|
How to start a league
The first order of business is
gathering friends that want to play, choosing a Commissioner, establishing
what type league you want to have, and setting the rules in which everyone
will follow. At this first meeting, you should establish what type of
league you will have, the number of teams, will you play for money, and
what prizes will you award. It is also important to keep it simple.
The more complicated the rules, scoring, and even money issues will
inevitably ruin the spirit of the game. Once the roles and rules are
set, the fun begins. Next, draw for draft position. Many
leagues reverse the first and second rounds to create some equality, for
example, in an 8-team league, if you pick 1st overall, you would pick last
in the second round, if you pick 2nd, then you'd pick 7th in the second
round, and so forth. The following rounds will be determined by how many
players you have on your roster. If you have the standard starting
QB, 2 RB'S, 2 WR'S, 1 T/E, and 1 K, then you'll have at least 7 rounds,
possibly more if you have backup players. We highly recommend you
have a backup (or two) for each position. This allows for bye
weeks/injuries without having to make a move for another player. If
you had one backup for the 5 main positions, then you'd have an additional
5 rounds of drafting, making your draft 12 rounds. Rounds 3 - 12 can be
done similar to rounds 1 and 2, by reversing order, or they can be
completely random. You need to also decide if picking up a player is
a paid move or free move, keeping in mind you don't want this to become an
administrative nightmare for your statistician. The next step is
deciding on the scoring system you'll use.
Scoring Systems
Basic Method
The Basic Method is the easiest scoring
system. This method gives your player the same points he scores in his
real NFL game. The Basic Method gives points to the main 5 offensive positions:
QB, RB, WR, TE, and K. Defenses can be used, but we recommend they not be
used in the basis scoring method for simplicity reasons. The following is
standard scoring for the Basis Method although any agreed-upon system can be
used:
- 6 pts for any TD, Rushing TD, Receiving TD, Special
Team TD, or Defensive TD
- 4 pts per Passing TD
- 3 pts per Field Goal
- 1 pt per Extra Point
- 2 pts per 2-point conversion run or reception
- 1 pt per 2-pt conversion passing
Performance Method
The Performance Method, on the other
hand, gives extra points to a player based upon his performance. If a QB throws
for 300 yards, he may get an extra point for every 10 yards, or every 50 yards,
or every 100 yards, again depending upon the consensus of your league.
Same holds true of the other skilled positions. Here is a sample Performance
Method system that could be used:
- 6 pts for any TD, Rushing TD, Receiving TD, Special
Team TD, or Defensive TD
- 4 pts per Passing TD
- 3 pts per Field Goal
- 1 pt per Extra Point
- 2 pts for a rushing conversion
- 2 pts for a receiving conversion
- 1 pt per passing conversion
- 1 pt per 10 yds rushing
- 1 pt per 10 yds receiving
- 1 pt per 20 yds passing
Any statistical category can be used in
the performance method; however, we recommend you keep the scoring system as
simple as possible.
Keeper vs. Non Keeper
A Keeper league is a league in which
some of the players are kept from one season to the next. Non-keeper
leagues do not keep any players from the previous season and draft new teams
each year. There are arguments for and against each system. Although
it is nice to keep a Marshall Faulk for several years, it may not be the best
thing for your league. Starting each season anew adds to the excitement
and anticipation of who you will get to anchor your team each year.
Auction Leagues
An Auction league is a league in which
each team is allocated a salary cap for which to build their team. Player
values are pre-determined by many organizations and you can't go over your cap.
Auction leagues can be fun, but they are very time-consuming. Here is a
sample Auction league format:
- Each team is given a set salary cap, usually 30
million.
- The draft is done based on highest bidder.
- Each team must still field a legal lineup, all
skilled positions.
- Players are kept from one year to the next.
- Players values change as the season progresses so
you may opt to trade a player with a higher value that you drafted with a
lower value, thus increasing your cap...
Draft day is the best day of the year.
This is the time when all your friends get together and you draft your team.
If you're prepared, you'll be able to make good decisions while everyone else is
trying to sift through mounds of magazines and information. Based upon
pre-determined draft order, the process begins. The first 2-3 rounds are
semi-predictable, but people aren't. It never fails someone drafts a
player early that everyone else wouldn't draft until later. But that's
good for you...sends more players down the board to fall to you in subsequent
rounds. The length of the draft depends on the number of players on each
team, thus the number of rounds. The draft is normally held as close to
the first NFL game of the season in order to know any pre-season injuries,
moves, cuts, etc. It is imperative to draft well in the mid to later
rounds. Many a league has been won with that mid-round sleeper or quality
backups that can fill in when your starter is down. Never underestimate
these mid to late round picks as they are key to the success of your overall
team. And with our Cheat
Sheet
, you'll be more prepared than anyone.
And whatever you do, have fun. Draft Day is the one time a year that most
friends get together and give each other a hard time about their picks.
Then the season begins and most communication is done over email, etc.
Once the season begins, each owner will
turn in his/her lineup to the commissioner. The NFL games are played and
the scores are tallied. It is the commissioner's job to receive all trades,
approve them if necessary, and settle any disputes as to trades, lineups, etc.
Trades can be done on a first come first serve basis or based on worst record.
Like any of the rules, these can be tailored to fit the needs of your league.
It is also important to have some sort of tiebreaker in cases of ties.
Total points among starting rosters is commonly used, but alternative
tiebreakers can be used, such as total kicker points, etc.
After the games are played and the scores are totaled, bragging rights begin.
Playoffs
Playoffs are usually held the last 4
weeks of the NFL season with the last week of the NFL not played due to the
trend of teams to sit their most valuable players for their playoffs. If a
17-week schedule, playoffs would be weeks 14-16. With a 10-team league, 4
teams from each division would make the playoffs while 2 teams would miss out.
Just like the NFL, the teams are weeded out until there are just two. Some
call it the Fantasy Bowl, but I like to call it the Super Ego Bowl, because
that's what it's really all about...
One Rule of Thumb to
follow:
Keep it in the spirit of the game.
Anyone who has played fantasy football has a story to tell regarding those
little things that came between best friends, co-workers, spouses, and/or
siblings. Fantasy Football should be fun, should be enjoyed, and should give you
a whole new perspective on the game of football. Enjoy, but enjoy it more
when you're winning. And remember, all the help you need is only an email
away: krhall@hallsfantasyfootball.com
at HallsFantasyFootball.com
|
