Large league pitfalls question

[Fengshui]

Hello everyone,
I've been running a 10 team year-to-year (IDP) league for a couple years. This year I'd like to allow 14 teams due to interest level. What kind of pitfalls in general should I be aware of in going from 10 to a larger 14 teams.

Team balance is what people I've spoken to in my league are mainly afraid of with 14 teams. We normally use a serpentine draft but it seems as though this may really hurt the people on the ends.

Idea's or thought's would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Crafty]

Did a 14-teamer last year, and it went just fine. Serpentine draft was good, too. As for pitfalls, we didn't really encounter any, but here were a few details:

- 8 teams made the playoffs, so pretty much everyone was in it until the final weeks (the eighth seed wound up pulling it out)

- waiver wire and fa was done all at once, on one day a week. everyone had to submit their moves on wednesday before 6 pm, and the results were announced on thursday. this made fa an equalizer, and people who watch the internet all day didn't get an advantage from a first-come first-served system.

- league was yardage heavy, 1 pt for 10 rush/receiving, and 1 per 20 yards passing, making players valuable even if they weren't always scoring touchdowns. helped make up for lack of depth. (TD's were 4 for passing, 6 for rushing/receiving, btw.)

Overall it was a great league. The draft won't determine the winner so much as who adjusts during the year and makes the best trades, which is how it should be.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Santacruzer]

I've done it with 14 teams as well. The biggest thing is depth. As long as you have balanced scoring between RB-QB-WRs etc, you should find things will work out fine. Try to stay away from "bonus" type things, as the better "elite" players are the one who tend to get these, causing things to get out of balance.

If you add a point per reception, you balance the WR position a little more. The later picks still end up with a chance of getting that "elite" type player.

I like Crafty's suggestion about WW pick ups. That is something that will have to get figured out, because as he mentioned, the guys who scour the net are the ones who will get the unfair advantage over those who don't have 24 hour access to a comp.

Good luck!

[Flux]

w/ 14 teams, Id only make 1 RB mandatory and add in flex spots to allow for more RBs to play. If you have 2 RBs mandatory, right away 28 RBs will start every week, and since there will be bye weeks, every team basically needs 3, meaning 42 RBs will see action during the year, which means a lot of crappy players will be used and some very bad and frustrating games will occur.

[Fengshui]

Thanks folks for the tips so far. I was thinking of adding the 1 point per reception for TE's but hadn't considered it for WR's. I'll check into that and do some math based on last years numbers.

I ran into the WW problem the first year and moved to something close to what you suggested Crafty. I had some initial complaints but eventually everyone saw the fairness in it.

I do require two RB's. I see you're point about allowing the flex. Chances are that mid/low level WR (much deeper position) is a better start than the 3rd string RB during a bye week. Good point.

Playoffs I was thinking of going with Championship Bowl and Toilet Bowl scenario. What splits have you seen? 6 in one and 8 in other or vise versa?
Also thought about going with 6 in both and the last two teams totally miss out. I was thinking that way team's 13 & 14 keep their incentives to beat out team 12 throughout the whole season instead of giving up until the playoffs.

[Santacruzer]

The idea of adding a point, or even 2 points for just TEs to help balance that position has almost eliminated itself based on last years stats. If this year is anything like last year, it almost makes it unfair. A guy in one of my other leagues had Gates, where there was 2 points awarded for TE receptions(1 pt for WR). Needless to say he went 12-0 to start, with a pretty mediocre team otherwise.

If you do go with a bid system, I found that 2 times a week works really well (ie. Wed and Friday). It allows to to have a backup plan if you don't get the guys you want, as well as a chance to pickup someone who might have been dropped.

[bertfinsfan]

Our league is seven years old and we ran into the same problem. Last year we changed to a 20 team league. They were split up into two 10 team divisions. Both divisions were essentialy their own league until playoff time. Both divisions had a seperate draft, WW, and trades. This allowed all of our friends to play in the same league but kept the rosters from getting watered down. (Also made for a big prize fund$$$$.)

[jdogg_ffc]

Our league is seven years old and we ran into the same problem. Last year we changed to a 20 team league. They were split up into two 10 team divisions. Both divisions were essentialy their own league until playoff time. Both divisions had a seperate draft, WW, and trades. This allowed all of our friends to play in the same league but kept the rosters from getting watered down. (Also made for a big prize fund$$$$.)

Do you mean each player could be in 2 seperate divisions? (ala Peyton played for two diff. teams at once abeit in div. divisions)

[Crafty]

Our league is seven years old and we ran into the same problem. Last year we changed to a 20 team league. They were split up into two 10 team divisions. Both divisions were essentialy their own league until playoff time. Both divisions had a seperate draft, WW, and trades. This allowed all of our friends to play in the same league but kept the rosters from getting watered down. (Also made for a big prize fund$$$$.)

How did you do the playoffs? Did you let in 4 teams from each conference? I'm doing our office pool, and we might have 20 teams. If we do, I'm considering having two conferences with 6 teams in the playoffs from each conference -- with the top two getting a bye in the first week of playoffs. Is that stupid?


(edited to clarify number of teams)

[Fengshui]

I'll be taking 6 teams to the playoffs this year. I see no problem with giving the top two a bye. The way I see it they earned that bye after becoming the top 2 teams. Although, with 20 teams in my league, I might take 8 into the playoff's. With that many teams playing there may be a lot of teams that by mid season have nothing to play for. Playoff position 7 an 8 will at least give the mid-level teams something to fight for. Unless your already planning on doing a second little tournament for those not making the dance.