Fantasy football where you draft an entire real NFL team

[Will]

I've always wanted to have a league where it is made up with teams that are the same as real NFL teams. So over on Yahoo, I set up a league where that is exactly what will happen.  For example, if on your turn to pick a team you ended up with the Falcons, you would set your autopick to draft Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Steven Jackson, ATL def, etc as your team. Max teams is 20; if there are a lot less than that, maybe you'll get 2 teams in one. If you already understand what I am talking about, you can head on over to

http://y.ahoo.it/Q3TNoTbc

If you have questions, feel free to ask me here.  It'd be cool to have some Mustachian managers.

[arebelspy]

Isn't that just picking which team is the best?  What do you need the Fantasy League for, you can just look at the team records at the end of the reason.

Be sorta neat if you could draft one team's defense and a different team's offence, that would add in a little variability.

Also, dibs on the Seahawks.

(Go Hawks!)

[Will]

Aha, therein lies the rub.  Which team is the best?  You say Seahawks.  Someone else might say the Jets (Okay, someone who has no clue would say the Jets).  Someone else (equally as dumb) would say the Raiders.  And no, you couldn't just look at the team records at the end of the season for a couple of reasons: 1) Won/Loss records don't correspond to fantasy points.  You could have a team that wins every game each week by a score of 3-0.  You could have a team that loses every game every week in a shootout of 52-49.  Which team will score you the most points? 2) If you just look at the end of the season, what record of prediction is there?  That's why you need the league.

You wouldn't really need one team's offense and another's defense as one team's OFF/DEF are not directly correlated.

[arebelspy]

Aha, therein lies the rub.  Which team is the best?  You say Seahawks.  Someone else might say the Jets (Okay, someone who has no clue would say the Jets).  Someone else (equally as dumb) would say the Raiders.  And no, you couldn't just look at the team records at the end of the season for a couple of reasons: 1) Won/Loss records don't correspond to fantasy points.  You could have a team that wins every game each week by a score of 3-0.  You could have a team that loses every game every week in a shootout of 52-49.  Which team will score you the most points? 2) If you just look at the end of the season, what record of prediction is there?  That's why you need the league.

You wouldn't really need one team's offense and another's defense as one team's OFF/DEF are not directly correlated.

Ah.  So fantasy points > winning the game?

I understand now.

So to win this competition, one needs to analyze what things earn the most fantasy points, then pick the team that is the best at those things?

So, if, for example (crazy extreme hypothetical to see if I'm understanding right), an INT earned you 10000 points while everything else earned you 1 point, you'd pick the team that you thought would get the most INTs?  And if you TD scored you 10000 as well, you'd pick the team you think that would combine to have the most TDs and INTs between their offense and defence?

Assuming the points are rational, then, you would pick the team that can best do what is rewarded by fantasy points, rather than necessarily the "best" team in the league (by wins)?

(Sorry for my ignorance, never done the whole fantasy thing.)

[Will]

No need to apologize.  When I first heard of FF oh so many years ago, i thought it sounded insane.  But it really is a lot of fun, there there is a lot of analysis and "strategery" that goes into it.  Except for this new league I set up this way; once the teams are set there really isn't anything else that would need to be done for the rest of the season (unless a player gets traded or something).  But yes, you would want to pick the team that scores you most fantasy points.

[arebelspy]

Okay, I signed up.  How do I select the Seahawks?

Also I won't have to sub out players during the season?  Like if one of my CBs gets hurt, I don't have to pick another one, it'll auto do that based on who's playing?  (For the Hawks, for example, if Browner gets injured, so Maxwell starts, the league will know automatically?)

[Will]

Ok, well, the deal is, once all the managers are locked in, I am going to "randomize" the order, and then the teams will be assigned based on the rankings that each manager gives to each team.  This way it is fair for everyone.  Now, if you have the first pick and want the Seahawks, then they are yours.  However, if you have the 2nd pick and whomever has the first wants them, then you'd get your second pick.  Let's say I have Pick #5.  My top 5 teams could be 1) NYJ 2) OAK 3) SD 4) MIA 5) KC.  I would definitely get one of those teams, depending on who was left when it was my turn.  If none of the first 4 managers before me took NYJ, I'd get them.  If someone took NYJ, then my next top pick would be OAK.  And so on. 

As far as defensive players go, you just pick the entire DEF for the team, so whomever is playing defense for the team, you get all the stats for the whole team. No need to worry about individual defensive players.

I know it sounds a little confusing, but it really is pretty straightforward.  If you want to back out you can delete your team before the draft and it is all good.  But it should be a fun and easy introduction to the world of fantasy sports for you!

[arebelspy]

Yeah, it actually sounds exactly ideal for me.

I never wanted to get into Fantasy because of the time involved - tracking all that stuff day to day and making roster changes and subbing players with injuries and based on which teams they were playing (i.e. shelve your #1 RB for your #2 because your #1 is playing a team that's good at stopping the run or whatever).  From what I understood, Fantasy Football involved a lot of that type of stuff, which seems like a lot of work.

Something where I can pick once, root for a team throughout the season, and never have to login once to change anything is perfect.

Seems like this format the draft order is way more important than normal - it sucks drafting #11 or whatever.  By then most the playoff caliber teams (Patriots, Broncos, Seahawks, 49ers, etc.) are gone, and you get the middling teams.

Normally you have like 20 or 30 draft picks or whatever it is, and even if you draft low to start you have more picks to even it out, whereas with this "pick once" thing drafting later is tough.

Can't be helped, I guess.

//EDIT
Actually apparently you can by picking two teams and "snake" drafting - someone on the message boards just suggested that.
//END EDIT.

One interesting potential format: a pick the team style like this, but you redraft every week.   So naturally you're looking for mismatches (if Patriots play Broncos, you probably don't pick either of them) rather than just the best team overall, and the fact that you'll have 17 drafts evens out the luck (you may pick first on a week where the Patriots play the Jets, but last another time).

Once again you have to make a change every week, but at least you don't have to monitor dozens of individual players, but rather just pick a team each week.  IDK if that draft format is possible, but it sounds need.

[Will]

//EDIT
Actually apparently you can by picking two teams and "snake" drafting - someone on the message boards just suggested that.
//END EDIT.

This.

It is what I'd been thinking but wanted to throw it out there and see what others thought.  I am a very fair commissioner.

[arebelspy]

I am a very fair commissioner.

You may not be the commissioner the Fantasy League wants, but you're the commissioner the Fantasy League needs.

[Will]

Woo hoo!  Only 1 spot left to fill!

[Will]

Ha! You get the first pick and the last pick!  So obviously you don't need to rank every single team.  Just your top pick and maybe the bottom 6 or so.

[arebelspy]

Nice! 1 in 16 chance of that.  :)

I don't even need to give my bottom pick, right?  I just get whatever team is left unpicked at #32?

You know my #1 choice.  Go Hawks!  ;)

Honestly probably the Patriots or someone will be better at scoring the fantasy points, but I will provide an image of myself in the next post and you will understand why I have to pick them.

[arebelspy]

[Will]

I don't even need to give my bottom pick, right?  I just get whatever team is left unpicked at #32?

Yeah, after I posted that I got to thinking that there would only be one team left at the end.  Oh well.

The Seahawks should be pretty awesome this year.  It'll be fun to see how things pan out.

[arebelspy]

I did not understand this at all:

Please take note of the number of players you can have at each position.
5 QB
7 WR
7 RB
5 TE
2 QB/WR/RB/TE
2 K
2 DEF

30 altogether. Since most real NFL teams have their starting QB plus a backup or 2, you should have at least 5 and can have a 6th if you see fit. For example: pick Sanchez and Geno Smith from NYJ and Flynn and Pryor from OAK, then decide if you want McElroy or McGloin or BOTH!! ;) Do the same all the way down until you have 30 players in total from both teams. Any questions?

I have no idea how to do that or what any of that even meant.  I thought I'd automatically get all the players from the teams?

I assume you'll help me figure that out once everyone has picked teams?  :)

Sorry for being such a noob!

[Will]

Go to the league's page.  There is a tab that says "Draft Central."  Click on that and go to the part where it says "Pre-draft player rankings."  You want to edit your rankings where you have all the SEA players under "My Players."  You'll need to play around a little with the tabs that will show Sort Available Players By: Name    and Show: All   

Since your 2nd team is going to suck, get as many SEA players as you can over there, and then fill in the empty spots with your Jets (or whomever you end up with).  You will want to have enough QBs RBs etc to fill your spots, as listed above, so it'll be 30 players total.

[arebelspy]

Go to the league's page.  There is a tab that says "Draft Central."  Click on that and go to the part where it says "Pre-draft player rankings."  You want to edit your rankings where you have all the SEA players under "My Players."  You'll need to play around a little with the tabs that will show Sort Available Players By: Name    and Show: All   

Since your 2nd team is going to suck, get as many SEA players as you can over there, and then fill in the empty spots with your Jets (or whomever you end up with).  You will want to have enough QBs RBs etc to fill your spots, as listed above, so it'll be 30 players total.

Hmm, okay.   Done.  But I won't have to pick week to week between the players on the two teams, it'll just auto do that?  Like if I have Geno Smith and Russell Wilson (and 3 other QB), I'll get points no matter which QB plays, as long as they're on my roster, I don't have to "start" them or anything?

I think I get the second paragraph, but we'll cross that bridge when I get a second team.  I also put the seattle def on my draft board.

Hope I get the Jags.  They're projected bottom 3, but I think will surprise some people.

[Will]

I have it set so your entire team starts, no bench.  So if Russell Wilson was to get hurt and SEA used both backup QBs, you'd get credit for everything all 3 QBs did.

[arebelspy]

I have it set so your entire team starts, no bench.  So if Russell Wilson was to get hurt and SEA used both backup QBs, you'd get credit for everything all 3 QBs did.

Cool.

[arebelspy]

What if there are 10 WR between the two teams?  I pick my favorite 7?  Do I get to swap out during the year for ones on the same team if some are injured?