers two main areas.  In terms of the game itself, I love how it is a test of understanding both what has happened in the NFL to that point and how those events will impact the games that will happen in the future.  I think this ‘test’ should be a reflection of skill over luck and have tried to make the league reflect that by dropping kickers and defenses, the two flukiest positions, and spending considerable time trying to balance the schedule and make sure the playoffs are made up of only the most deserving teams.  The keeper element and 25-man roster, to a lesser extent, also tilt our league away from luck and more towards a test of skill.

I also feel very strongly that connection among the league members is a vital element of any great league.  As we move through the stages of life, staying in touch becomes more challenging.  This challenge will only increase over time as we spread out geographically and prioritize other pursuits over maintaining all of our old social ties.  The league is a great way to lessen that challenge and the keeper element is a very critical part of making this league a year-round tool to make it a little easier to keep everyone connected.

These two ideas form the foundation of what we can call, for now, my philosophy on what this league should be about.  In a list format, I came up with four core ideas and the one crucial principle for what I try to do each time I think, write, or speak about the league.

1. The league must be as fun as possible for as many of the NFL weeks as possible

2. The league must maximize competition without relying on luck or fluke to create artificial competition

3. League performance should reflect both football knowledge and league passion to the greatest extent possible

4. Any idea or concept that increases connection among league members must be strongly considered

Underlying principle- The league must create incentives for members to do everything possible to contribute to these first four ideas at all times

I am going to address each of these core ideas, circle back to what I consider the underlying principle, then make my final case for rule changes that we have discussed.

1. Fun- the league has to be fun.  For many, this is the only league that truly matters.  I think we do a strong job in this area and for the future only have a couple of minor ideas.

First, I want to continue simplifying the rules.  This is ongoing but we are nearly there. 

Second, I want to make access to our information simpler.  The keeper and rights spreadsheet was a hit, the blog has been a plus, and getting everyone’s official contact information and preferences will move us forward.

Finally, I think we should invest some of our resources toward making the auction a true day of celebration and perhaps consider an end of season banquet or competition.  With $1100 in entry fees (and $1200 starting next year) we can afford to move some money toward food on auction day or toward an end of season party or competition.

2. Competition- we have tried to strip luck out of the league as much as possible and I am happy with where we stand now on our starting lineups and scheduling.  In particular, the move to go from 2-QB to 1 QB, one all flex was massive.  Adding two teams will increase competition as well. 

The issue now is the integrity of the regular season.  I firmly believe that winning the regular season is a massive accomplishment given how this league is structured.  However, at the moment we are not doing all we can for this.  With the way trades happen in our league, schedules become unbalanced and teams on the fringes of playoff spots are impacted.  I also worry about the day when a team loses the season championship and the $500 prize due to an opponent winning against a cupcake during the rivalry week ‘showdown’. 

The other luck element that is significant is the lottery.  I think the lottery worked fine but I am in favor of any system where merit, not fluke, rewards our league members.  The proposal to play for draft order in the top eight is a strong one and I think will make both the trade market for fringe players and the waiver wire a much more significant part of the league than it has been in the past.

3. Football knowledge- this is a tricky one because the obvious question is, with 25 man rosters, how can the league not reflect football knowledge?  I agree to an extent.  However, the scheduling issue I mentioned above is massive.  I also want to address what is bothering me about trading picks.

One complex issue in our league is ‘tanking’.  I hear the term a lot and use it myself more than needed.  I, and no one else, really feels anyone is ‘tanking’.  The lottery has more or less eliminated the reward and no starting lineup in the last three years has truly had a near zero chance of winning a given game.  However, the way the trade structure is organized now does hurt losing teams that retain their entire lineup in future seasons.

I want to create a setup where losing teams build into the future using football knowledge, not the knowledge that one is a better number than two, to make a stronger team for future years.  There is nothing fundamentally wrong with how trades have happened so far but I do think the idea that there is an open trade market is garbage.  In the history of the league, teams looking to trade off assets have more or less had one trade partner available to them at any given time.  If a deal is not struck, the losing team is punished.  This is not an even exchange and does not reflect an open trade market.

Any time a top player is dealt, it should reflect interest in the player, not a losing team’s desperation to offload.  Using a ‘top four’ protected system for trading first round picks should be a major boost in that direction.  Teams that retain top players and fight for the top picks will have the chance to move from the middle of the first round to the top.  In the past, this has proven a huge difference- study our rookie drafts to see how, after picks three to six in a given year, the draft degenerates into a massive crapshoot.

4. Connection- this is more of a ‘soft’ point because anything toward this goal will not impact weekly point totals.  However, as the league takes on more of what used to be my responsibilities, I can try some new things to improve here.  I want to do a podcast this year- basically, record the many great conversations that I have with you guys about the league.

I also want to introduce a week 17 only league cup.  For anyone interested, this means getting together on that Sunday, doing a 9 player auction, and seeing who ends the week with the highest point total.  It would also a be a good excuse to have a couple of cold ones and recap the season- essentially, an end of season banquet. 

The underlying principle- to make this league fun, competitive, and about football knowledge, we need to have a setup where the goal is to score as many points as possible in week 15.  I choose week 15 because to be as good as possible in week 15, an entire season must be dedicated to building a strong roster.  The playoffs start in week 15, meaning that the top four have their incentives perfectly set.  The eight teams that miss the playoffs will, if in competition for a top pick, now have the same incentive.

In other words, the 'boom or bust' incentive structure- compete, and if out, dismantle- gives way to one where the incentives are now tilted towards being active and competitive all year.  In my mind, the way we have set up so far has not really created this incentive for all teams in a given season- most of the time, dismantling was the right move.  I feel that the rule change addresses this problem for losing teams while also keeping the option to overpay available to the contenders.

Incorporating the ‘top four’ protection is a great boost to the teams in the 5-8 range.  Those teams can make a playoff push and use the first round pick as a tool to build.  However, they will not be punished in the same way as the past by being dropped toward the bottom of the first round if they do not get pulled from the lottery hat.  Instead, if they win a top four pick with their stronger team, the protection provision will allow them to keep it and trade next season’s pick instead.  Thus, instead of the worst teams moving on  with the keepers they gutted their rosters for and higher draft choices, the rewards are now slanted toward the league members that know football and work hard all year to apply that knowledge in their team building- even if the playoffs become out of reach. 

As traded first round picks become less valuable- since only picks at #5 overall and after can be dealt due to the top four protection- teams will now need to rely more on football knowledge to acquire possible keepers during the trade window.  The need to win one’s way into a top pick will also make football knowledge more significant and make trading, working waivers, and starting the right players much more important than in the past.

The rule change will also emphasize the need to be active and reward those with outstanding league passion.  We have had problems with inactivity in the past but the rule changes will naturally punish teams that sit out from waivers, fail to work the trade market, and start injured or inactive players.  To make this point even stronger, I am willing to force any team that makes a lineup error- starting inactive players- to pick last in each round of the next year’s rookie draft.

Finally, and most importantly, this rule change will make it possible for everyone to enjoy the NFL and NFFL seasons for as many weeks as possible.  For 15 weeks, at least, there will be something to play and build for, reasons to think, talk, and write about our league.  That is all that really matter here, all that this league needs to be about, and the only angle I am really coming from.

Nothing, to me, seems like a bigger waste than a team having little to play for after seven shaky weeks to start a season.  Each NFL year only lasts four months; each season only lasts seventeen weeks.  We should do what we can to make the most of those limited weeks and create a league where we encourage every team to finish as high as possible without diluting the playoffs or creating artificial schemes involving extra auction money or draft picks.  This last point is what I like most about the idea- each week will now count in a way more significant than ever before. 

I hope my stance and reasoning came across clearly to everyone.  Thank you all for the contributions so far and let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Tim