Big Dogs Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Has anyone really evaluated this DraftLab Software from the home page of the Huddle??? Thoughts, opinions........Do you even care?? DMD -- Your thoughts?? Seems like it might be pretty decent, but still not sure about using a software during my draft, especially if something goes haywire with it during the draft. Can't afford a screw up at that point!!! The last several years, I've used Rhino's annual projections / spreadsheet to help prepare for the draft and that tool has rocked!! Kudo's to Rhino again!!! I know it states that it will get all its draft analysis from The Huddle website, but is anyone aware as to whether or not additional stats can be downloaded into the tool. It might be pretty sweet if Rhino's annual projections could also be downloaded into this software. Let me know your thoughts, and any evaluations of the software.......I downloaded the demo, but it wasn't that easy to use, but that may have to do with the fact that it was a demo!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godtomsatan Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 I'll bump this since I asked the same question and got no response in another thread. Just in case someone has something to add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 I'll bump this since I asked the same question and got no response in another thread. Just in case someone has something to add. 876415[/snapback] To be honest, I have not used it personally but I understand that it is extremely slick in what it does. I am usually snowed with work right now and have not had time to personally evaluate it. I would be interested to hear what people thought about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dogs Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Bumped again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJW Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 First some background. Merv Pate owns RotoLab (the maker of DraftLab) and his RotoLab software for baseball has been on the market for three years and is very well liked by it's users. For baseball he works with the guys at BaseballHQ.com for projections. Roy Shandler, owner of Baseball HQ speaks very highly of Merv and his RotoLab product. Merv approached us about using our projections for his new football version and we agreed. I, like David, have been too busy to dive deeply into the software. But I did take a spin in an early beta version and it looked pretty cool. You can create custom cheat sheets with tiers for your different leagues and scoring systems. You can add comments. Tag players with several indicators like "upside", "sleeper", "risk", "avoid", and "rookie". You can use your own projections, entering them by hand or importing them, or you can use The Huddle projections it comes with and edit them to your liking. I've never used software like this during a draft, but am going to experiment with is some this season. Overall DraftLab looks like a killer draft preparation program, which is why we chose to work with Merv this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 The fact it is only $24 makes it very intriguing (sp?) but I don't bring a laptop to my drafts. I will say the 38% huddle discount is the oddest discount amount I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 The fact it is only $24 makes it very intriguing (sp?) but I don't bring a laptop to my drafts. I will say the 38% huddle discount is the oddest discount amount I've ever seen. 877356[/snapback] We were holding out for 39.6% but settled up from 26.93% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dogs Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 (edited) The fact it is only $24 makes it very intriguing (sp?) but I don't bring a laptop to my drafts. I will say the 38% huddle discount is the oddest discount amount I've ever seen. 877356[/snapback] Thanks for the background Whitney!!! Agreed........Where did 38% come from??? Don't mind the discount, as it definitely makes it more appealing, but the downloadable demo is very tough to use, which worries me. Anyway, if there's anyone who's purchased and actually used, please let us know your thoughts.... Edited July 13, 2005 by Big Dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pate Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 (edited) Hi Big Dogs, <<<<<< Don't mind the discount, as it definitely makes it more appealing, but the downloadable demo is very tough to use, which worries me. >>>>>> I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about using the program. I'm not sure where you are having trouble, but there are some new features in Football that are not in baseball that might need tweaking. The crowd over here is a bit rowdier than the BaseballHQ crowd, but I'll try to hang with you guys. -Merv DraftLab Edited July 14, 2005 by pate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 The crowd over here is a bit rowdier than the BaseballHQ crowd, but I'll try to hang with you guys. -Merv DraftLab 877670[/snapback] "rowdy" is actually one of their better qualities... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 "rowdy" is actually one of their better qualities... 877817[/snapback] here here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuckInTraffic Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I downloaded a bunch of demos of draft software and played around with a bunch of them over the last couple of weeks. I ended up purchasing Draftlab, because I liked being able to adjust the tiers and tag players as sleepers and such. The first full draft I plan on using it at is on Aug 20 (there are a couple slow drafts that will not be completed before then). I will be happy to let anyone know how it works out afterwards. I do have a quick question for Merv regarding the license and unlock key. There is a slight possibility I might get a new laptop in the next couple of weeks, is it going to be a problem transferring the license to the new computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robash Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 actually id like to know that answer as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pate Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 (edited) I do have a quick question for Merv regarding the license and unlock key. There is a slight possibility I might get a new laptop in the next couple of weeks, is it going to be a problem transferring the license to the new computer? 907873[/snapback] Traffic, no problem with doing this. You just send a request to sales@rotolab.com and Stephanie will generate a second key for the laptop. Many of my baseball users do this, prep all exhibition season on a desktop computer and move over to the laptop a couple of days before the draft. There are Backup and Restore functions to move the data over easily as well. On the Huddle projections we know which computer is downloading the projection files, so we can monitor which license is in use and who is using it. -Merv DraftLab Edited August 3, 2005 by pate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuckInTraffic Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Traffic, no problem with doing this. You just send a request to sales@rotolab.com and Stephanie will generate a second key for the laptop. Many of my baseball users do this, prep all exhibition season on a desktop computer and move over to the laptop a couple of days before the draft. There are Backup and Restore functions to move the data over easily as well. On the Huddle projections we know which computer is downloading the projection files, so we can monitor which license is in use and who is using it. -Merv DraftLab 908292[/snapback] Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcoach Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Sounds interesting, I'll have to check this out. Anyone have anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dogs Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 Going to bump this again to see if anyone else has purchased and used... Merv, I do have a question for you though...... One of the long time huddlers (Rhino) puts out a free sheet every year that in similiar fashion allows you to use your scoring system and generate cheatsheets, look at stats for individual players, auto fill in rosters, checks other teams picks during the draft, etc, etc, etc. Plus, it will also calculate via a weighted average set by the user projected stats from a bunch of different web sites. Granted, I trust DMD's and WW's projections the most, but by looking at all the projections, it allows you to generate a truly unique projections list. Its a very highly used excel spreadsheet used by a ton of people here, and the best part it's free......But it is an excel spreadsheet and not a windows based software program...... Will you're software allow you to import different projections and weight them??? Please advise..... Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pate Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 (edited) Going to bump this again to see if anyone else has purchased and used...Merv, I do have a question for you though...... Its a very highly used excel spreadsheet used by a ton of people here, and the best part it's free......But it is an excel spreadsheet and not a windows based software program...... Will you're software allow you to import different projections and weight them??? Please advise..... Thanks!! 912065[/snapback] Currently my contract with the Huddle only allows their projections to be imported into the program. I really haven't discussed this in depth with WW, so I don't know the Huddle's stance on this issue. My data partner for my baseball program has objected to this in the past when I have brought it up, but not sure with DraftLab. I'm pretty new to this forum so I'll have to check out the Rhino sheet when it comes out, maybe something can be done there in the future. But for this year, the agreement I signed with the Huddle overides anything I could do with other projections. -Merv Edited August 6, 2005 by pate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dogs Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 Thanks for the answer Merv! Don't want to suggest you override your deal with DMD and WW!!!!! Like I said, I gravitate to most of their projections anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 I just wanted to add that I have been diligently evaluating the draftlab software, and I a veteran with other software programs on the market. The software definitely takes some getting used to, but mostly because there is so many different customizable options. A novice user or a total nube to fantasy football might struggle at first, but once you run with it for a short time, you can see the potential. I have a list of future upgrades that could make it even better, but as it stands right now, it is a great drafting tool. I will use it in action for the first time on August 20th and plan on purchasing the full version this weekend. There are some features that are not in the eval version (like only being able to use sample data), but even with that you can get the just of it. It is a great product to me for 3 main reasons: huddle projections are used, very customizable, and great price. I personally don't have the need for the options having to do with auction or hybrid leagues, but they are there if you need them. And they have a number of user defined fields to enter in additional info. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robash Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 hmm looking at the draftlab link there is a screenshot of a "player editor". are you able to adjust projections in this feature? could be one way to tweak the projections...or input your own, like rhinos spreadsheet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pate Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 (edited) I have a list of future upgrades that could make it even better, but as it stands right now, it is a great drafting tool. 914558[/snapback] This is the first year of the football program so there will be a lot of new features that will be added next year and in the future. Feel free to e-mail them to me. My baseball program, RotoLab, has been around a while and my long-term users know I listen to my users and add a lot of new features each year. -Merv DraftLab Edited August 15, 2005 by pate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pate Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 hmm looking at the draftlab link there is a screenshot of a "player editor". are you able to adjust projections in this feature? could be one way to tweak the projections...or input your own, like rhinos spreadsheet 914563[/snapback] Yes, that is what the Editor is for, tweak away until your heart's content. About half of the fields are locked in the demo, but you can edit them all in the full version. After you get the league setup and import the Huddle projections, get a fresh ranking then start tweaking the rankings as well. Most user's like to move players up or down a few slots because of personal preference, injury risk, job security, etc.... -Merv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sac_intimidators Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 just wanted to let u guys know that the draft lab is a great draft tool and user friendly once you start playing with it . i like that you can set up your league settings and move players up and down in draft. when you are drafting you do not have to be on internet that is the best thing about it. i used a site last yr i had to be on the web and the software had a gliche not the draft lab no problems. howeever i would take back up cheatsheets and all your projections just in case i know i am. i play with it every day and every other wk you get updates to import into your software which is great. I highly recommend this software. I would like to get more info on Rhino's software would like to check it out . anybody know when it might be out. do you know (dmd). Cant wait for my draft sept 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABearWithFurniture Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 This a really great addition to the football drafting software that's already out there...like it's been said, there are so many different aspects of it that it takes a bit of tweaking to figure some of it out and get comfortable with it, but it's by far a better product than anything I've been using so far... On the other hand, to all the guys in my leagues...don't waste your time on it, as it bites... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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