Commissioner Robby

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer

To all the commissioners out there, here are a few recommendations for your league, some fairly standard, some completely crazy…

1. Flex

In my opinion, 2 RBs, 2 WRs and 1 Flex is far preferable to the 2 RB, 3 WR format. Mid-level backs like Cadillac Williams and Tatum Bell will still retain some starter value and the added roster flexibility makes trading that much easier.

2. Homefield Advantage

In most fantasy leagues, the difference between the No. 1 and No. 4 seed is negligible, making the most fluky fantasy sport that much more fluky. In our league, the 1 and 2 seeds get a first round bye, with the 3-seed getting a 10-point “homefield” advantage over the 6-seed and the 4-seed getting a 5-point “homefield” advantage over the 5-seed. We have no “homefield” advantage in the second round, the logic being that a bye is advantage enough. But the more that I think about it, the 1-seed should probably get a 5-point boost, to give them an edge over the 2-seed.

3. LT Penalty

Whoever chooses to draft first this year (you should assign preferences of picks, not just random picks to add to the strategy of the draft), should be penalized an earlier agreed upon pick. I think no 5th round pick sounds about right. This should help balance out the inequity of someone having the most dominant player in the game fall into their lap.

4. Fractional Scoring

Instead of rewarding players 1 point per 10 rushing/receiving yards, reward them 0.1 points for every yard. This is a no-brainer.

5. PPRs

Points-per-receptions are important, as they reward wide receivers for making big catches and help balance out the disparity between WRs and RBs, but do we really need PPRs for backs? 0.5 points per catch for wide receivers and 0.25 points per reception for backs makes the most sense to me.

6. No Long Touchdown Bonuses

Your guy just caught an 80-yard bomb. Aren’t you already happy enough with the 14.5 points? Do you really need an extra 2-3 point bonus for a long TD?

7. No Kickers

Do we really need to draft kickers? It seems to me that it is more trouble than it’s worth. At the bare minimum, kickers should be penalized a point or two for every extra point or field goal they miss. It’s the same as an interception or fumble, if not worse.

8. Emphasis on Team Defense

In most leagues, the worth of a team defense is largely dependent upon flukes: touchdowns and turnovers. While defenses should be rewarded for these stats, they should also accrue points for not giving up many points and not giving up many yards. This added emphasis makes elite defenses worth drafting in the first 10 rounds and makes it worthwhile for managers to carry 2-3 defenses during the year.

9. Public Shaming of Last Place Team

The league bottomfeeder ruins it for everyone; they stop trying halfway through the season and aren’t even fun to taunt. The really bad ones let their friends rip them off in lopsided deals, drawing the ire of the rest of the league. A good deterrent for this is a last place penalty. Penalties can range from monetary, to having last pick in next year’s draft, to doing something demeaning for the champ, like letting him bang your wife.

10. Message Board With Pictures

I have long been a big fan of Yahoo’s Fantasy Sports interface, but we haven’t used it in football for the last few years, simply because you can’t post pictures on the message board. You really can’t put a price on posting a shot of the fat chick your opponent got on in high school, or repeatedly putting up shots of John Mark Carr, who bears a striking resemblance to one of your league members. Trust me on this one.