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Rule change proposal 1: Revise league awards/payouts

Ron Yeany 2 Comments

I propose revisions to the league awards and payouts. Let’s face it, there is little interest for teams after week 14 who do not make the top-tier playoffs. The consolation bracket doesn’t generate much interest, and no one wants to win the award for “most points of non-playff, non-money-winning teams” — an award that barely covers half the league entry fee and knocks teams out of the lottery system (including, potentially, teams with losing records). We’ve also had a lot of interest in increasing league fees, but not so dramatic as doubling them.

THIS PROPOSAL BY YING AND TRZ: Eliminates three awards (consolation bracket winner, consolation runner-up, and the consolation points award), and in their place, give awards to the top two non-playoff teams based on total points. This proposal would not change anything in the top-tier playoffs, but it would eliminate the “consolation bracket playoffs” while potentially keeping several teams more interested through the end of the season. This proposal would also increase league fees by $20 per team annually, but the new awards structure means that if you win money, it’s a large enough prize to at least cover your league fee.

Additionally, the overall #1 and #2 points teams would also be eligible for the new awards if they do not make the playoffs. In my opinion, if a team finishes #1 or #2 in overall points and didn’t make the playoffs, they SHOULD be eligible for the combined awards, especially in regards to their draft position (they would be drafting lower, as they should be).

See the Rules page for current structure for comparison. This is the proposed new award/payout structure:

FFL Playoff Champion 400
FFL Playoff Runner-Up 275
FFL Playoff Third Place 250
FFL Playoff Fourth Place 225
Overall Points Champion 230
Overall Points Runner-Up 200
** First place points, non-playoff teams 175
** Second place points, non-playoff teams 160
Draft phone call (est) 225
Expenses (est) 100
$160 x 14 teams = $2,240 2240

** = new award category, replacing consolation bracket/point awards

Rule change proposal 2: Reduce player protections

Ron Yeany 5 Comments

Reduce player protections to 1 quarterback, 1 running back, and 1 receiver (WR/TE). Teams that don’t win money can keep a prospect at any position. That lowers protection slots to 3 or 4, down from the current rules of 5 or 6. It also levels the playing field big time because playoff and money-winning teams would only be able to protect 1 player per position. And it would only extend the draft by 2 rounds. (This is likely a rule significant enough that it would have to be put into effect AFTER the next draft, so it wouldn’t be instituted until 2009 season.) Proposed by the Froglickers with input from the Wildcats.

2008 Draft Lottery Chances, Draft Order, Divisions

Ron Yeany

Here are the draft lottery chances for the 2008 draft, regular draft order, and 2008 divisions. Draft lottery is only the non-money-winning teams, and the formula for the draft lottery is on the rules page and listed on the column headings. Info is after the jump…

TEAM
[A] Record (Points) through Week 11
[A] Lottery Chances
[B] Total Points Weeks 11-15
[B] Lottery Chances
Total Lottery Chances
DAL 2-9 (278)
14
182
4
18
SYR 2-9 (359)
12
103
1
13
MER 3-8
10
228
5
15
RIB 3-7-1
8
155
2
10
FFL 4-7
6
172
3
9
BOS 5-6
4
251
6
10
HVV 6-5
2
270
7
9

NOTE: Draft lottery teams are also only teams that can protect 6 players

(5 + prospect).

The regular draft order (rounds 2 and thereafter) will be:

  1. SYR
  2. DAL
  3. MER
  4. RIB
  5. FFL
  6. BOS
  7. HVV
  8. NCT
  9. KEY
  10. BOB
  11. MIM
  12. MIA
  13. OCD
  14. PHI

Here are the 2008 divisions:

PATERNO DIVISION: PHI, MIM, NCT, FFL, RIB

CAPPELLETTI DIVISION: OCD, BOB, BOS, MER, SYR

ENGLE DIVISION: MIA, KEY, HVV, DAL

Dudes, Griffins finish 1-2 in points; Thorobreds' late surge grabs consolation points award

Ron Yeany

As expected, the Orange County Beach Dudes won the 2007 points title, breaking the previous record by 89 points. The Dudes finish the year at 1,298 points. They averaged 76+ points per week. The Philadelphia Griffins finished second in points. Their 1,118 points this year would have won the points title in any other previous year but two (2004, 1998 – both of which were Griffins’ wins). And let’s ponder one final time on what these numbers would have looked like had the Griffins NOT traded Randy Moss (and his 216 points) to the Beach Dudes before this season. 😉

The New Chester Thorobreds posted this week’s high score — 69 points. And this late surge propelled the Thorobreds to 810 points on the season, passing Boston (794) and Happy Valley (787) to grab the consolation points award.

PLEASE REMEMBER to check the web site periodically for the next few weeks as we propose and vote on rule changes — see the sidebar to the right for proposals, and send yours in ASAP.

Week 17 scores/stats, year-end stats, top players, etc., and other updates to 2007 items will be posted over the next few days. Happy New Year!

Rule change proposal 2: Reduce player protections

Ron Yeany

Reduce player protections to 1 quarterback, 1 running back, and 1 receiver (WR/TE). Teams that don’t win money can keep a prospect at any position. That lowers protection slots to 3 or 4, down from the current rules of 5 or 6. It also levels the playing field big time because playoff and money-winning teams would only be able to protect 1 player per position. And it would only extend the draft by 2 rounds. (This is likely a rule significant enough that it would have to be put into effect AFTER the next draft, so it wouldn’t be instituted until 2009 season.) Proposed by the Froglickers with input from the Wildcats.

Rule change proposal 1: Revise league awards/payouts

Ron Yeany

I propose revisions to the league awards and payouts. Let’s face it, there is little interest for teams after week 14 who do not make the top-tier playoffs. The consolation bracket doesn’t generate much interest, and no one wants to win the award for “most points of non-playff, non-money-winning teams” — an award that barely covers half the league entry fee and knocks teams out of the lottery system (including, potentially, teams with losing records). We’ve also had a lot of interest in increasing league fees, but not so dramatic as doubling them.

THIS PROPOSAL BY YING: Eliminate three awards (consolation bracket winner, consolation runner-up, and the consolation points award), and in their place, give awards to the top two non-playoff teams based on total points. This proposal would not change anything in the top-tier playoffs, but it would eliminate the “consolation bracket playoffs” while potentially keeping several teams more interested through the end of the season. This proposal would also increase league fees by $20 per team annually. The new awards structure would payout increased awards across the board.

Additionally, the overall #1 and #2 points teams would also be eligible for the new awards if they do not make the playoffs. In my opinion, if a team finishes #1 or #2 in overall points and didn’t make the playoffs, they SHOULD be eligible for the combined awards, especially in regards to their draft position (they would be drafting lower, as they should be).

See the Rules page for current structure for comparison. This is my proposed new award/payout structure:

FFL Playoff Champion 450
FFL Playoff Runner-Up 340
FFL Playoff Third Place 275
FFL Playoff Fourth Place 225
Overall Points Champion 200
Overall Points Runner-Up 150
** First place points, non-playoff teams 150
** Second place points, non-playoff teams 125
Draft phone call (est) 225
Expenses (est) 100
$160 x 14 teams = $2,240 2240

** = new award category, replacing consolation bracket/point awards

Griffins repeat, submerge Muffdivers 78-37; Beach Dudes break all-time points record in loss to Mud

Ron Yeany

The Philadelphia Griffins became only the second team in league history to win back-to-back Fantasy Bowl championships this weekend, with a convincing 78-37 win over the Miami Muffdivers in Fantasy Bowl XVI. Only the Wisconsin Cheeseheads (now Frelinghuysen Froglickers) previously won Fantasy Bowls back-to-back: in 1994 over the Wildcats and in 1995 over the Griffins. The win marks the Griffins’ fourth Fantasy Bowl championship — also a new league record: the Griffins’ were previously tied with MassIll (formerly Graynbald Mud and LA Riot!) with three franchise titles, although the Mud/Riot franchise titles were under different owners.

The undercard game in the Fantasy Bowl playoffs goes to the MassIll Mud, who upset the Orange County Beach Dudes 78-65. But while the Dude’s 65 points was not enough to win this game, it did break a league record that has stood since 1998: OCD now has 1,237 points on the year, breaking the record league high previously held by the Griffins. And while the Dudes’ first trip to the playoffs ended in disappointment, they are also a virtual lock to win the league’s points championship, holding a 172-point lead over Philadelphia going into the final week of the season.

In the consolation bracket final, the Big Oregon Bang squeezed by the Keystone Longfellows 63-59. The Big Bang has clawed their way into third place overall in points, but at 180 points behind 2nd-place Philadelphia, it appears the top two teams in points is decided at this point.

The only drama going into the final week appears to be for the “coveted” award for “high points of teams that don’t give a shit at this point” award. Currently, the standings are Happy Valley at 765, Boston at 761, and New Chester at 741. Since the Violence and Wildcats pretty much benched their starters last week, it might indicate this “award” isn’t valued as highly as being in the draft lottery and getting the extra protection slot. Perhaps it’s time we eliminate this so-called award. Boston will surely nominate it as a rule change.

And last but not least, the Cellar Dweller final game found the Syracuse Blizzard buried by Mercer 62-24. Unfortunately, it’s the franchise’s third Cellar Dweller “title” — which surely means owner Doug Weaver ought to be showing up with a few kegs the next time we get a big group of owners together 😉 It seems to be feast or famine for the Blizzard owner — Doug is one of only three active owners to have multiple Fantasy Bowl titles, but the down years seem to hit rock bottom. Perhaps it signifies a 2008 resurgence for the Blizzard.

RULE CHANGE PROPOSALS: Let’s do this now and get it done before the Super Bowl. If you have a rule change proposal, send it to me ASAP. Click the “Contact” link in the top right corner of any page on this web site and just type your rule change proposal and send it. I will post them online and anyone can leave comments. We will vote before the Super Bowl.