Thoughts on owners not fielding an entire squad?

[Matt Mueller 146]

The current first place team is playing a squad without a kicker and may win this week by just a point or two.

 

Personally I'm ticked b/c if he loses I vault into first place.

 

 

My question for the forum, and I imagine that it varies based on leagues, but are you of the opinion:

 

A. Let owners manage their squads. If they don't want to drop players and want to go some week without a kicker or D let them.

 

B. In the competitive interest of the league all owners should/must field all positions.

 

 

I'm not sure where I fall, I'm a libertarian at heart so I kind of agree with A, but I might get focked out of first this week and obviously I don't like it.

 

What say you guys?

[mrmcgibblets 0]

If you dont like it, a rule an be made starting next season. Everyone agreed upon any current rules before the season started.

[KTL 0]

wait... you don't want to be in first place? Sounds like the rule you need to be worrying about is FABB.

[Matt Mueller 146]

wait... you don't want to be in first place? Sounds like the rule you need to be worrying about is FABB.

 

I do...maybe I worded this confusing.

 

The current first place team is playing ANOTHER team that ISN'T fielding a kicker. This first place team might win by a point and likely would have lost if the other squad played a kicker.

 

 

Yes I want to be in first. Just wondering what other leagues policies are.

[pee-diddy 27]

"Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat"

 

"If you ain't cheatin, you ain't competin'"

[madd futher mucker 36]

Do your WRITTEN LEAGUE BY-LAWS prohibit this? I play in leagues that allow it and other leagues that do not. I've done it myself in leagues where it is not prohibited.

 

Where it is not expressly prohibited, it is a valid strategy, man, as long as it is not intentional tanking (collusion).

[Matt Mueller 146]

Do your WRITTEN LEAGUE BY-LAWS prohibit this? I play in leagues that allow it and other leagues that do not. I've done it myself in leagues where it is not prohibited.

 

It's a good league but I'm not sure we have written by laws. It's probably a go.

[BigDaddy808 8]

Do your WRITTEN LEAGUE BY-LAWS prohibit this? I play in leagues that allow it and other leagues that do not. I've done it myself in leagues where it is not prohibited.

 

nothing wrong with an owner not wanting to drop a player to field a bye week kicker. let him manage his own team, first place regular season doesnt matter anyway, its all about getting into your playoffs.

[MDC 5,892]

Ticks me off even when I benefit, but you can't do anything except get better owners. I belonged to a league once that ran a dollar/point side bet for every matchup. That worked as a way to keep owners of bad teams engaged. Maybe try something like that next year?

[madd futher mucker 36]

I would recommend that no one play in a fantasy football league without written by-laws. How hard is it for a league commish to put the league rules down in writing? You guys are only asking for problems somewhere down the line.

[Matt Mueller 146]

I would recommend that no one play in a fantasy football league without written by-laws. How hard is it for a league commish to put the league rules down in writing? You guys are only asking for problems somewhere down the line.

 

Agreed.

 

Which raises the question, for next year, do you guys prefer option A. Let owners manage or B. Must field a squad ?

[madd futher mucker 36]

I don't think it matters at all what WE prefer. It is what your league prefers. I assume you are the commish. Write em during the offseason and then let your league either ratify or amend them. If you need help, pm me. i can send you several sample bylaws from the leagues i play in.

[dream_team 2]

This is against our league rules and we'll fine you for breaking this.

 

$10 for playing a guy on IR

$5 for playing a guy that was ruled out before Sunday

$2 for playing a guy that was a game-time decision

[vino 21]

let him manage the team IMO.. The team i played against this week, his kicker was on a bye and he didn't want to lose him.. no prob.. Two weeks ago I dropped my kicker to pick up an RB for the bench to see which bench RB I wanted to keep for the future.. If I would've lost by a kicker's points that's my fault..

 

on the other hand, if they aren't fielding a full team for "other" purposes (cheating) then by all means it's crap!

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

This should be addressed in your league rules before the season so everyone knows. But in my league, a 14 teamer, the WW is pretty thin. So I have a rule that you must start a complete lineup, but rare exceptions are allowed. This week I had a guy who owns Romo & Flacco, both on a bye. We can only carry 2 QBs and he didn't want to drop 1. I told him it would be ok if he took a zero if he wanted, but he ended up making a trade to avoid it. Its not an often used strategy, but one could have a team with quite a few starters all with the same bye week, take a loss, (or maybe get lucky & win) and be at full strength the rest of the season. As commish there's times to be strict and times to be flexible as long as you're consistent

[nikki2200 4]

If you don't want this to happen, you can set up your fantasy league so it's required that they have to submit a complete lineup. If you don't set it this way and if you don't have a policy about it, it's all fair game. Unless you think someone is intentionally tanking games in a dynasty league or you think it's collusion... you really can't say anything about it. Even if they are being stupid, they have the right to manage their teams the way they want to within the rules of the league.

 

Also, being in first place after Week 5 doesn't really mean a whole lot.

[nikki2200 4]

This should be addressed in your league rules before the season so everyone knows. But in my league, a 14 teamer, the WW is pretty thin. So I have a rule that you must start a complete lineup, but rare exceptions are allowed. This week I had a guy who owns Romo & Flacco, both on a bye. We can only carry 2 QBs and he didn't want to drop 1. I told him it would be ok if he took a zero if he wanted, but he ended up making a trade to avoid it. Its not an often used strategy, but one could have a team with quite a few starters all with the same bye week, take a loss, (or maybe get lucky & win) and be at full strength the rest of the season. As commish there's times to be strict and times to be flexible as long as you're consistent

 

People should take into account bye weeks when they are drafting. If you have a rule that they need to submit a complete lineup, then they need to submit a complete lineup - no exceptions.

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

Maybe you should read my post again. I allow exceptions. Everyone in the league agrees and has respected and appreciated everything I do. Thanks for your opinion

[Patmos 2]

I vote "A." Every year I play a week without a kicker, and sometimes a week without a defense. I'm definitely not tanking, but with a shallow bench and a solid team I have no desire to drop a player that I will need later. This strategy has served me well. I typically lose once or twice during the bye weeks, but I do very well the rest of the season, and my team is ready for the playoffs (which is what I draft for anyway).

[shutdown 40]

The current first place team is playing a squad without a kicker and may win this week by just a point or two.

 

Personally I'm ticked b/c if he loses I vault into first place.

 

 

My question for the forum, and I imagine that it varies based on leagues, but are you of the opinion:

 

A. Let owners manage their squads. If they don't want to drop players and want to go some week without a kicker or D let them.

 

B. In the competitive interest of the league all owners should/must field all positions.

 

 

I'm not sure where I fall, I'm a libertarian at heart so I kind of agree with A, but I might get focked out of first this week and obviously I don't like it.

 

What say you guys?

 

Depends on your roster size. If you have a small bench, there are certainly long term reasons why you wouldn't want to drop a player to pick up a kicker for a bye week.

 

In our league we have a deep bench, so there's a substantial point penalty for starting a bye week player. This keeps most people on their toes. However I also have a clause in the rules that the owner can lose control of their team if they do this repetitively (i.e. just not paying attention to their team). At that point it's better to field a default lineup than have an inactive owner giving out free wins to other teams.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

If it is not prohibited at the beginning of the season, then you have to allow it.

 

Personally, I would want to require that all teams field a full squad each week. Fines for that sort of things are a good idea. I am not a fan of people saving that roster spot for a kicker or DST as you have to plan on that during the season. More importantly, I don't want to have to decide whether the guy is tanking a game to save the spot or help his buddy that he is playing. Kickers are a dime a dozen.

[jrbdmb 28]

My money league has a short bench (4 spots) AND a limit of 10 add/drops a year, so you can't go crazy with add/drops to fix problems when bye weeks and injuries pop up. I already took a zero for two weeks at TE before finally dropping Gates, and with Andre Johnson's hammy I'm screwed at WR for the next few weeks.

 

OTOH, the team I played this week didn't field 1 WR and the TE spots - and I still lost to him.

[Love My Lions 1]

As stated above, establish a must start rule. Next year, of course.

 

Must start positions filled with players not on a bye week.

[5by5 0]

In both of my leagues it's in the rules that you have to start a full team or get fined. No team should get the opportunity to play against a partial squad for a win.

[kutulu 1,547]

Lame whether it's in the rules or not. This happened (not against me) twice this week in my big money league.

[We Tigers 71]

There's the one guy in my local league who always does this--he basically loses interest by the time the byes roll around and sometimes doesn't even take his guys out when they're on bye and he has suitable replacements. But, we let him stay because he's a good friend and it's just a game.

 

He won this week, starting Hillis, Dez, and Dan Bailey. The guy who lost will probably kill himself by tomorrow.

 

As to the OP...your mileage may vary. In a big money league, I'd establish very strict rules, one way or another. In something a little smaller potaoes...meh.

[Stewburtx8 67]

I absolutely hate the strategy of leaving a kicker, defense, or TE spot empty for a week. I never think it is a good idea to spot your opponent points this early in the season. While I expect to make the playoffs every year, it is never a given. I play to get in the playoffs first, and then worry about the playoffs. But I know some people believe in the stategy.

 

In a league with shallow benches or very limited add/drops, it may actually be necessary sometimes, but I still don't like it. I think bye weeks are something that everyone should have to plan for, and either make trades or add/drop players to fill every roster spot each week. But what works for some (or some leagues) doesn't always work for others. Take a league vote and go with the majority for next year.

[Flounder0715 0]

As the commissioner of my league, the only spot you have to have a starter is D/ST since they can score negative points in our league. If you fail to field a D/ST, you get the lowest score of that week's starting D/STs.

 

For other positions, I basically leave it up to the owners, but will gently prod poor teams to field a valid line-up to maintain the competitive integrity of the league.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

As the commissioner of my league, the only spot you have to have a starter is D/ST since they can score negative points in our league. If you fail to field a D/ST, you get the lowest score of that week's starting D/STs.

 

For other positions, I basically leave it up to the owners, but will gently prod poor teams to field a valid line-up to maintain the competitive integrity of the league.

Do kickers get negative if they miss a FG or XP? Most leagues do.

 

What about fumbles?

[jerryskids 5,206]

This is against our league rules and we'll fine you for breaking this.

 

$10 for playing a guy on IR

$5 for playing a guy that was ruled out before Sunday

$2 for playing a guy that was a game-time decision

 

You fine for a GTD? That's whack. How do you quantify this? Stephania Bell says it on the ESPN fantasy show?

 

That being said, we addressed this in our $$$ deep keeper league last year. Trying to set up a "one rule fits all" is unpossible, which then leads to subjective decisions on a case-by-case basis, which sucks because it is, well, subjective. The solution we came up with, and I think it is the best and cleanest, is to fine your ass. That way you pay for your strategy (or laziness). It takes the subjectivity out of it.

 

Funny side note, it was our commish who was up in arms about the problem. I and another owner (both long time FF players) proposed very stiff penalties. He was like "whoa, that's kinda harsh." We responded "yeah, that's the point, do you want to disincentivize the behavior or not?" The point being, you have to make the penalty severe enough to get on people's radar.

 

This of course only works for a money league, and in our case we are all friends who have been together for a while and we know will square their fees at the end of the year.