Do IDP Teams Need Bigger Benches?

[TomBrooklyn]

Do teams utilizing IDP players need bigger benches?

Standard fantasy football roster is 9 players and 7 bench.

Add 5 IDP, one each of DT, DE, LB, CB, and S. Do you increase size of bench or leave the same, and why?

[mattb47]

You really need to increase it at least a couple spots. I'd probably add another 2-3 spots for adding those players...might be worth restricting some of the bench spots for IDP reserves though so people don't just use them to load up on other things.

[TomBrooklyn]

Hi Matt,

I could see adding a couple of bench spots and restricting them to IDP. I hope it wouldn't turn into a hassle to monitor and enforce though.

What would you think about if a team is found using one of his IDP spots for an offensive player, he gets a 5 point deduction in that weeks matchup, and if he's found using 2 IDP spots for non-IDP players he gets 10 points deducted from that weeks game.

[204BC]

I don't think you need to go so far as to restrict who they can have on their bench. If they use extra bench spots to hang on to another WR or RB that's up to them. The time will come when their starting LB is on bye and they'll realize that they don't have a backup. At that point they either play the slot empty or drop someone else on the WW.

I do think that there should be a bench slot for each position. Like you mentioned in your first post, standard systems use 9 players and 7 bench. On offense, you need backups for:

QB
RB
WR
TE
K

That's only 5 positions and you get 7 bench players so you already have two extra spots. If you add 5 IDP positions I'd increase the bench to 11. That way each position has room for one backup and each team has an extra slot that they can use wherever they like. If they don't want to carry backup IDP players, so what? If your IDP scoring is set up on par with the offensive scoring they'll probably get their clocks cleaned.

I think I mentioned this in another thread that you started, but I personally would add only 3 IDP positions and expand the bench to 10. I'd go with 2 DL (DE or DT), 2 LB and 2DB (CB or S). Again, each position would have 1 backup and there would be a single extra slot to be used as you please.

I always cheat the system somewhat and do not carry backup kickers on my team. Gives me extra room to carry any RB's or WR's that I'm keeping an eye on.

[flotsamnjetsam]

You really need to increase it at least a couple spots. I'd probably add another 2-3 spots for adding those players...might be worth restricting some of the bench spots for IDP reserves though so people don't just use them to load up on other things.

I agree with Matt in that I think you definitely need to increase the bench 2-3 spots if you're adding 5 IDP's. I disagree about restricting some bench spots for IDP's. I've never played in a league that had bench restrictions...and honestly I wouldn't want to. I understand why some leagues do this, but I prefer to let the owners fill their benches as they see fit...without any restrictions. Just my .02. Good luck!

[henra1155]

I have ran an IDP league for many years and we have never increased the bench positions. We only have 3 positions though (LB, DL, DB) and it allows most people to place their IDP's on the bench one week at a time and pick up someone if need be. In the case of our league, your best IDP usually scores about the same or more than benched RB's or WR's and are more consistant as well, so it really just depends on how many IDP's you really have obviously 5 may cause more bench spots

[Grid Reaper]

I let my owners vote on Roster Limitations. As Commish of the long running PPFFL.com league, I know that talent runs deep and therefor in smaller leagues (12 teams or fewer) it is usually best to approximate 1 backup per 1 starter in an effort to dilute the talent pool a little. We start 13 players with 26 man rosters and there are still MANY gems on the wire. Don't worry about teams loading up at a given position, just employ Roster Limitations based on how many starters you have at a given position. For example, we have 2 starting RB's and 2 starting LB's, both positions are limited to a maximum of 5 players each. Where DT's we only start 1 and we only allow a maximum of 3 on a roster. Just think about your goals. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you want more talent on the wire, then use fewer backup positions, if you want less talent floating around, use more backup positions. I prefer the later of the two because it puts the onus on the owners right from day 1, where the other way, owners can get away with more mistakes by having a deep waiver wire to fall back on.

I hope this helps.