Revised Serpentine draft

[DMD]

Leave this place for a day or two and everyone is changing the basic nature of FF.

 

I can see both sides of the argument.

 

True enough, having Jackson or LT last year was huge - HUGE I say. I know it wa$ for me.

 

But there are a couple of dynamics to take into account. In leagues where there are no reception points, then absolutely there is an big advantage having the super-RB. That is beyond argument. And the way it works in a 12 team league, a person starting out with LT or Jackson has the opportunity to grab a top level WR at their 2/3 swing and still get a decent RB2. In some leagues, you can grab LT and two of the very best WR and then you have a huge advantage over someone picking 12th because the best they could do is RB (12th) RB (13th) and a WR that likely falls outside of the top players. That is true.

 

But... I think it also takes a little bit of myopic sight because let's not forget that last year Shaun Alexander was #1 in many leagues because he was the top dog coming off of 2005. It goes back from that

 

2004 top RBs

 

Alexander

Barber

LT

Martin

Dom Davis

 

2003 top RBs

 

P Holmes

A Green

LT

J Lewis

Portis

 

2002 top RBs

 

P Holmes

Ricky Williams

LT

Portis

McAllister

 

So while there are certainly carry overs from the previous year and VERY safe draft picks, there are a number of the top 3 or 4 draft picks that flop for various reasons. Under the reverse the 3rd round idea, you really HAVE to hit it perfect to have a good chance.

 

It is an interesting notion and coming off the best FF performance of all-time it certainly makes some sense. But LT won't always do that and there are always flops at the top like Alexander last year. Anything is fair if everyone agrees to it though. To me, I would rather not change things around like that since it is being done largely on the basis of 1 or 2 players (this year LT and Jackson). It really hurts the guy with the flop pick and going 4 and 5 and definitely hurt too and they have much more risky picks.

 

If a league wants to do that and votes it through before anyone knows their draft pick then more power to them. But it does seem like a knee jerk reaction to just one player really. I can remember years when "the LT" was Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk, Priest Holmes, Terrell Davis etc.. And in a good year for them I absolutely agree they have a big advantage to start with. But It isn't always going to be a good year for a top draft pick and one player only accounts for 11% of a teams starters in most leagues and you cannot skate on just one player. LT had a season of epic proportions in 2006 but I would not let that one year change the way drafts are conducted IMO. It would hurt a couple of other guys at the first who did not have LT. This is why I created The Perfect Huddle scoring system to minimize the impact of a single player but there's nothing you can really do about it in some league scoring scenarios. But I would not over-react to LT either. Guys like MJD, Gore and Jackson won their share of leagues in 2006 too.

 

I'm all for finding a better way, but I am not convinced this is since it affects the entire league based on just one or two players.

 

What was mentioned before is that auctions erase all of this problem. I think the "top RB" phenomena makes a better case for shifting to an auction than to jockey the draft order.

[Sturphy]

[FishFreak]

I'm kind of surprised by all the resisitance to this. Two things people are focusing on is the LT factor and what percentage of people win drafts with the first three picks isn't entirely what this is all about. It's certainly part of the argument but certainly not all of it.

 

Players having phenomenal years like LT, SA and Peyton happen from time to time and the folks drafting those players usually are carried to championships by those performances where ever they selected those players, Again, the problem with the traditional serpentine draft is the advantage of the owners drafting 1,2,3 getting three quality players out of the first 27 picks in a 12 team league. That doesn't mean they will actually make the right draft picks but they have the first opportunity to do so which is advantageous. Don't think so? Just look at the recent Huddle Ladder Draft:

 

Sgt Ryan:

1.1- LT

2.12- Marvin Harrison

3.1- L. Fitzgerald

 

Big John

1.2- S. Jackson

2.11- P. Manning

3.2- A. Peterson

 

Ziachild007

1.3- F. Gore

2.10- T. Holt

3.3- TO

 

Now, ON PAPER these guys look like they have an early advantage over the guys that drated 10,11,12 IMO. Remember, the revised serpentine draft is JUST about reversing round 3 to level the playing field. What happens the rest of the way is irrelevant. Who knows how things will shake out with injuries and actual performances but the guys at the top of the draft have the FIRST advatage of anchoring their teams with studs.

 

And lastly, guys seem to be overly concerned about past drafts and where winners are drafting from. That data isn't really relevant either to this discussion because drating is arbitrary. If morons are picking from 1,2, 3 or any spot they are going to screw things up reagrdless. A schrewd drafter with some luck will usually field a competitive team regardless of draft position unless they are plagued by injuries. Again this is about giving everyone an equal chance to draft accordingly and correcting the 3rd round flaw in the traditional serpentine draft.

[Maize N Blue Backer]

I wish that I had a beer. And for the record, the first beer out of the box, 1.1, is just as valuable as the last beer out of the box, 1.24.

 

 

 

nice.....unless it was left out in the sun.....lol

[DMD]

I will agree that drafting earlier is better than drafting later. In a traditional serpentine draft, I will always prefer the lowest draft pick possible because you do have more advantage the earlier you go. I am not dismissing the idea of reversing the 3rd round all together, I just am always initially leery of changing some fundamental element in relation to what seems to be more of a special case. LT owners had a great year in 2006 since he had the all-time greatest year of any RB. The "LT factor" to the rule change is inescapable. I would have no problem playing in a league with that rule and for big dollar leagues like WCOFF, NFFC, The Draft by Head2head, etc.. it probably is more fair.

 

The reality is that the first three rounds contain all the top WR, Manning, Gates and usually all the low-risk RBs. After round three, you are looking for value picks for the most part. The way it works out in serpentine, it is an undeniable advantage to go early since you again go early in the third round when the final top players are being doled out. The more I have thought about it, the more fair I can see the 3rd round swap is and my main resistance is my own knee-jerk reaction to knee-jerk reactions.

[Henry Muto]

And now the 3RR favors the team drafting 12/13 this year especially in PPR leagues.

 

You can have your 1/24/36 I will gladly take 12/13/25

[STL Fan]

And now the 3RR favors the team drafting 12/13 this year especially in PPR leagues.

 

You can have your 1/24/36 I will gladly take 12/13/25

 

You gotta be kiddin' me. You dredged up a 2-year-old thread to say that?