Scoring System 07

Passing

Passing Yards (25 yards per point) - Awarded to passing player
Passing Touchdowns (4) - Awarded to passing player
Interceptions (-1) - Charged to passing player

Example: Peyton Manning gets 3 points if he passes for 75 yards. Manning gets 4 points for every Touch Down that he passes for. Manning loses one point for every interception he throws.

If any other player other than the QB passes, he gets the same points too.

Example: A Running Back who takes a hand-off and passes (like Antwaan Randle El in Super Bowl XL), or a Punter/Kicker who fakes a punt/kickoff and passes (like the Vikings kicker did against Carolina last season) would also be awarded the same points as above.



Rushing

Rushing Yards (10 yards per point) - Awarded to rushing player
Rushing Touchdowns (6) - Awarded to rushing player

Example: LT will get 1 point for every 10 yards he rushes. LT will also get 6 points for every rushing TD he scores.

If any other player rushes with the ball, he gets the same points too.

Example: Vince Young gets 1 point for every 10 yards he rushes. Vince Young also gets 6 points for every rushing TD he scores.
Receiving

Reception Yards (10 yards per point)
Reception Touchdowns (6)

Example: Marvin Harrison will get 1 point for every 10 yards he receives. Harrison will also get 6 points for every receiving TD he scores.

If any other player receives with the ball, he gets the same points too.

Example: Antonio Gates gets 1 point for every 10 yards he rushes. Gates also gets 6 points for every rushing TD he scores. Dan Klencko or Mike Vrabel who are primarily defensive linemen, will get the same points if they are called to line up as a receiver like they have did in the past.



Offense
2-Point Conversions (2) - Awarded to the rushing player if it is a rushing TD, Awarded to the passing player _and_ the receiving player if it is a passing TD

Example: If Willie Parker rushes for the 2-point conversion, he gets 2 points. If Roethlisberger passes to Hines Ward for a 2-point conversion, both Roethlisberger and Hines Ward get 2 points each.

Fumbles Lost (-2) - Charged to the player who lost the fumble.

Example: If Rex Grossman fumbles, he is charged 2 points. If Brandon Jacobs fumbles, he is charged 2 points.

Offensive Fumble Return TD (6) - Awarded to the player who scored the TD, not the player who fumbled.

Example: If Joseph Addai rushes and fumbles in the end zone, only for Jeff Saturday to retrieve the fumble and score, Jeff Saturday is credited with 6 points and not Joseph Addai (Colts-Pats Championship Game, Playoffs 2007)

Team Defense

Return Touchdowns (6) - A fumble by the offensive team recovered and returned by the defense for a TD, a punt or a kickoff or a missed field goal returned for TD, an interception returned for a TD - all the above earn 6 points for a defensive team.

If Devin Hester returns a punt/kickoff for a TD, Chicago Defense gets 6 points.

Return Yards (20 Yards per point) - a punt or a kickoff or a missed field goal returned gets 1 point for every 20 yards.

If Reggie Bush returns 100 yards from punts/kickoffs, the New Orleans Defense gets 5 points.


Sack (1) - a sack by the defensive team gets a point

If Dwight Freeney makes a sack, the Indianapolis Defense gets one point.

Interception (2) - an interception by the defensive team gets two points.

If Asante Samuel intercepts a pass, the New England Defense gets 2 points. If Asante returns it for a TD, the New England Defense gets an additional 6 points (total - 8)

Fumble Recovery (2) - a fumble recovered by the defensive team gets 2 points.

If Julius Peppers recovers a fumbe, the Carolina Panthers Defense gets 2 points. If Peppers returns it for a TD, the Carolina Panthers Defense gets an additional 6 points (total - 8)

Safety (2) - a safety effected by the defensive team gets 2 points.

If Ray Lewis tackles a ball carrier in his own end zone, the Baltimore Defense gets 2 points.

Block Kick (2)
If Roy Williams blocks a kick, the Dallas Defense gets 2 points.

Points Allowed 0 points (10)
Points Allowed 1-6 points (7)
Points Allowed 7-13 points (4)
Points Allowed 14-20 points (1)
Points Allowed 21-27 points (0)
Points Allowed 28-34 points (-1)
Points Allowed 35+ points (-4)

Points Allowed indicates points that were allowed only by the defense and not the offense. Hence, Interception/Fumbles recovered/Missed field goals returned for TD, Safeties will _not_ be accounted in the "Points Allowed" category.

Example:

In a match between Denver and Baltimore where the score is 25-22 in favor of Denver, and Baltimore had a fumble returned for a TD, the Denver defense will get one point since their defense only allowed 22-7 = 15 points.

Kickers

Field Goals 0-19 Yards (3)
Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3)
Field Goals 30-39 Yards (3)
Field Goals 40-49 Yards (4)
Field Goals 50+ Yards (5)
Point After Attempt Made (1)

Read more!

Draft '07 - Rules

Draft 2007 - Draft Date

13th August, 2007 - Monday

Draft 2007 - Draft Order

1. Lilian - Iron Maidens
2. Gautham - Bangalosers
3. Thryambak - Dr. Evil
4. Arun - Balrogs
5. Tejus - Wolves
6. Kesavan - This Is Not Football
7. Siva - Gators Rule
8. Ram - Blasters
9. Rishi - Vetti
10. Praveen - Scarlet Knights





Rules of The Draft

1. Serpentine draft where the draft order reverses every round.
2. 18 rounds in total. 9 starters and 9 people in the bench.
3. The draft would begin at 10 am IST for the India group and 9 am PST for the US group every day. Each manager would get a certain time slot in the day to make their pick. The time slots are listed further below. Arun and Ram will _try_ to remind the folks in India & US respectively, if they are on the verge of missing out on their pick. In case a pick is not made, the best available player from Yahoo!'s Top Player Projections would be chosen on their behalf.
4. Apart from the first day and the last day, we hope to do two rounds every day.
5. Do NOT change the subject line of the draft mail. That would help us sort the mails easily.
6. Make your pick and use the Draft Template given below. It would make it easier for updates.
7. Look to the end of this blog for a spreadsheet that contains the time slots for the draft picks. An additional sheet (currently unfilled) would be updated as the draft progresses. Look for the spreadsheet at the tail end of the blog.
8. Different colors indicate different geographical regions (US and India). Red indicates the manager who is on the clock. As the draft progresses, the 'Draft' sheet and the 'Players' sheet would be updated accordingly with the picks.


Draft Template

Team: Name
Round: Round #.Pick #
Pick: Name, Position, Team (name or mnemonic)

Next Pick: Name
Time: Expected time within when to make the pick.

Eg:
Team: Lilian
Round: 1.1
Pick: Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis (IND)

Next Pick: Gautham
Time: 11:00 am



Draft Time Slots

1. All the managers in the US (4) get at least 60 minutes to make their pick.
2. All the managers in India (6) get 60 minutes for the first round and 30 minutes for the remaining rounds. The time slots are listed below.
3. Each manager is expected to make a pick _before_ the expiry of the slot. In the event that a pick has not been made Ram and Arun would pick the top remaining player from the existing Yahoo! Top Player Projections for the manager.
4. If an earlier manager has made his/her pick well before the time limit, the next manager is free to make his/her pick immediately afterward. The only restriction is that, a manager has to pick before the time given to him/her expires. There is no restriction on making the pick well before the time as long as the draft order is maintained.

Time zones are in IST for managers in India and only in PST for managers in the US. (Praveen Shankar, take note :-))

Lilian - 1000 (round 1 only), 1230 (even numbered rounds), 1300 (odd numbered rounds) (after round 1, both picks would be made on the same day)
Gautham - 1100, 1200, 1430
Thryambak - 1200, 1130 and 1500
Arun - 1300, 1100 and 1530
Tejus - 1400, 1030 and 1600
Kesavan - 1500, 1000 and 1630

Siva - 0900 (odd numbered rounds), 1600 (even numbered rounds) (both picks would be made on the same day)
Ram - 1000, 1500
Rishi - 1100, 1400
Praveen - 1200, 1300

Detailed Run-Through Of The Draft

Round 1 - Day 1 - India

Lilian - 1000 IST
Gautham - 1100 IST
Thryambak - 1200 IST
Arun - 1300 IST
Tejus - 1400 IST
Kesavan - 1500 IST

Round 1 - Day 1 - US

Siva - 0900 PST, 1200 EST
Ram - 1000 PST, 1300 EST
Rishi - 1100 PST, 1400 EST
Praveen - 1200 PST, 1500 EST

Round 2 - Day 1 - US

Praveen - 1300 PST, 1600 EST
Rishi - 1400 PST, 1700 EST
Ram - 1500 PST, 1800 EST
Siva - 1600 PST, 1900 EST

Round 2 - Day 2 - India

Kesavan - 1000 IST
Tejus - 1030 IST
Arun - 1100 IST
Thryambak - 1130 IST
Gautham - 1200 IST
Lilian - 1230 IST

Round 3 - Day 2 - India

Lilian - 1300 IST
(considering it would be lunch time now ;-))
Gautham - 1430 IST
Thryambak - 1500 IST
Arun - 1530 IST
Tejus - 1600 IST
Kesavan - 1630 IST

Round 3 - Day 2 - US

Siva - 0900 PST, 1200 EST
Ram - 1000 PST, 1300 EST
Rishi - 1100 PST, 1400 EST
Praveen - 1200 PST, 1500 EST

Round 4 - Day 2 - US

Praveen - 1300 PST, 1600 EST
Rishi - 1400 PST, 1700 EST
Ram - 1500 PST, 1800 EST
Siva - 1600 PST, 1900 EST

Read more!

FAQ

1. Fantasy Football - The first half of the sport's name sounds quite enticing. Do we get weekly DVDs of women wearing skin-tight, wet outfits playing Football at the Beach ?
We are sorry we got your hopes high. We do have people who are wearing skin-tight and occasionally wet outfits. However they are all men who weigh 250 pounds and upwards. Fantasy Football is a game played at the comfort of your home while enjoying a regular season of American Football. Check out Michael Fabiano's article written for newcomers and Wikipedia's entry on Fantasy Football. Fanball.com has another interesting document on Fantasy Football that can be downloaded.



2. But the only Football I know is played with a spherical ball. This one looks clearly out of shape and people don't seem to be using their foot much often. Is this an elaborate scheme ?
American Football is significantly different from European Football in that the feet are used only during kickoffs, field goals, point-afters and occasionally to step on the faces of prostrate members from the opposing team. Trust wikipedia to explain the basics of the game. If all that sounds too much work, just watch a game with a friend who knows it.

3. Hmm, you have my curiosity piqued. I am game for a season of Fantasy Football. What do I do next ? Do I need to do weights ? Do I need to run a few miles every day ? Do I have to pin someone into submission ? Let me know and I will get started.
Thanks for offering to perform all the above. We shall let you know when it is required. As of now, you need to join a Fantasy Football League in one of the zillion sites that offer this feature. We have a league you can join if you are interested. Just post a comment to this message with your email-id and we shall send out an invitation to you if there are any openings in our league. We currently use Yahoo! as our host server.

4. Now that I have joined your league, what do I do next ? Can I pin someone to submission now ? Maybe a Pile Drive ? Or at least a Clothes Line ?
Until we say otherwise, you cannot pin anyone to submission or pile drive or clothes line. The next important stage of the League is Drafting, very similar to the NFL Draft. The draft offers all the managers in the team to fill up their Rosters with players of their choice. In the NFL, the draft order is fixed for every round with the lowest ranked team from the previous season picking first and the highest ranked team picking last. In Fantasy Football, the draft is usually serpentine where the draft order reverses every round. The team that picks first in the first round picks last in the second round, first in the third round, last in the fourth round and so on.

5. The Draft sounds cool. Are we all going to the Radio City Music Hall to do it ? I have never been to New York you know.
Keep asking such thoughtful questions and you just might. An ideal Fantasy Football draft happens at a central place - a friend's house - where all the managers meet on a given day and draft their teams. Considering the geographical diversity of our league (Karnatka and Kah-lee-fornia), the draft has to be done off-line. There are three ways to do this draft.
a) live draft on the yahoo server - all the managers login to the yahoo server and draft players online. This would be quickest and most interesting way to do the draft.
b) off-line draft by email - all managers start picking their drafts by email. This would be a time consuming process since each round could easily take up to a day, but would be interesting.
c) auto draft - all managers need to rate their players and allow the yahoo drafting system to draft depending on the best player who is available at that time. A quick way to finish the draft, but quite possibly, the dullest.

6. Can't you just set up that gizmo-wizmo which would automatically draft my players ? I need to catch up on a few episodes of "Kolangal".
That would be very similar to having someone else do Gym sessions for you. The selling point of the draft is split-second decisions one makes looking at the draft board, the rosters of competing managers and his immediate requirements. The pressure, the smack talk and the strategy are quite unrivalled.

7. All right, I will draft my players alongside the rest of you. But you don't know my secret trick. I will draft all the top performing players from the last year and voila, I am the winner even before the season starts.
As someone said, you cannot win a Fantasy Football season on Draft Day, but you can surely lose it. A fruitful year that is over is only that and nothing more. Take for example, Shaun Alexander who was a statistical monster in 2005, but got sidelined in 2006. Or Steve Smith. Or Edgerrin James. Do your homework before you draft and the season is yours. Most of the sports sites like ESPN, NFL, CBS, Yahoo and Fox run their own reviews of the upcoming season. You can also count on other low-profile (but twice as engaging and useful) sites like Fantasy Sharks and Fantasy Football Xtreme.
Do not forget to check out Fantasy Football Xtreme's Draft Simulator.

8. Wait a second, whatever you are saying sounds quite familiar to Super Selector run by ESPN - Star Sports. How is this any different ?
In Super Selector, two people from the same league can have the same 11 players in their team thereby killing any chance of meaningful competition. In Fantasy Football, we ensure that a player plays for only one team thereby making it all the more interesting and fun.

9. Sounds interesting and I am in. Do you have a copy of the Rules ?
Yep.

10. What are the various scoring formats available ?
Currently, there are two scoring formats available.
a. Points format - where the team with the maximum number of points at the end of the season wins
b. Head-to-Head format - where the the team that wins the Super Bowl at the end of the regular season and playoff wins the league.
In points format, everyone picks a starting line up and accrues points depending on their line up every week. The points are added and the team with maximum points wins.
In H-to-H format, each player plays against another player/team each week. The player with the maximum points between the two, wins that week. The points accrued that week are not considered unless and until there is a tie while identifying the playoff teams. At the end of the regular season of the league, the top four players with the best winning record qualify for the playoffs in the Super League. After one conference championship round, the two winners play in the Super Bowl with the winner of the Super Bowl winning the league.

The league currently hosts a Points format. However, if all the members agree, a parallel Head-to-Head league can be run alongside. This league would utilize the same roster, but a different starting line up every week.

11. I like the sound of the word "Trade". Can I do it ?
A trade is an act by which a team exchanges one or more players with another team. A trade is usually done when a player has abundant resources in one starting position while a dearth in the other. The player could identify a team which has a need for a certain position and trade some players from his/her team for players in the other team.

12. Wait a second. 'Waiver' sounds cool too. Can I try this ?
A waiver is an act by which a team which owns a player releases him to the Free Agent pool thereby waiving their rights on him. This player would then move to the Waiver Wire where he would remain for a fixed set of days. After the expiry of the time, he becomes a Free Agent allowing any other team in the league to draft him into theirs. A player is usually waived when he is injured or to free up a roster spot in case he is performing poorly.

13. I have a question that is not answered in this FAQ. Just because my question isn't frequently asked, you can't do this to me.
Just add a comment to this post with your question and it would get added to the FAQ. Also, don't take things so seriously.

14. So what else is required out of me ?
Nothing else but your sincere participation in the league. All the players in this league are amateurs who enjoy Fantasy Football as an interesting pass-time that goes well with their love of the game. But we also look forward to play in a competitive league where people take their game serious enough to draft wisely and start players on a timely basis. Enjoy the game, enjoy the season and have fun.

Read more!

Managers '07

Lilian Fernandes - Manager, "Iron Maidens" (Retired)
Blurb: Lilian works out of Bangalore for an MNC and in her free time, cuts DVDs of popular TV shows for friends (in regular installments), books tickets for movies (wrong time, wrong day, wrong movie or all of the above) and reads Science Fiction (forcefully taken from a common friend's book collection).
Fantasy Football Fact (F3): Given a chance, Lilian would draft Tom Brady into all her starting positions. However, since being a hunk alone doesn't get any points, she has considered drafting other players too.



Thryambak Chandilya - Manager, Dr. Evil
Blurb: Thryambak recently relocated from the US back to Bangalore, but eventually spends more time travelling than spending at home thereby redefining the word "relocation". Thryambak is one of the two co-founders of the Bangalore Flag Footballers Association. Unfortunately, all that the club has is two co-founders and has sort of hit a dead end for the time being. However, we do hope to kick start it once we find out a nice green field in Bangalore (Yes, an open grass field in Bangalore with enough space for people to play Flag Football. We have also redefined the word "Optimism")
F3: Thryambak has regularly played the game during his time in the US and is quite possibly a stud in Fantasy Football. If there are enough votes, we can consider banning him for the first two rounds of the draft.

Ramgopal Thiruvengadam - Manager, Blasters
Blurb: Ramgopal studied in Carson-Country and works out of LT-land thereby owing his allegiance to both the Bengals and Chargers (the fact that they are two of the top teams in the AFC is only a convenience). Apart from Football, Ramgopal is an ardent follower of Gandhi, mad fan of Aishwarya Bachan (how does it feel to call her that, ram ;-)), die-hard supporter of Sachin Tendulkar and true admirer of Kamalhassan.
F3: Ram and I had a competition throughout last season where we used to predict winners for every weekend by using our unmatched insights into the game. And then, the Texans beat the Jaguars, the Lions beat the Cowboys, the Saints made the post season and Steelers sank without a trace. For the record, we never gave up and continued with our prediction game.

Tejus AG - Manager, Bangalore Wolves
Blurb : Tejus (or Tejux, when he frags people on the network playing Quake 2) has worked for three of India's top MNCs in the last four years. Never once satisfied, he is headed to join the Buck Eyes as a spectator. Tejus was thrown the usual bait of "a game of strategy pitting your wits against others" and he took it hook, line and sink. Apart from completing his transition activities in his company, Tejus is actively reading up on American Football to catch up with the rest of the crowd by the time the Saints visit the Colts.
F3 : Once he gets to the part where he can say a Running Back from a Corner Back, we will have something to fill this place.

Gautham Natanasabapathy - Manager, Bangalosers
Blurb: Gautham works out of Bangalore for (yet another) MNC in a position where he needs to wear suits more often than those single-colored t-shirts he wears. He likes to kick ass, literally (he has a license to do that) and figuratively (as evidenced from this). Apart from being one of Cricinfo's earliest key contributors, Gautham is also an active quizzer - only if the quiz is held in his building and someone else is hosting it.
F3: To understand Gautham's talent-spotting talent, consider this : During the early 90s, when the newsgroup rec.sport.cricket discussed only cricket, Gautham had a signature that read "#1 Fan of VVSL and Ricky Ponting". Enough said.

Hrishikesh Narasimhan - Manager, Vetti
Blurb: Hrishikesh works out of Cupertino for an MNC which most of you might have guessed by now. This fantasy football league, this blog and this boring text that you are reading would not have existed if not for that one moment when Hrishikesh actually invited a certain anti-social element home and ended up explaining the game over lunch ('06 Playoffs Steelers Vs Bengals or The Carson Palmer Game). Hrishikesh places American Football a distant second behind Cricket, which would be obvious considering his regular posts in rec.sport.cricket.
F3: Hrishi has spent almost 80% of the last decade in the US following the NFL season. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Praveen Shankar - Manager, Scarlet Knights
Blurb: Praveen or Pravin or 'Pacman' is a violinist / multiple-marathon runner / doctoral candidate at Rutger's (and hence the team name). He loves to watch Rugter's Football not necessarily for FB Leonard or WR Rice, but for DB Budweiser and LB Foster (Draught Beer and Light Beer respectively). Pravin was an active member of the super succesful 'Schumacher Sucks' gang and the solitary member of the 'Mesmerizing Montoya' club during his time in Bangalore.
F3: Praveen is a punter on the 'F1 Fantasy Grid', and with the amount of free time he has (total time - time praveen spends thinking about his docotoral thesis, which is miniscule anyway), he is sure to make a game out of this league.

Sivasundar Ramamurthy - Manager, Gators Rule
Blurb: Despite being an accomplished Golfer, Siva's desk indicates where his loyalties lie - a huge Gators flag, a football and other assorted paraphernalia. A strong believer in the maxim 'D Wins Championships', Siva is a patriotic fan of the Florida Gators so much so that he already has his fantasy team set up - Rex Grossman at QB, Fred Taylor at RB, Reche Caldwell at WR and Ben Troupe at TE - An all-gators team. Kindly watch out for Siva after the BCS games are over, since he likes to wear Gators' colors when they win (side note: The Gators wear Orange).
F3: When he is not playing Golf, Siva follows college football, plays flag football and participates in fantasy football. Now, all of you, run for cover.

Kesavan Mukunthan - Manager, This Is Not Football
Blurb : Kesavan is arguably the biggest fan and the most knowledgeable expert amongst us all when it comes to football. Only, it is played with a spherical ball and its a foul if someone is brought forcefully to the ground. As for as his American Football skills, I would be meeting him sometime this week with a tape of the Colts vs Pats AFC Championship Game (Jan '07) to explain things. A penchant for learning things, reading books and a master quizzer, Kesavan was dealt a cruel blow by the Indian educational system. Due to some very poor marks and low academic skills, he couldn't get into any of the premiere institutes in the country and had to settle for a no-name institution called the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras). He persisted with his mediocre skills and joined an equally no-name institution called Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore). Understandably, he is an investment banker or some such now.
F3: Kesavan trumps all his friends playing Fantasy Soccer till this day. Fantasy Football might be, as they say, a different ball game :-). PS: Our league (Fraud Footballers) gets its name from Kesavan's description of American Football.

Chandra Bala - Manager, All-Day

Blurb: Chandra Bala is one of our legitimate quadruple-threats (qb, wr, cb, rb) in the now defunct (?!) TFL (touch football league). Interesting factoid: For all of you who felt a mini boogambam in the San Jose area circa Jan 2010, that was Chandra unleashing holy hell after bread favor threw a well-timed pass to Tracy Porter and then looked at his own jersey. An All-Day fan all day, Chandra studied at the University of Minnesota and is a die hard Vikes fan (not "i like to watch AP, he is a great RB" die-hard, this is "i buy jerseys, i paint my face, i buy directv sunday ticket to follow the vikes even when they had tavares jackson as qb, i don't eat cheese because that ruddy thing is made in wisconsin" die-hard).

F3: Chandra was/is a commissioner in another fantasy football league, so any motions to strip him of his first two draft picks citing expertise will be duly looked into. Rumor has it that Chandra wanted to threaten Siva's all-gator team of Jabar Gaffney, Reche Calldwell, Rex Grossman and Fraud Taylor with his own version of all-gophers greats, the running back tandem of Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney. The world watches with bated breath.

Arunthur Dent - Manager, Bangalore Balrogs
Blurb: Don't panic.
F3: Seriously, What ??

Read more!