Open Rants by JMB

LOOK.

I GET IT.

People don't like being overwhelmed by anything --especially numbers. Not even two years ago I was in the middle of a season-long mental breakdown, and if you'd believe it, numbers were the direct cause. I was attending college as an aspiring Meteorologist and looking at attending the only campus with a National Weather Center attached: Oklahoma. Then, a cold wind blew. It was calculus II, and it beat me into submission over and over again. I was broken like a horse, or like Derek Carr's leg. I couldn't stand it. I decided I'd pursue something less math-oriented, but I didn't know what exactly that would be. I was lost, and I didn't really care that I was (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, it just is what it is.) All this because of some numbers. I feel like so many people have been in similar situations, and that's why I understand keeping fantasy "simple". It can feel like wartime-flashbacks, or like thinking about a past relationship trying to determine what went wrong and when. That's a bit dramatic, but it's hard not to be when you hate something to great lengths. If you try to let math back in through fun outlets (like fantasy sports) it may help you get past some of that hatred. You may get some closure from those repressed memories of flunking your 3rd grade math test, and learn to enjoy the math in things, but I digress.

What I want to talk about:
-Decimal scoring
-KR/PR yards
-QB completion rate
-Sacks
-Fumbles/fumbles lost
-Drops
-Kickers
-Defensive player scoring.

Decimal scoring: The first step is the biggest, for most. It's also the most important of the rules I will be talking about, as most of the following rules will use decimals. Non-decimal scoring just doesn't make sense. The difference between 9-10 yards is minimal. 9 yards shouldn't be worthless, and 10 yards shouldn't be the end-all. Decimal scoring is helpful in balancing the game out, as well as helpful in deciding wins. Ties are frustrating, and this should cut down on them significantly.

Ironically, after my main league transitioned to decimal scoring, I was plagued. In the first season after, I lost in the playoffs by .1. Had I kept standard scoring, I would've won round 1 advanced to the championship, and then outscored every team in the league during the championship round. The very next season, in the playoffs, I lost by a tie-breaker (yes, down to the decimal.) Again, had I not switched to decimal, I would've won that game, and advanced. I would've won back-to-back championships. I must be cursed. I don't regret this as much as you might think, though. Decimal scoring has made the game much less frustrating to follow on a week-to-week basis. My league games became much more enjoyable. Maybe not as enjoyable as back-to-back championships in my main league, but decimal scoring isn't the worst consolation prize. The point of this story is that even though decimal scoring will make ties much less likely, they can still happen.

Under decimal, each yard is rewarded. Decimal scoring isn't exclusively about yards, though. When the NFL backed the PAT to the 15-yd line it made PATs a little more difficult. I used decimals to apply a bonus to made PATs (from 1 to 1.2) and reduce the amount deducted from missed PATs (from -2 to -1.5) to ensure that the kicker position didn't lose much of what little value it already had. You'll find that isn't the only time I've used decimal scoring in unorthodox ways when you get further down the list.

KR/PR yards: This is a rule that seems pretty self-explanatory at the surface. Yeah, you should give returners points for yards. It'd be a little weird not to. However, KR/PR yards should not be valued the same as rushing and receiving yards. So, how much should these yards be worth? Well, that's a difficult question because there are many answers. KR yards are much easier to come by than PR yards, so it would make sense that KR yards are valued less than PR yards. I implore any commissioners to mess with these settings and to find a compromise that you and your league members can agree on. I, personally, set it so that every 10 KR yards would equate to 0.2, and every 10 PR yards would equate to 0.4 (I would've split these in half, but ESPN wouldn't allow me to score KR/PR yards in intervals of 5, which is pretty upsetting.)

QB completion rate: This is another rule that seems pretty self-explanatory at the surface, until you begin to wonder how much completion rate should be worth. Under this rule, a QB who throws at an 80% clip will score more than a QB with a similar game throwing at a 50% clip. Makes sense to me. But how important should this be? From a fantasy perspective: not very important, if you're asking me. But just because something isn't very important in certain situations doesn't mean that it should be excluded. QB completion rate is a huge factor on a QBs success in the NFL, and should rightfully be included into your fantasy scores. For reference, I gave 0.2 points for each completion and -0.2 points for each in-completion. You maybe thinking: "Jordan, NFL QBs throw at a pretty high clip. Wouldn't this make QBs a much stronger position? Yes, it would, and that leads me to:

QB Sacks: Yep, you read that right. Counting sacks will decrease the value at the QB position, and add another layer to your game. Counting sacks will make QB mobility more important, while making the QB position more versatile in fantasy. Now, I didn't want to make sacks too bad for QBs, as sometimes it isn't their fault at all. Some QBs just get pummeled because the line sucks, and I didn't want to kill a good fantasy QB because of his line. Not entirely, anyway. I deduct -0.4 for each sack taken. You may think that is a small amount, that sacks should deduct more if I'm going to bother counting them. However, if you look at QB completion rate this matches that pretty well. If your QB had to choose between throwing the ball away or taking a sack, what would you want him to do? Throw the ball away, of course! So yes, it should deduct more than an in-completion. No problem there. But shouldn't it be worth more? What if he forces a throw? Wouldn't you rather have the sack? Well, no because:

Interceptions should deduct -3 instead of -2: It's one of the most important aspects of the game, but you wouldn't think it was if you just followed fantasy. You have to protect the ball. If your QB is going to force throws, he should be punished for it. This also solves the above problem, and helps the problem above it. Well, that's not fair! Why are interceptions worth more than fumbles? Turnovers are turnovers, right? Right!

Fumbles/ Fumbles Lost: Alright, here we go. Fumbles lost should still deduct -2. So, yeah, I guess it is giving unfair values to turnovers. Though, if any fumble at all counts against the player for -1, then a fumble lost would still be -3. It would just be indirect. If a player loses the ball, that's bad. I don't care if the teammate falls on it rendering the fumble harmless, it should deduct a point. Players get benched for that kind of shit every year. The initial fumble should deduct a point. If it turns into a turnover, and extra two will be taken off. There, turnovers a balanced again, you can breathe easy.

WR Drops: This is the only rule on this list I don't use. I had tried to implement this into my main league (ESPN) as a catch rate. It was a disaster. I regret it. Do not do it. A catch rate was unfair to the players. A target could be thrown out of bounds without a chance for the WR to catch it. For that to deduct points off a WR is wrong. Unfortunately, this is a rule I have abandoned. ESPN Fantasy does not score drops, so I had no option. If possible, though, definitely add drops to your rules. It will more accurately judge the players in-game performance. Forme, though, this rule is on the back-burner.

A more intensive kicker position (or no kicker at all): This is something I already lightly discussed in the decimal scoring portion of this article, by increasing the amount made PATs and decreasing the deduction of missed PATs. The major problem lies in the fact that kickers pretty useless in fantasy. Sure, they can be the deciding factor in close games, but unless you had Rob Bironas (R.I.P.) circa-early-2007 kickers just don't make a difference very often. I changed the position by adding more to the longer field goals, and taking away some at closer range. The end result isn't crazy or anything, and kickers should still be the least valuable spot on more fantasy rosters. You could just do away with kickers altogether, which is becoming quite the fad this year.

Defensive Player Scoring: This applies to all leagues, not just leagues that have defensive player slots on the roster. Imagine the Falcons gave it to Devonta Freeman. Then, Freeman fumbles the ball, and Julio Jones recovers the ball in the end-zone. In some leagues, Julio would have gotten nothing for this. Nothing for recovering the fumble, and nothing for scoring the touchdown. That doesn't seem very fair. Change your defensive player scoring so that a recovery would net at least something and so that defensive player touchdowns would net at least something. Oh, by the way, this exact scenario happen in week 5 of the 2015 season. Watch it HERE!

That's all I got for now, but I hope you guys appreciate this list.

Come tell me how much you disagree with me at my FaceBook page, JMB Sports! or tweet me @Jombrow!