Playoff/Regular Season Structure

[benyamen]

May 20, 2008 15:28:18 GMT -6 Brad (Texas Hellfire) said:

So far I will admit that expanding to 12 teams and keeping the divisions separate really appeals to me. What Chris and I are leaning toward saying is good is this.

12 teams; 2 six team divisions; you play 2 division games with each team and only three games against the other division at all (more like AL/NL than AFC/NFC); the top three teams from each division make the playoffs and they only play within their division until the Championship. League leader gets a first rond bye while 2 and 3 battle it out for the right to play them. Then in week 15 the bye teams play the winners from their own division. Week 16 is the championship, AFC vs. NFC.

Ya, I'm totally down with that idea. I think it would work out well.

[Brad (Texas Hellfire)]

May 20, 2008 15:30:34 GMT -6 Peter (Swamp Dragons) said:

It really doesn't matter to me how many teams. Both my other leagues are 12. Just wondering what type of players you get in rounds in 29 and 30 of a 10 team draft? And would those people really be that different from the same picks in a 12 team draft? Just a thought.

Usually at that point you are drafting rookies and young players with lots of upside, especially in dynasty leagues. The so called, low-risk/high-reward candidates. Many of them are dropped inside of two years with injuries and roster needs and low performances and whatnot.

[Deleted]

10 team leagues are for sissy boys!

You can see where I'm going with this... right Benya?

[Neil (OC Outlaws)]

I vote option #1, 12-Team league; this is the same thing as Fog City Forces idea.

[Deleted]

W/ 12 teams and 2 divisions, 1 division could be much weaker than the other. Instead of 3 from each division make the playoffs, it should be the 2 division winners, followed be the teams w/ the next 4 best records, wildcard style.

Another option w/ 12 teams is to have 3 divisions of 4 teams. Each team plays div opponents twice (6 games), and every other team once (8 games). Only 4 make the playoffs: the 3 div winners and 1 wildcard team. Week 15 is semi-final and Week 16 is Title game.

[Brad (Texas Hellfire)]

good point Undertow, but the schedules are going to be heavy on divisional games (2 against each opponent) and light on inter-divisional games (3/year, only playing half of the other league) . . . so the 3 from each division concept fits better I think. It will be more like real life NL/AL (baseball) than it will be real life NFC/AFC (football)

[Deleted]

May 20, 2008 22:54:03 GMT -6 Brad (Texas Hellfire) said:

good point Undertow, but the schedules are going to be heavy on divisional games (2 against each opponent) and light on inter-divisional games (3/year, only playing half of the other league) . . . so the 3 from each division concept fits better I think. It will be more like real life NL/AL (baseball) than it will be real life NFC/AFC (football)

Heard. Then that is what it is.

[Wrathman]

Just an idea for setting up a 12-team league that I like:

1) 3 divisions with 4 teams each

2) Your schedule is playing everyone in your division twice (I've always scheduled this for the first and last 3 weeks of the season) and you play those out of your division once. This creates a 14-week season.

3) The three division winners and one wildcard team make the playoffs. The wildcard team can be the next best record or the team with the highest point total that did not win its division.

4) We reset our divisions every year this way:
A) The four playoff teams from the previous year are Division 1
B) The four teams that finished 5-8 are Division 2
C) The four teams that finished 9-12 are Division 3
This format keeps things fresh and teams stay interested even during a down time.

Just some ideas. Good luck to all of you.

[Brad (Texas Hellfire)]

Thanks Wrath! We are experimenting with several things here and honestly I don't know what's going to work and what's not as we go forward . . . we are going more along the lines of trial and error and having fun all the way The league should be good and streamlined in 5-6 years

[Bill (Fog City Force)]

I like Wraths suggestion Brad, no reason to second guess his knowledge............

THE FORCE!

[benyamen]

Thanks for the input Wrath, but I gotta be honest . . . I've played in a system like that before and hated it. In a 12 team league, having only 4 teams makes the playoffs wasn't enough. There were some great teams that got left out. Especially when no more than 2 can make it from any division.

I have to say that I much prefer the 2 division system with 3 making it from each that we had talked about before.

Just my 2 cents.

[lovesguitar]

I think at the end of the day we just have to pick one and try it out. I don't believe any one system is perfect.

[Brad (Texas Hellfire)]

we are going to stick with the 2 division plan for now . . . though I have noted Wrathman's suggestion in the official league rules as a viable alternative to be evaluated in the future if people get fed up with the current structure.

[Deleted]

1 good reason to go w/ the 2 division format is having 6 teams make the playoffs. That means more teams will be more than likely involved during the last 1 or 2 reg season games, as losing teams can tend to lose interest at the end of the season. If 8 teams do not make the playoffs, rather than 6, that could be an extra team or 2 being apathetic about their starters at the end of reg season.

[Deleted]

Well... hopefully with the crew that we have here, losing interest shouldn't be an option. In a dynasty league, you can't expect to make the playoffs every year for 5-10 years. You are forced to rebuild from time to time.

I like the 2 division thing, we run our 14 team league that way. The top scoring teams don't always make the playoffs, but that's just the lump you have to take with a head to head format.

I agree that the top team in any division should be rewarded for having a great year, but in any other format you have to really concentrate on building your team for the playoff run. In the dynasty format, you can't really draft your team with a favorable SOS for weeks 14-16.

So no matter what you do, a little luck and fluke factor can still play a role come playoff time.