LEAGUE VOTING BALLOT 2023 SEASON
Below are a few propositions to be implemented in the 2023-24 season. Please read and vote accordingly.
Voting 1: Schedule
Prior to the expansion of the 17 game NFL schedule, each team had the perfect amount of matchups against the league. The additional week has thrown a little wrench into the schedule. Currently team schedules looks like this:
2 division matchups against each team (4 games)
1 matchup against each of the other teams (9 games)
1 randomly generated game
That brings us to a total of 14 games, with the playoffs lasting weeks 15-17, and week 18 being unused. My proposition for changing this is as follows.
Weeks 1-13 are played normally, with the 4 division games and 9 out-of-division games. We eliminate the random "extra" game and instead change week 14 to be played as a non-matchup week, meaning the top 6 scoring teams get a win and the bottom 6 scoring teams get a loss.
Going this route will eliminate the random game entirely which will help clean up tiebreakers and strength of schedule concerns. It will also be an exciting way to lead into the post-season with a potential "score enough and you're in" approach.
The playoffs would be run normally and week 18 will remain an unused week.
Voting 2: Waivers
Currently waivers are reset weekly based on record. I'd like to throw out a cool alternative to traditional waivers:
We move to a blind Free Agency Bidding Waivers. Each team would be given a balance of $100 in Free-Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) to be spent on players throughout the season. For those of you that haven't played in FAAB leagues, let me explain the process.
Waiver claims are made by placing a bid amount on a player. Bids can range from $0 (meaning if no one else bids on that player, the claim is processed like a normal claim, not losing any FAAB) up to $100. In tiebreaking situations where teams bid the same amount, traditional waiver order is used as the tiebreaker, giving the team with the higher waiver priority the pickup.
What I like about this option stems from two points:
1. FAAB can be used as an opportunity for all teams, regardless of record, to fight for picking up each player
2. FAAB can be used in trades to potentially encourage more ammunition to put a deal over the top. While late round picks have value during the draft, let's be honest, during the season there is nothing sexy about a 7th round pick. The ability to trade $30 FAAB in your blockbuster trade might be the difference between you outbidding or getting outbid for that league winning player.
One final sub vote on this is the ability to roll over FAAB year-to-year. Each team would get $100 FAAB each season regardless of current balance. If the sub vote is passed along with the FAAB option, a team with an ending balance of $25 FAAB in 2023-24 would start the '24 season with $125 FAAB, making free agency bids more strategic.
Voting 3: IDP Realignment
As I'm sure some of you have noticed (whether looking at rankings or even during our draft on FanDraft when selecting defensive players) you've noticed that there isn't much consistency between a player being called a LB or a DL. We currently use a positional set-up that classifies DL, LB, and DB. There is an option through Fleaflicker that allows for an alternate classification of EDR (Edge Rusher), IL (Interior Lineman), and LB.
Fleaflicker describes it as "all 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE as edge rushers (EDR) and 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT as interior lineman (IL)" How exactly it would change specific players I'm not exactly sure because I feel as though it would depend on each individual team and how they classify their depth charts. But I would assume it will be more accurate to rankings and drafting through FanDraft.
The vote would be to change over to this position format. We would still start the same amount of defensive players, but in this new scenario, DL would be a combination of EDR/IL rather than DE/DT. LB would more than likely be restricted to inside linebackers but I'm not exactly sure until we switch over. DB would remain CB/S and D Flex would still be your next defensive choice.
Please vote below on these options.
OWNER OF THE YEAR
As for your 2022-23 Owner of the Year, please refrain from voting for yourself! If you're worthy of receiving votes I'm sure someone will recognize you. Also don't be lazy when choosing who to give your votes. By this I mean please put some thought into it. Don't just pick the top 3 teams because they have the best record. Consider the draft for reaches and sleepers (draft results are posted under "Legacy 2.0 - Draft Results - 2022" page), points scored (and against), injuries that had to be overcome, waiver pickups, trades, and any other criteria you may think of. Obviously, record is a key indicator and should be weighed most heavily but this season has been a great example of the parity this league offers, as most teams are within a game or two of each other and have all had a variety of challenges to overcome and have survived this season in totally different ways.
Any other rule change propositions are welcomed to be discussed so please reach out if you have any suggestions. As always, I appreciate all of you and will continue to do my best to make this league as amazing as I can.
Sincerely,
Your humble commissioner
Voting 1: Schedule
Prior to the expansion of the 17 game NFL schedule, each team had the perfect amount of matchups against the league. The additional week has thrown a little wrench into the schedule. Currently team schedules looks like this:
2 division matchups against each team (4 games)
1 matchup against each of the other teams (9 games)
1 randomly generated game
That brings us to a total of 14 games, with the playoffs lasting weeks 15-17, and week 18 being unused. My proposition for changing this is as follows.
Weeks 1-13 are played normally, with the 4 division games and 9 out-of-division games. We eliminate the random "extra" game and instead change week 14 to be played as a non-matchup week, meaning the top 6 scoring teams get a win and the bottom 6 scoring teams get a loss.
Going this route will eliminate the random game entirely which will help clean up tiebreakers and strength of schedule concerns. It will also be an exciting way to lead into the post-season with a potential "score enough and you're in" approach.
The playoffs would be run normally and week 18 will remain an unused week.
Voting 2: Waivers
Currently waivers are reset weekly based on record. I'd like to throw out a cool alternative to traditional waivers:
We move to a blind Free Agency Bidding Waivers. Each team would be given a balance of $100 in Free-Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) to be spent on players throughout the season. For those of you that haven't played in FAAB leagues, let me explain the process.
Waiver claims are made by placing a bid amount on a player. Bids can range from $0 (meaning if no one else bids on that player, the claim is processed like a normal claim, not losing any FAAB) up to $100. In tiebreaking situations where teams bid the same amount, traditional waiver order is used as the tiebreaker, giving the team with the higher waiver priority the pickup.
What I like about this option stems from two points:
1. FAAB can be used as an opportunity for all teams, regardless of record, to fight for picking up each player
2. FAAB can be used in trades to potentially encourage more ammunition to put a deal over the top. While late round picks have value during the draft, let's be honest, during the season there is nothing sexy about a 7th round pick. The ability to trade $30 FAAB in your blockbuster trade might be the difference between you outbidding or getting outbid for that league winning player.
One final sub vote on this is the ability to roll over FAAB year-to-year. Each team would get $100 FAAB each season regardless of current balance. If the sub vote is passed along with the FAAB option, a team with an ending balance of $25 FAAB in 2023-24 would start the '24 season with $125 FAAB, making free agency bids more strategic.
Voting 3: IDP Realignment
As I'm sure some of you have noticed (whether looking at rankings or even during our draft on FanDraft when selecting defensive players) you've noticed that there isn't much consistency between a player being called a LB or a DL. We currently use a positional set-up that classifies DL, LB, and DB. There is an option through Fleaflicker that allows for an alternate classification of EDR (Edge Rusher), IL (Interior Lineman), and LB.
Fleaflicker describes it as "all 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE as edge rushers (EDR) and 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT as interior lineman (IL)" How exactly it would change specific players I'm not exactly sure because I feel as though it would depend on each individual team and how they classify their depth charts. But I would assume it will be more accurate to rankings and drafting through FanDraft.
The vote would be to change over to this position format. We would still start the same amount of defensive players, but in this new scenario, DL would be a combination of EDR/IL rather than DE/DT. LB would more than likely be restricted to inside linebackers but I'm not exactly sure until we switch over. DB would remain CB/S and D Flex would still be your next defensive choice.
Please vote below on these options.
OWNER OF THE YEAR
As for your 2022-23 Owner of the Year, please refrain from voting for yourself! If you're worthy of receiving votes I'm sure someone will recognize you. Also don't be lazy when choosing who to give your votes. By this I mean please put some thought into it. Don't just pick the top 3 teams because they have the best record. Consider the draft for reaches and sleepers (draft results are posted under "Legacy 2.0 - Draft Results - 2022" page), points scored (and against), injuries that had to be overcome, waiver pickups, trades, and any other criteria you may think of. Obviously, record is a key indicator and should be weighed most heavily but this season has been a great example of the parity this league offers, as most teams are within a game or two of each other and have all had a variety of challenges to overcome and have survived this season in totally different ways.
Any other rule change propositions are welcomed to be discussed so please reach out if you have any suggestions. As always, I appreciate all of you and will continue to do my best to make this league as amazing as I can.
Sincerely,
Your humble commissioner