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I've
written before about my love of the realism aspect of
fantasy leagues. Well, there's a certain type of fantasy
football league that takes that end of the hobby to the
hilt.
Let's see, how to explain this... Okay... how many points
are touchdowns worth in the NFL? Six, and the point-after
kick makes seven, right?
And field goals are worth three points, regardless of
length, yes?
There you have it. Welcome to a real meat-and-potatoes
fantasy football scoring system. All TDs are worth six
points. All field goals are counted as three. Safeties?
You got it... two points. Nothing creative or wildly
fabricated - just scores like the big boys use.
For those football mongers who want their fantasy league
to be less about complex scoring formulas and bonuses,
and more about the next best thing to actually strapping
on a helmet, this is for you. To heck with yardage. I
want my guys taking the ball to the house.
And you know, there's some credibility to the format.
This is referred to as a "true scoring" or
touchdown-only league. No bally-hoo about 90-yard TDs
being worth 15 points, no 2-point bonuses for defensive
tackles behind the line of scrimmage, no 7-point anomalies
for field goals of more than 50 yards. Just sensible,
down-to-earn football scoring.
The basic premise of the league is like most others.
Essentially, owners draft rosters of roughly 20 players,
establish a starting lineup consisting of a QB, two RBs,
a TE, three WRs, a kicker, and a defensive team. Individual
defensive players and/or special teams is, of course,
optional.
There's only one real difference with this league and
most any other, but it's a biggie -- the scoring. As
I ready noted, all touchdowns, whether a 1-yard quarterback
sneak or a 99-yard bomb, are worth six points.
True scoring.
Now there is a pure fantasy slant here, because on the
aforementioned 99-yard bomb, for instance, you have the
QB who threw the pass and the receiver who went the distance
each garnering six points.
The entire idea is to create a game that is as close
to the real thing as possible. It's an ideal format for
head-to-head leagues because you end up with mostly real
football-type scores. No more of this 132-108 nonsense.
I'm talking 31-17 and 24-20 and 35-21. Manly... football
scores. What is more like the NFL? Winning 24-20 or 103.6 - 97.9?
Same end result - a winner and a loser. Both rely on
the NFL acumen needed to acquire and play the best players.
Changing the scoring to mirror the NFL will change the
entire focus of the draft as well make free agency more
important. Gaining those precious players that score
the most touchdowns reaps big dividends - just like the
NFL. Let's take a quick look at last year's numbers for
the top 20 players in True Scoring for quarterbacks,
runningbacks and receivers. The "#" represents what the
player's ranking was in a common performance scoring
league where yardage points are awarded.
| # |
QB's |
TD's |
# |
RB's |
TD's |
# |
WR's |
TD's |
| 10 |
Brady,Tom |
29 |
1 |
Holmes,Priest |
24 |
3 |
Owens,Terrell |
14 |
| 8 |
Brooks,Aaron |
29 |
6 |
Alexander,Shaun |
18 |
2 |
Ward,Hines |
12 |
| 5 |
Manning,Peyton |
29 |
2 |
Williams,Ricky |
17 |
1 |
Harrison,Marvin |
11 |
| 4 |
Gannon,Rich |
29 |
4 |
Portis,Clinton |
17 |
4 |
Moulds,Eric |
10 |
| 2 |
Culpepper,Daunte |
28 |
5 |
McAllister,Deuce |
16 |
7 |
Price,Peerless |
9 |
| 16 |
Favre,Brett |
27 |
3 |
Tomlinson,Ladainian |
15 |
10 |
Driver,Donald |
9 |
| 13 |
Green,Trent |
27 |
8 |
Henry,Travis |
14 |
27 |
Porter,Jerry |
9 |
| 7 |
Bledsoe,Drew |
26 |
12 |
George,Eddie |
14 |
28 |
Chrebet,Wayne |
9 |
| 9 |
McNair,Steve |
25 |
7 |
Barber,Tiki |
11 |
6 |
Toomer,Amani |
8 |
| 22 |
Pennington,Chad |
24 |
9 |
Garner,Charlie |
11 |
19 |
Gardner,Rod |
8 |
| 11 |
Garcia,Jeff |
24 |
34 |
Williams,Moe |
11 |
29 |
Thrash,James |
8 |
| 3 |
Vick,Michael |
24 |
11 |
Faulk,Marshall |
10 |
38 |
Stallworth,D. |
8 |
| 1 |
McNabb,Donovan |
23 |
10 |
Green,Ahman |
9 |
5 |
Moss,Randy |
7 |
| 14 |
Johnson,Brad |
22 |
19 |
Dunn,Warrick |
9 |
8 |
Horn,Joe |
7 |
| 19 |
Maddox,Tommy |
20 |
20 |
Shipp,Marcel |
9 |
9 |
Burress,Plaxico |
7 |
| 12 |
Kitna,Jon |
20 |
24 |
Hearst,Garrison |
9 |
11 |
Rice,Jerry |
7 |
| 18 |
Collins,Kerry |
19 |
29 |
Bettis,Jerome |
9 |
16 |
Bruce,Isaac |
7 |
| 23 |
Fiedler,Jay |
17 |
40 |
Mack,Stacey |
9 |
18 |
Smith,Jimmy |
7 |
| 17 |
Griese,Brian |
16 |
13 |
Taylor,Fred |
8 |
20 |
Morgan,Quincy |
7 |
| 15 |
Hasselbeck,Matt |
16 |
15 |
Staley,Duce |
8 |
22 |
Conway,Curtis |
7 |
Finding players that score multiple touchdowns in a
game is also a big bonus - just like in the NFL.
Strategy for a league using true scoring isn't greatly
different from other leagues, with one glaring exception
-- the guys who make a living scoring from the 1-yard
line become huge. Moe Williams, Zack Crockett, Mike Alstott...
these guys are early-round picks in a true scoring league.
Charlie Garner might have eight carries for 70 yards
on a drive, but if Crockett bulls into the end zone from
the 1, Crockett gets the six fantasy points.
Of course, that very scenario is a mark against the
format for some fantasy participants. That's why this
type of league, admittedly, is not for everyone. But
if you are looking to add a new type of league to add
to your fantasy season and welcome the chance to show
your genius in a different format, consider True Scoring
as your main - or even just a secondary league. Chances
are good you will find comfort in knowing if you won
or lost by watching the news instead of breaking out
the statistical calculator.
Believe it - if you like the realism aspect with simple
and straightforward scoring, and love getting boxscores
that are more football and less NBA... a true scoring
league should be your mug of beer.
DOH! Not tackled at the one again!
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