So a 6-6 isn’t enough to institute major changes with the defense, but before next season Chris and I will come up with some tweaks to the current system, and we’ll have another vote before the draft.
Next on the docket, mostly because of Kyle, is a discussion on roster spots. We don’t mess with this too often, but last year we did dump the third WR slot in favor of a FLEX, and I think that’s worked pretty well – in fact I don’t think I heard anyone complain about during that year, so that’s a minor miracle in itself. There are a few options here for change, some I like, one I don’t but let’s flesh them out.
- Superflex
- Eliminating the TE
- Adding a TEAM D Slot
- Removing the Kicker
SUPERFLEX – For the uninitiated, a Superflex is like a regular flex spot, except it opens you up to starting a QB there as well. With our scoring, this is almost the same as just starting 2 QBs, because it’ll be rare anyone puts a non-QB into this slot. If we were to do this, we would then have to decide if it’s going to be an additional roster spot, or if it’s going to replace the existing flex, or maybe even the TE slot.
Projected Effect – The positional value of players in the draft shifts wildly. There is suddenly a premium put on QBs, and every other position drops in value comparatively. It also makes QB injuries much more important, obviously. Coming off of a year where Cousins, Daniel Jones, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr, Jimmy G, Stafford, Fields, Geno, Watson, Pickett, Justin Herbert and Kyler all missed major time to injuries, we could see a title game featuring DeVito vs. Tim Boyle, because there isn’t enough depth on the wire to replace these guys. Also we would all have to live with knowing that Kyle will have a boner during the draft.
ELIMINATING THE TE – Another popular move that a lot of leagues are going to is swapping the TE slot out of a Flex – or in our case, a 2nd flex. The logic here is simple, on any given week there are only 4 or 5 legit TE performances, and even the top guys are often scoring less than a #2 WR. The idea here is that those top 7 or 8 TEs are probably still gonna get play, but for the other teams, they can stick in a 3rd or 4th WR/RB. Basically it’s just one more coaching decision that Jon can biff. Then again, is Trigger still the champ if Njuko doesn’t suddenly learn how to play NFL football late in the year, and what are the odds that Trigger would have started him if he didn’t have to?
Projected Effect – It for sure dumps the value of the TE in the draft because you no longer HAVE to have one. Overall it should lead to more scoring and fewer points left on the bench, and while it doesn’t kill the strategic angle of setting a lineup, it probably does dial the difficulty down a notch.
ADDING IN TEAM D – While I have been vocally and vehemently against eliminating IDP in favor of Team D, I recognize that it is a big part of the Fantasy Football experience overall, and I am actually in favor of using it in some capacity. My suggestion would be to replace one of the D spots with a TEAM D slot, which I additionally like because it includes Special Teams points as well, which we don’t currently use. Chris and I would need to adjust the scoring so it worked out to be as valuable as one defender. But this would allow those who want it to ease in and see how it work without wholesale changes.
Projected Effect – I think it could be fun, it’s just another thing to root for each week, but in a different way than usual. Overall scoring probably wouldn’t change too much, but it might be more consistent in that slot?
REMOVING THE KICKER – This has been debated and joked about for 20+ years in here. I am not actually in favor of getting rid of the kicker spot myself (as much as I might complain about it), but if we keep it I do believe the scoring needs to AGAIN be adjusted.
Projected Effect – Less complaining overall?
SC League Forever 