Fantasy Football 2009-2011 [AF Elite]

[darklighter1]

I know I'm a bit bias on this one but Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski the TE rookies for NE both look like breakout players. It just reamains to be seen which one will become the dominant one.

[AYHJA]

I didn't accept the bet, not because I was afraid or didn't want to lose, I mean, having AD at this point is doing me no good...I didn't take the bet because that wasn't my point...

My point was that there is less skill than luck involved in this process...Nobody would have given the Cowboys a chance in hell against the Giants...And you would be absolutely comfortable in doing that...Somebody said, "Oh wow you shouldn't have played Seattle, the Giants are hot," blah blah blah...And I said they're inconsistent...My point was to get you, and others, to eat this:

Many players, like yourself, don't value the importance of putting a good deal of thought into defenses and rather see them as nothing more than an afterthought.

And I think I did...

Again, my point is that defenses can hurt the fuck out of a team, researched be damned...I got blown out this week, just like the week before, so its not like it matters, I'm just saying we should probably address the defensive scoring...Meanwhile...Our friend Eli Manning, for example...

He still had 22 points, despite throwing 2 interceptions, and one of them being a Pick6...His team got blown out by one of the shittiest teams in the league...

Brett Favre had a shitty game by any standards...170 yards, 1 TD, 3 picks...He netted 0 points...

Carson Palmer had a 3 interception day, he threw a pick6 too I believe, his team lost...Still, he netted 12.5 points...

Meanwhile, I try to play smart, figuring that the Jets and Browns would be in a defensive struggle... -4 points for them...

And then, the Seahawks go and fucking get 11 points...

[¡ñ±£¿®∆L Ф¶†ïς@п]

You can't win. I get the point Uber. And it's funny :laff: (if not also tragic)

I'll be making a new message in the league proper in the next week or after, as well as in this thread, about what rules could be implemented for next season (re: "ties", waiver standing, acquistion budget?) , how scoring might better be used (ie, I think full PPR is just too much. 1/2 pt per catch seems like the best compromise) , and should we expand the number of skill position players we can play each week (I still think playing only 7 is too little... having an extra WR, flex, TE, or whatever else helps having one of our perpetual benchwarmers actually see some playing time).

I really want every single member of the league to be in consensus with these possible changes, and allow you guys yourselves to make suggestions as to what you like (so don't change it!) and what you don't (how does this even work to our favor?).

[¡ñ±£¿®∆L Ф¶†ïς@п]

Oh, and just to remain topical, this article illustrates your point beautifully...

Former NFL commissioner Bert Bell first coined the phrase "any given Sunday" way back in the 1950s, thanks in large part to ideas generated by baseball mavericks Bill Veeck and Branch Rickey. The rest of the baseball owners opted to stick with a "money is king" philosophy that led to a great disparity between the league's largest and smallest markets. It was football's Bell, though, who took to heart Rickey's credo that "any rule or regulation that removes or tends to remove the power of money to make the difference in playing strength is a good rule."

By 1958, Bell was calling a more balanced NFL the greatest show on Earth due to it's strong element of surprise and suspense. "There isn't any such animal as a weak sister in our league anymore," said Bell. "You knock my brains out this Sunday and I knock your brains out the next time we meet."

Three weeks after Dallas' season was torn asunder in a Monday Night Football debacle against the Giants, the reeling Cowboys returned the favor Sunday. No team in the league had been more dominant over the past five weeks than the Giants, blowing out opponents while ransacking quarterbacks. A Cowboys team flat-lining under Wade Phillips finally showed a pulse under interim coach Jason Garrett.

Buoyed by an average per attempt of 14.9 yards, Jon Kitna posted his second 300-yard performance in three starts. The big play returned to the Dallas offense with Kitna connecting on four passes over 40 yards while favorite target Dez Bryant (3-104, TD) continued to show that he's already among the league's elite talents at wide receiver.

In 15 quarters with Kitna at quarterback, Bryant has 23 catches for 328 yards and four touchdowns. Although Roy Williams started, Bryant played more snaps and has all but officially passed him in the pecking order. "He's amazing," receivers coach Ray Sherman said of Bryant. "I don't care if there are one or two guys on him, he's going to go up and try to make a play. I tell you, he's special. He's a special player."

An ever greater example of Bell's vision of equality, the Broncos became the first NFL team since at least 1950 to have a first half lead of 35-plus points and a first half deficit of at least 35 points in two separate games in the same season. The two games occurred just three weeks apart on the same field against an opponent of similar quality, proving once again that we have no idea how the games will shake out each Sunday.

The shootout in Denver featured two quarterbacks bombing four touchdowns apiece, a third quarterback accounting for two more touchdowns, a running back establishing a career-high in rushing yards, and the number one receiver of each team notching two scores. For just the second time in NFL history, the contest featured nine TD passes with zero interceptions.

Meanwhile, Tim Tebow became the third Broncos rookie with a rushing TD and passing TD in the same game (the last was Gary Kubiak in 1983). He also joined Matt Ryan and Kordell Stewart as the only rookie quarterbacks since 1991 with a touchdown on their first career pass attempt.

The Broncos credit Hall of Famer John Elway with "hitting a few things right on the head" during a pregame speech while the Cowboys' responded with vigor to Garrett's more aggressive touch. It's a reminder about the power of emotion in a league with the thinnest of lines between winning and losing.

[rotoworld.]

[erokero85]

Uber, I totally get what you are saying. I understand, I really do. But I don't see a difference between a crappy defense score than one of your studs having a crappy day. I mean, Peyton Manning heading into the week had an avg of 21+ppg, and was projected for 27pts this week, but only got me 6 against the Bengals who gave up 20+pts to the only 2 decent passing offenses they faced this year in the Pats and Falcons, and 15pts to a so-so Bucs squad. But a (-)15-20pt swing? I thought at worst he'd have at least 15pts. That killed my team just as much as if not more than if I had started the one of the 3 defenses IO asked about. Regardless of all that, I picked the right defense for my team, Bears over the Steelers. Not that it mattered one bit since I got smashed by 40 points.

I just think you might be adding a bit too much real world NFL value into your thoughts. The Bills are 1-8, yet Ryan Fitzpatrick had been a decent play for most of his starts along with Steve Johnson. The Chargers are 4-5 and Phillip Rivers is leading the QB position in points. Hell Breese is 4th, despite being 2nd in the league with 12 interceptions. It's all about cold hard stats. Not when or why they happen. Not how they affect the outcome of the game. Just that they show up in the box scores. A game winning td is the same as a fluke tip drill td in garbage time.

I know that was my problem when I started fantasy. That along with drafting and counting on too many guys from favorite team. Tho I do admit to attempting to have at least one Bears player on my roster each year, and NO PACKERS! I just wouldn't want to cheer for those guys, regardless of how much points they could score me, and I have found it's a million times worse when they screw you over and score nothing. :curse:

[¡ñ±£¿®∆L Ф¶†ïς@п]

Again, great reply, ero.

It kind of blows my mind that Brees already has 12 interceptions, but I don't really make a habit of following the NO offense.
(The real reason I picked them to go to the SB last year, combined with the consistent high-octane offense, is the eventual signing of Def. Co. Gregg Williams. In my mind, that put them over the top, as they had a legit top-5 offense, and a potential upper-half defense. I turned out to be right.)

As much as I consider myself a league-wide fan, I usually try to stay true to my allegiances (Was., TB, Ari., SD).
If I can, I usually elevate on my draft boards players from my teams, but just enough so that it outweighs the risk.
I don't usually draft or go after division rivals (mainly: Dal., Phi, Den., Sea., NO, Car.) and if I do come to have some players from those teams, I do so reluctantly.
For example, I didn't like owning Tony Romo as my only QB this season, (my backup was actually Eli, too) so I sent feelers out there, and I luckily, at the time, looked to blow out half my roster in order to acquire Aaron Rodgers. I also sent away last year's Iron-Man / "Legend in Fantasy Floor" in Steven Jackson, but that's more to do with me being high on Frank Gore to match or outproduce him, so it wasn't as big a loss (it's still a first round pick, however). As much as it may seem contradictory, I actually like Atl., KC, SF, and NYG, but more in terms of overall fantasy production that those offenses generate. I near-adore Roddy White as a player, as I was the only one who over the past 3-4 years when I watched him play, knew he was going to be elite. Same with Frank Gore. Kinda the same with Eli Manning. I knew for sure about Bradshaw, and KC's J. Charles after seeing what they did in secondary roles last season.

I've also stated before that I'm thinking about adopting GB and Bal. as my secondary "root-for" teams, not because I'm a band-wagon'er, but because some of my favorite all-time players have made their stead in those markets, and it doesn't hurt that over the past decade, those two defenses have been quite stout. It also makes sense, given that I don't care much for the Vikings, have ire for the Steelers, and at this point, I absolutely loathe the Bengals (very different from just a season ago).

I'm a very complicated guy when it comes to this imaginary game, but I also think because I have a "love" list, and a "hate" list, that i can avoid some of the headaches that comes with presupposed fantasy production (like I hate on Terrell Owens and Brandon Marshall, so, I'll probably never own them again, despite both of them kinda having a better-than average year so far).

[¡ñ±£¿®∆L Ф¶†ïς@п]

Uber, you actually turned out to be half-right, what with the Browns and Jets' defensive struggle.
I don't believe the Browns would have been penalized solely on points allowed, but maybe they gave up way too many yards in that game. It did go well into overtime, so the possibility that the defense gave up north of 450+ yards is what probably took away points (and the fact that I don't think they got more than 1 sack, or 1 turnover). Overall, this past week was not a very strong one for defenses as a whole. Half the teams that played this week went full-TILT, and about 14 total QBs threw for at least 280+ and 2+ TDs. Did you actually see how many teams got whooped, because if there was any indication of how great this past week was for fantasy QB / WR / RB / TE / K production, it was all summed on MNF by how Vick asolutely dominated that game, spread out his production over onto his skill position players, and then later, the kicker chipped in, and finally, the "ears-pinned-back" defense got a pick-6-TD as well. It was a fracass and a fountain for overall scoring points, and in this virtual game, nearly everyone got their fill from the gluttonous bounty.

The Redskins defense, however, was probably the poster-boy for how bad nearly the entire league D played as a whole, if for only this one week.

[AYHJA]

But I don't see a difference between a crappy defense score than one of your studs having a crappy day.

If I start a stud, and he takes a shit on me (AD, 12.5 pts) I can live with that...But the biggest gripe on D, and again, its not like it matters in my case, is that they can actually go into the negative, and I haven't seen that for any other position...I just don't think that's fair, when you have skill players that have shitty games and you can make it out of there with a 0, like Favre starters did...They're not helping you win, but they're not absolutely hurting you either...I don't know if it can be fixed, but if it can, we should look into it for next season...

90% of the fantasy teams that started Vick this past week won...And not by a little either...

I was not in that 90%...That's just how bad this season has gone for me...Your article was right on the money IO...

[erokero85]

The only way I can think of to remedy your reservations on defenses is to either:

1) Completely do away with the "points allowed" part of defense scoring. That way they don't start w/ points, but don't lose them due to giving up points. That way, team defenses only get points for what stats they gain. Only, they become a position where there is absolutely no risk in starting any defense.

or

2) Lower the values of the "PA" bonus/penalty. Make the absolute worst penalty (I think -15 right now), to something everyone can agree on. Something in the realm of say, negative 5-7? Of course there would have to be a similar change for a shutout.

Of course you could always just get rid of the negative points penalties, but I think that would just make defenses too much of a point machine. Again, hardly any thought needed since there is no penalty for starting a crappy defense.

Either way, I think all the defensive points would have to be adjusted down since there would be little to no chance of a defense losing points once they have been gained unlike offensive players as a defense can't be charged with negative points other than negative return yards (assuming that stat is kept), of which, there is almost no way a team finishes with -10+ return yards.

[AYHJA]

Well...My season is over...Good luck to the rest of you...I'm just glad that I was able to finish on a strong note, and that I have 3 good keepers for next year...However, all is not lost...I hate to keep kicking a dead horse, but in the only other league I'm in, I got it in...I def. took this league more seriously, but in the other league I was El Patron...