MoFo Fantasy Football 2015 - Draft Time and Settings

[Yoda]

The Draft
Saturday, September 5th at 1:00 PM ET

The Teams
Yoda (11 Angry Men)
jiraffejustin (TBD)
Powdered Water (Legion of Boom)
seanc (Mud Dogs)
Sedai (Clockwork Angels)
rauldc14 (Lord of the Rings)
Piledriver (Beantown Champs)
TONGO (PlasticPads&IronMen)
Frigtened Inmate No. 2 (The Milford Men)
LTIZZY (The Ghost Riders)
Cole416 (Name Goes Here)
WBadger (Hired Goons)
Captain Spaulding (The Ball Deflators)
Fabulous (The Empire)

[Captain Spaulding]

That's good for me.

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

i'd prefer the current day but i should be able to make the backup days too

[Cole416]

I would much rather the 22nd but im good with all

[Yoda]

League Settings
If you've already confirmed your team (and as I write this, all but one player has), you can go to the league site (http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/286137) on Yahoo and browse the Scoring & Settings (http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/286137/settings) page. Make sure you're familiar with the rules before the draft. But by why of summary, it's mostly standard scoring with a few moderate tweaks:

Half-PPR
6 points per passing TD
Passing INTs are -2 instead of -1
That's pretty much it. No IDP, kick returns, or plateau bonuses. I like these changes because they require a more balanced roster than the defaults, and because it forces everyone to adjust their player valuations a little, which makes just following the ranks a little less viable (without rendering them useless). Our bench is also a little bigger than the default, if I recall correctly.

Playoffs
14 teams works great because we have a 13 week regular season, which means everyone plays everyone else once. Top two seeds get a Bye in the first week of the playoffs, and we have playoff reseeding turned on. We lock eliminated teams, though, so while there's a Consolation Bracket for people who get knocked out, only teams still alive in the "real" bracket get to make pickups (simply because it would be weird to have a player blocked from making a move in the MoFo Bowl because someone playing for 9th or something got to them first).

Changes?
We've been pretty happy with this setup, so I don't anticipate any significant changes, but if you have any suggestions now's the time. In the past we've dabbled with the idea of ditching kickers, for example, but we never quite get around to it. :laugh:

The only significant change we may want to consider is altering the playoff format. Specifically, trying to move to some kind of double-week matchup for the championship game, since individual playoff matchups can be pretty random as it is. I'm fairly sure Yahoo allows for this, but we've yet to have enough demand among the others to find out.

Anyway, if you have any strong opinions about any of this, now's the time. My feeling is that most of the league is happy with the scoring tweaks and pretty happy with the playoffs, but speak your mind anyway. You might convince people, or at least get them thinking about the idea for next year. :)

[Yoda]

Oh, and one more thing:

In years past, we've done something fun where each team agreed that they'd send a movie to whoever ended up winning. This is totally optional, of course, but obviously only people who agree beforehand are eligible to "win" the movie from other participating owners if they win it all. It's a lot of fun because you get to send them something you might want them to watch, and it can be cheap, used, whatever. A fun little surprise.

One thing I'd like to propose is that, instead of doing this with the winner, we do it for the runner-up, as a consolation prize. But it'll depend on how many people decide they want to participate. Like I said, totally optional, but in the past we've found this to be a lot of fun.

Obviously, you can count me in.

[Captain Spaulding]

If we move the draft to the 6th, I won't be able to make it in the evening since that's when my buddies and I have scheduled to get together and draft for our annual league. Anything in the afternoon is fine, though.

[rauldc14]

I didn't see this thread until now. But I definitely can't make the 22nd as I am moving that weekend.

[Captain Spaulding]

Oh, and one more thing:

In years past, we've done something fun where each team agreed that they'd send a movie to whoever ended up winning. This is totally optional, of course, but obviously only people who agree beforehand are eligible to "win" the movie from other participating owners if they win it all. It's a lot of fun because you get to send them something you might want them to watch, and it can be cheap, used, whatever. A fun little surprise.

One thing I'd like to propose is that, instead of doing this with the winner, we do it for the runner-up, as a consolation prize. But it'll depend on how many people decide they want to participate. Like I said, totally optional, but in the past we've found this to be a lot of fun.

Obviously, you can count me in.

That'll give me a good excuse to unload some of the crap movies in my collection, like The Wicker Man remake. Or that sticky DVD of Drill Bill. :p

[Captain Spaulding]

The mailman's gonna be busy at my place come January with all these trophies and movies being mailed to me.

[seanc]

I am available for any of those draft dates.

In for the DVD as well.

[TONGO]

Im available all draft dates and DVD deal too :up:

[rauldc14]

The fifth and the sixth would both work for me though.

[Yoda]

Okay, good to know. You probably remember this from years past when you had all those work conflicts, but we'll move to a backup date if it works for everyone else, or if we have more conflicts for the first date than one of the alternatives. So hopefully we'll know in a day or two if that's viable. As always, we'll go with whatever works for the largest number of people.

[Fabulous]

I should be available for the current draft date, and I will definitely be available for the back up dates.

[7thson]

Hey everyone, I hope you all have a really fun year, Dev and I will be in the pay league and might try to get in on an overflow group, but I wanted to say to all the newcomers that this is really a fun group of people to play with and they are extremely competitive Sorry I will not be in with you this year but I have not been on MOFO as nearly as much as I would like so I find it totally logical that active members get to play. I also wanted to pass along a little advice: P. Manning - 'nuff said ;).

It is a good thing his playoff games don't matter here.

http://img.memecdn.com/peyton-manning-losing_o_2792679.jpg

[WBadger]

The current draft date of the 22nd is problematic for me, I will be out of town for a dance festival and would much prefer the backup dates, if possible. Also, yeah I'm in for the DVD thing, wish that was part of the deal last year though :p Okay, okay, I'll move on from last year.. Ready for a new season.

[jiraffejustin]

I either of those dates would be a problem for me. Everything looks good for me. I'd want the dvds if I won though, the runner-up should get nothing. :D To the victor goes the spoils.

Also, I wouldn't mind if kickers got nixed.

[Yoda]

Waiting to hear back from just a few more people. So far everyone can make the 5th and 6th work (in the afternoon, eastern time), and a couple people can't make the 22nd work, so it's very likely we'll try for a September date.

As soon as I can confirm this, I'll post an update (and edit the original post).

And for those of you who haven't weighed in on the movie swap thing, you've got a few more days to decide. We've got about a half dozen already, though.

[Cole416]

yeah ill do the movie swap thing

[Cole416]

I don't think you put how many teams actually make the playoffs.. unless it's everyone.

[Yoda]

It's in that second post I put up just after the first:

Playoffs
14 teams works great because we have a 13 week regular season, which means everyone plays everyone else once. Top two seeds get a Bye in the first week of the playoffs, and we have playoff reseeding turned on. We lock eliminated teams, though, so while there's a Consolation Bracket for people who get knocked out, only teams still alive in the "real" bracket get to make pickups (simply because it would be weird to have a player blocked from making a move in the MoFo Bowl because someone playing for 9th or something got to them first).

[Powdered Water]

I can make any of the days. And I'm down for the dvd too. If we got rid of the kicker, would we be replacing it with another swing spot?

[Yoda]

Good question (kicker/swing spot). I'm open to it, though that's a bigger change. I was thinking with even the kicker removal, we'd do it if a lot of people chimed in in the affirmative, so ya'll let me know if you feel strongly about any of the three possibilities (keep kicker, remove kicker, or replace kicker with Flex), and if a lot of people pick the second or third we'll change it.

[Captain Spaulding]

Kickers are the bane of my existence. I've lost so many close match-ups over the years because a damn kicker missed an easy field goal or because the person I'm playing had a kicker randomly go off for 20+ points because his team couldn't get in the damn endzone. It's frustrating because it's impossible to predict the position. With that said, however, I don't think we should get rid of kickers. They're an integral part of the game both in real life and fantasy. They decide close match-ups. And the randomness of it adds to the joys and frustrations (mostly frustrations) of playing fantasy football.

[Powdered Water]

I think I said something similar last year. Only, not as eloquently as you just did.

[TONGO]

I like Kickers. For everyone thats lost a game because of a kicker theres someone else that won because of one. Dont be hating.

Are we able to combine 2 categories? Can we merge a teams kickers points into the Defense?

[Yoda]

I don't think we have that option, though that's a fun idea.

It's certainly true that you're usually as likely to win because of your kicker as you are to lose because of it, but that's part of the point: it's mostly random, and why introduce more randomness into a game that's fairly random to begin with? So goes the argument, at least.

[Sedai]

LT and I are good for AUG 22 as long as it is early afternoon. Will need to check on other dates.

[Fabulous]

I won't be participating in the DVD swap. Also, I would like to keep the Kicker.

[Yoda]

Well, that's two votes for keeping the Kicker and only a few people who've bothered to say they want it gone, so I think we fall well short of the broad consensus necessary for a rule change. Kickers, your execution has been stayed another year.

[rauldc14]

Kickers will be fun this year. Lots of missed extra points.

[Yoda]

Also, I've now heard from everyone on the draft dates, and while a couple people can't make August 22nd, virtually everyone (Pete can't make any of the dates, so he's agnostic and fine with auto-drafting) can make the 5th or 6th, so we're moving the draft back:

The draft will be on Saturday, September 5th at 1:00 PM ET

This'll be the closest to the start of the season we've ever drafted, which isn't my first inclination, but it's a busier year than normal.

If you guys think of any other issues, changes, settings, questions, whatever, you've still got some time to ask. If you're new to the league, don't be shy if you're not clear on anything. :)

Otherwise, game on.

[Sedai]

Keep the kickers, please.

[teeter_g]

Is there a secondary league this year?

[Yoda]

Yeah, there's a small stakes pay league with a lot of MoFos, and TONGO will create a general overflow PPR league shortly.

[seanc]

So I have a draft tonight. My buddy I worked with in HS and talk to on FB occasionally talked me into being in his pay league. He just informed us that the draft is linear instead of snake. Guess I should have checked but I didn't think to check on something that nobody has done in a fantasy league since the 80's. The question is not whether this person has a screw loose. The question is do I send him my $?

[rauldc14]

Never heard of doing it that way. If you have a top 4 pick I'd stay in though :)

[seanc]

Never heard of doing it that way. If you have a top 4 pick I'd stay in though :)

Right. Just pure luck. I guess it's an option for keeper leagues but damn, talk about unfair.

[seanc]

Ended up with 4th pick in that draft so I didn't complain too much. ;) Guy that started the league picked 12th. I told him he needed to do snake draft next year. His response was "yup". :D

[Yoda]

Getting close! The draft is this Saturday, September 5th, at 1:00 PM ET. See you all there. :)

[Yoda]

The draft is TOMORROW. It's almost exactly 24 hours from now. 1:00 PM ET. The league site is here (http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/286137).

And I'll say this because it bites someone every year: go do a mock draft, or at least a system test with the draft room, to make sure it works for you! If it doesn't, try it in another browser (that usually does the trick). You'll definitely want to do this today, or at least an hour or two before the draft, so you don't have to do it just as the draft starts!

See you guys tomorrow. :)

[Powdered Water]

I have my bells picked out. So I'll be there... with bells on.

[Yoda]

Draft's in an hour and a half. Don't miss it! :) And definitely run a system test beforehand.

[rauldc14]

Shooting for Tim Tebow, but I'll settle for Mike Vick.

[jiraffejustin]

Montee Ball first round babaaaay

[Yoda]

Jim Thorpe.

[rauldc14]

Montee Ball first round babaaaay

I'm going for Ray Rice. Guy has been great every year except last year.

[seanc]

I'm going for Ray Rice. Guy has been great every year except last year.

Take it from the guy who took him first the year before...nope.

[jiraffejustin]

Jim Thorpe.

All-American

[Sedai]

Getting a PC set up for LT and we will be in!

[Yoda]

Draft order's up!

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/286137

T-minus 24 minutes...

[Sedai]

Uggggg :(

[Yoda]

I think it's really interesting that almost every owner hates getting a low pick in the first round. Some years that makes sense, but some years it's actually great.

[rauldc14]

This is one of those years where a late pick is better IMO.

[Yoda]

I think so. I'm at 5th, which is literally exactly the spot I would choose if you let me, I think. But barring 5th or 4th, I'd probably want to drop down to one of the last couple picks.

But, as usual, this will all get flipped on its head a week into the season.

[TONGO]

Drafting 8th in the draft is kinda ho-hum ass. Im pretty happy with my team though, seems like a steady bunch. Hopefully steady to the good.

Check out this bucket o' badness right heyar'!

QB Romo or Cam
WR OBJ!!! He rules the world yknow.
WR AJ Green
RB Chris Ivory. This guys gonna earn :yup:
RB The guy for Jacksonville. Cant remember his name though I typed it a few times, too lazy to go back into draft room to see. I want to say Yentl but I know it starts with an L.
TE Jordan Reed, a healthy Jordan Reed that is
WRT Andre "Thank god I got a real QB throwing to me now!" Johnson. Hes going from Schaub to Luck, I honestly think even at his age a career year is possible.

and I grabbed Darren McFadden who I think may surprisingly stay healthy and earn big.

[Yoda]

I like my team. I don't love it, but I like it. Pretty stacked at WR and RB, very good TE and a lot of upside guys on the bench. QB's really the only possible weak spot, but Palmer should get a lot of volume.

Good draft everyone, glad so many people could make it. :) We're drafting as close to the opener as we ever have, too, so we won't have to wait long for all our preconceptions to be upended.

[Captain Spaulding]

I'm pretty happy with my team, especially for a 14-team league. There are a couple of things I wish I had done differently in the draft, but I'm happy at the moment. I always seem to get low draft grades from Yahoo, yet I've racked up plenty of trophies over the years, so I don't pay much attention to their analysis.

Eli Manning was the butt of jokes in the chat, but he had a pretty good statistical season last year. Especially over the second half of the season when OBJ started catching everything in a one mile radius. If OBJ can avoid the Madden Curse and Victor Cruz can get back on the field and contribute in some capacity, I like Eli's prospects this season. The Giants also added Shane Vereen this off-season, one of the best pass-catching backs in the league, so that should also help boost Eli's stats. I was hoping to turn around and land Sam Bradford a couple of rounds later so that I could stream based on match-ups, but unfortunately that didn't work out.

I know the philosophy has shifted a bit in recent years, but I'm still old-school when it comes to getting my RBs early and often. The talent pool drops faster at RB than any other position. I love my group at that position. I traded for Jeremy Hill on the cheap last year in my main league as insurance for Gio Bernard, then reaped the benefits of that when Hill took over as the starter. He has a rare combination of speed and strength. I thought CJ Anderson was about to fall to me in the second round. I would've been over the moon if that had happened, but unfortunately he got picked one spot ahead of me. That left me with Lamar Miller. Perhaps a bit of a reach based on rankings, but I knew he wouldn't be around in the 3rd. Miller isn't spectacular, but he has no competition for touches and Miami's offense is on the rise. I think he finishes the season as a top-10 RB. Ellington is the pick I'm a little nervous about. The Arizona O-line has looked terrible this preseason. Plus the coaches are high on the rookie and now they've signed Chris Johnson. Two years ago Ellington was electric, but last year he was dealing with turf toe all year before finding his way onto IR. Hopefully his contributions to the pass game and his big-play ability will pay dividends for me this season. I seem to land Ryan Mathews in every mock I've done this off-season. I think he's a better fit for Philly's offense than Murray. Even if Murray stays healthy, Mathews should get enough touches to be a viable flex play. And if Murray succumbs to injury (a strong likelihood given his fragile past and the workload he had last season) then Mathews becomes a top fantasy RB. (Of course, Mathews is also extremely injury prone, so who knows.) I wanted McFadden in the 9th, but he got picked one spot ahead of me, so I settled for Reggie Bush. I don't know how much gas he has left in the tank, but with SF's defense expected to take a major step back and Hyde still unproven, maybe he'll surprise me.

WR is an area of concern for me, but that's what happens when you go RB the first three rounds of the draft. Just a few weeks ago I wanted no part of Jeremy Maclin, but I've done a 180 on him after watching how the Chiefs have utilized him this preseason. Alex Smith won't throw the ball 20 yards downfield if his life depended on it, but Reid knows how to move Maclin around in the offense. They seem determined to get Maclin the ball early and often, letting him operate in space and gain yards after the catch. I expect Maclin to catch a ton of balls this year. Allen Robinson was on his way to having a pretty solid season last year before the injury. I know he plays for Jacksonville, but Bortles no longer looks like a deer in headlights. Plus WRs for bad teams can often rack up lots of garbage time stats late in a game. I wish he was my #3 instead of my #2, but it is what it is. Eddie Royal was one of my favorite sleepers even before the season-ending injury to Kevin White. He might not rack up a ton of yardage or TDs, but I expect him to catch a lot of passes, so hopefully the .5 PPR will inflate his totals. Markus Wheaton has garnered a ton of buzz in Steelers camp this off-season. I don't expect much, but with Martavis Bryant suspended the first four games and the Steelers expected to be one of the top offenses this season, maybe he'll surpass my expectations. Most likely I'll end up trading one of my RBs at some point to get better at the WR position.

I tend to ignore TE in every league every year. It usually works out okay for me. They say the TE is a rookie QB's best friend, so maybe Tampa Bay's TE will do well this year. If not, I'll stream the position until Ol' Reliable Mr. Gates returns from his suspension.

Here's how I'd rank the teams (please nobody take offense):

1.) TBD (I wish this was my team. Lately Doug Martin has resembled the player he was during his rookie season instead of the bust he's become over the last two years. Stevie Johnson is one of my favorite sleepers. I think he becomes Rivers's favorite target this season. Hopkins is a beast even without a QB. If CJ Anderson goes down, Ronnie Hillman becomes a top-five RB. A lot of excitement surrounds Landry and Hyde. Plus Bell waiting in wings. Stafford is bi-polar on the field, but when he's not turning over the football, he can rack up points in a hurry.)

2.) 11 Angry Men (It might not show at beginning of season due to injuries/suspensions, but this team is loaded with talent. I thought Arian Foster was supposed to be out at least 6 weeks or longer, but now I'm reading that he might miss as few as two games. If so, Yoda got the steal of the draft. I wouldn't be surprised if Olsen finishes as the second ranked TE this season. Only weakness is QB, but if Palmer can produce like he did before his injury last year, this might be the team to beat.)

3.) Name Goes Here (Very strong team. I love his group of RBs. Spiller's current injury has scared me off, but he has potential to pay huge dividends this season if he can just stay healthy. Danny Woodhead is an excellent pick. Melvin Gordon has looked atrocious this preseason, so Woodhead is going to be on the field a lot. Evans/Hilton/John Brown is a nice WR trio.)

4.) Lord of the Rings (Possibly the best starting line-up, but don't love his bench outside of Agholor and, to a lesser degree, Sproles. Hard to get excited about any JAX RB, but Denard Robinson might be one of the best values of draft if he really does become starter and Jags can stay competitive instead of abandoning the run by halftime every game. Regret not picking him myself.)

5.) Mud Dogs (Morris's stock is down without RGIII, plus lack of involvement in pass game hurts in our format. Vernon Davis might be legally dead-- somebody check his pulse. Solid depth. Solid group of WRs. As long as Murray holds up, he should still score a ton of points, even with far fewer carries than last year. Rodgers makes every fantasy team competitive.)

6.) Censored Clowns

7.) Beantown Champs (LOVE his starting line-up, but bench is poor. Charles/Jordan Matthews are going to put up a ton of points. Latavius Murray poised for big things. So is Abdullah, although it might take a few weeks for him to get lion's share of carries.)

8.) Clockwork Angels (Lots of potential, yet could also crash and burn. Forsett should be huge with our scoring format, but still hard to trust a player who was a journeyman for so long. Bernard/Vereen great for catches, not much more. Love Golden Tate. Like Vincent Jackson. Gronk is as good as it gets. Peyton worries me, though. New offense, new faces on o-line. He's been getting sacked a lot in preseason. Will he wear down again like last year?)

9.) PlasticPads&IronMen (Love some of his players: Romo/OBJ/AJ/Chris Ivory/A. Johnson. McFadden has ton of potential this season. HATE the TJ Yeldon pick. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the waiver wire within a month. Backup kicker and defense just a waste of roster spots. Depth is biggest issue.)

10.) The Empire (Love Brees/Julio/Calvin trio. Don't trust Freeman/Torrey Smith/Blount. Wright/Randle nice sleepers. Ultimate success will depend on Ingram -- shaky thought. According to Yahoo, though, he had the best draft, so what do I know?)

11.) Hired Goons (solid, but unspectacular. Cobb/Edelman great for scoring format, but currently banged up. Forte feels due an injury. Joique Bell will probably lose job to Abdullah at some point this season. Maybe Allen bounces back and Funchess emerges as #1 in Carolina, otherwise meh.)

12.) Legion of Boom (Tough to look past Duke Johnson, the third head in a Cleveland platoon, as starting RB. Love Wilson/Cooks/Lynch. Jackson too boom/bust and not good for .5 PPR. If Bradford stays healthy, though, will have elite fantasy QB as great trade bait.)

13.) The Milford Men (Big Ben/Dez/CJ are excellent. Don't trust Decker/Garcon. Gurley might not be ready until 2 months into season. Don't see much potential on bench.)

14.) Bald Beavers (Boldin/Colston are a hundred years old. Major red flags with Gordon/Randle. Will need a lot of Luck.)

[TONGO]

LOL! LTizzys gonna flip if she see that.

[jiraffejustin]

Captain Spaulding picks me #1, Yahoo says I will lose every game. I like Captain more than Yahoo.