Rate this Anti-Tanking initiative.

[Old_Smokie]

Hi guys, like most commissioners you may have run into having to employ anti tanking initiatives in your leagues. I have gone this route as we are in a 5 year partial keeper with friends and family, general acquaintances and I'd rather kick not anyone out. While the league is extremely competitive I have had an issue this year having to remind GM's, especially the lower placed ones, to keep lines set and maximized.

So my proposed initiative is called "The 4 Week Blind."

1.) At the beginning of the year before the draft I will randomly select 4 weeks. It doesn't matter which weeks are selected randomly, if they are paired in some instances etc because no one in the league will no which weeks are the "Blind Weeks" nor will we really know which teams will finish bottom 6 (previously we had a lottery which followed the same ball ratio as the NHL).

2.) The teams that end the season and find themselves in lottery positions will be trying to score the most points over those 4 weeks and the top 6 draft order for the following year will be determined on total fantasy point generation for the 4 weeks included in the blind.

3.) The reason for the blind or not allowing GMs to know the weeks and eliminate anyone who is close to a lottery position from tanking to get into the lottery and or otherwise simply pay attention to the 4 weeks where points will be totaled.

4.) At the end of the playoffs, the blind weeks will be revealed and totaled and then we will set draft order for the following year.


Thoughts?

[Eskimo Brother]

My only thought is that you are privy to the information and the rest of the league is not. I am sure you are a stand-up guy, but if by chance in the first two years, you get yourself a top pick because of this method, it is going to look mighty fishy.

[finnys_fanatsy]

just so i understand...

the ranking for top 6 spots for the following years draft will be based on the total points garnered across the 4 random weeks (pre selected i assume), with the team with the highest number of points of the bottom six teams receiving the advantage in the lottery? (that summary may be more cumbersome than the description??)

IF so, then i only have one suggestion (kinda along the same lines as EB) the 4 random weeks should only be selected AFTER the reg season is done in some manner that allows every GM to witness the selection...as transparent as can be.

EX..teams A, B, C, D, e and F are the bottom six teams. the commish will at the end of the reg season pull 4 random week numbers from a hat/bowl/number generator.
Team A - 10 points
Team B - 12 points
Team C - 4 points
Team D - 20 points
Team E - 2 points
Team F - 0 points

Lottery Advantage (highest to lowest) = D, B, A, C, E, F

[2014olympicgold]

A randomly picked 4 weeks shows transparency and no one knowing what weeks are the important weeks, but it could be a piss off to some GMs. If the league likes this idea give the option to have 4 weeks randomly generated for each team or have the GMs pick their 4 weeks.

Seems like a decent way to stop tanking. Try it out

[lucafen4]

It cant' hurt to give it a go for a year to see how it works. I use a consolation playoff for the 4 non-playoff teams. Win two rounds for #1 overall - teams seem to be souring on this as they can't sell off as much as they want - otherwise they'll never win 2 in a row.

[2014olympicgold]

It cant' hurt to give it a go for a year to see how it works. I use a consolation playoff for the 4 non-playoff teams. Win two rounds for #1 overall - teams seem to be souring on this as they can't sell off as much as they want - otherwise they'll never win 2 in a row.

This is how we do it too. If you win the bad-teams playoffs you get 1^st, if you come 2^nd you get 2^nd overall, then last place gets 3^rd, 2^nd last gets 4^th.

One time in football we had 10 teams, and 4 made the playoffs, and when that happened 2 bottom teams (10/9) didn’t get to play in the bad-team playoffs. So we did 10,9,winner of bad-team, 2^nd of bad-team. I won the bad-team, lost out on 1^st overall because our GM messed it up with playoff teams, lost out on Ezequel Elliot. I’m not bitter.

[ericdaoust]

My dynasty league just introduced a minimum season GP total to qualify for lottery draft. Basically the bottom feeders have to step up and at least try to be competitive.

[finnys_fanatsy]

A randomly picked 4 weeks shows transparency t

not really, nobody but the Commish knows..that's the opposite of transparency? theres no need to pre-select the 4 weeks. they can be generated after....prior to the draft order being generated. Everyone involved, no behind the scenes action.

[2014olympicgold]

not really, nobody but the Commish knows..that's the opposite of transparency? theres no need to pre-select the 4 weeks. they can be generated after....prior to the draft order being generated. Everyone involved, no behind the scenes action.

Number generator that emails people the numbered weeks.

People use these for draft lotteries all the time.

[lucafen4]

put all the weeks (numbers) in a hat. Wear a ridiculous outfit - videotape and post on here the draw. Transparency - just no transparent outfits.

[finnys_fanatsy]

Number generator that emails people the numbered weeks.

People use these for draft lotteries all the time.

absolutely i agree but its the timing of the blind weeks selection that i think is important here, not the method.

[2014olympicgold]

absolutely i agree but its the timing of the blind weeks selection that i think is important here, not the method.

I was only offering 2 versions. Some people may be upset that 1 GM knows (commissioner) the weeks and no one else does. I see no issues with either option personally, but if the commissioner gets a top pick right out of the gate, him knowing the weeks could be a sour point for some GMs

[finnys_fanatsy]

I was only offering 2 versions. Some people may be upset that 1 GM knows (commissioner) the weeks and no one else does. I see no issues with either option personally, but if the commissioner gets a top pick right out of the gate, him knowing the weeks could be a sour point for some GMs

seems we are on the same page..i think...all i am saying is to avoid any misconceptions or tom-foolery the blind weeks are selected AFTER the season is done. that way NOBODY knows when these weeks are and nobody can cry foul.

Here's a scenario..Team X starts a horrific lineup for the other 20weeks except for the 4 weeks that were pre-selected and shared with the league. Knowing teh 4 weeks being used he iced his full and best and somehow he dominated in those 4 weeks giving him the highest advantage in the lottery..rewarding him for tanking the other 20 weeks. As well this gives the remaining teams inflated wins/points throughout the rest of the season..

i think this is a good idea to try..this would give everyone incentive to start a competitive lineup..even the weaker teams.

[chuckcouples]

I think this method is a terrible idea. Because it is random weeks, one team can have all four of the selected weeks against the top 2 teams in the league while another team could have 4 weeks against other bottom teams. That does not seem fair to me at all.

You are in a 5 year league. If teams want to tank to get higher draft picks let them. They are only hurting themselves. No team is going to start a season thinking that they want to finish dead last to get a higher draft pick. The idea of losing to improve only starts once the season is underway and teams start finding themselves with no chance of making the playoffs.

I like the idea of keeping teams active so my suggestion would be to use a weighted lottery system for the top pick while punishing teams for not having a full lineup. For instance, each time that a team does not have a full lineup, their odds of winning the lottery go down 1% and all teams who had a full lineup the whole season split that 1% for their odds. This way teams have to keep their lines. If they want to dress a lineup of 4th liners, that is their decision. As long as they are actively managing their rosters, it is not up to you to know if they are making good decisions.

[JagrBomb]

how about you just boot anyone that tanks simple as that