How close to perfect do you have to get before you can consider something “perfect”?
What if you see a perfect sunset tonight, but then tomorrow, you see a better one? By definition, that would mean the day before wasn’t perfect, because you can’t improve on perfection.
Not even a perfect game in baseball is really perfect, at least none so far have been — since theoretically someone could throw a perfect game that includes no pitches even outside the strike zone, which would be more perfect than one in which some pitches were called balls along the way.
So what is the perfect fantasy football format? Or is there even a perfect one?
The Madman has a format we prefer above all others, the “most” perfect, even if not actually perfect. Now we just need to find or create a host site that offers all the options we desire.
First things first: No PPR. Point per reception scoring is just a terrible invention, a fungus that continues to infect the entire industry, spreading faster and faster.
It was born decades ago out of a misguided desire to offset the exaggerated value of running backs. A similar result could have been achieved just by adjusting roster sizes and limits to include an additional wide receiver, but someone had a worse idea, and the worse idea won.
And because points are fun, it caught on. So now, even though most offenses focus primarily on the pass instead of the run — which elevates WR value — and even though many teams now employ a RB committee —which diminishes RB value — PPR remains the most popular format, a plague that persists well past its expected life span.
Fantasy Football DVQ Explainer
Hop out of the pool, unpack your vacation suitcase, boot up your laptop and get ready, because fantasy football season is back.
The Fantasy Madman has returned with the latest iteration of his DVQ.
The Draft Value Quotient is a player rating system that assigns one universal number for every player. This value projects the point in the draft at which a player’s projected production will match the estimated draft pick value.
Since there is a wider separation among production at the top, so too is there a wider gap between DVQ values at the top of the rankings.
The player projections takes into account playing time, expected use/touches, coaching tendencies, part performance and injury history. The DVQ measures these projections against a player’s schedule and factors in positional depth and value above replacement.
These ratings are updated regularly.
Do not fear, the Madman has a vaccine. We can feed the hunger for points without the poison of PPR. All you need is what we call an FDC elixir. Instead of getting a point every time a player catches a pass, you get a point every time a player converts a first down — hence first downs converted, or FDC.
It is indisputably a more equitable scoring system, representing actual impact on real-life team success and impactful production, rather than awarding for an arbitrary stat that can potentially even yield points for a negative play. I mean, that is the very definition of backward.
So that’s step one, scoring for FDC instead of PPR. Now for the next fix: No partial-point scoring. We’ve never seen a partial point scored in real football, and we like as much real football as possible in our fantasy football. Scrap those decimals, bro. You don’t need ’em.
But that might generate ties, you say? You’re right, it might. But we have a fix for that — if only current fantasy providers would provide it. The fix is an Overtime roster spot. In this spot you could put any player, and that player’s points only count in the event the regular starting lineups end in a tie.
Don’t praise me for this wonderful idea. It was created by Rudy Menendez and was offered at the original Fanball site’s Exit 42 leagues years ago, yet somehow was lost in the transition to big fantasy box stores like ESPN and Yahoo. Imagine that, a wonderful idea like an OT player falls victim to fantasy Darwinism, but PPR survives like a roach.
The one other major change is in roster construction. We’ll start basically enough — one QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE, one Flex and a defense/special teams. But we’ll get rid of kickers. They add no strategy to the draft, no strategy in terms of adds/drops other than to avoid bye weeks, they add virtually nothing of value to the experience. So kickers get the boot.
But we will add one other position. That spot is a Superflex. Now, because you can play a QB in the Superflex, you might be thinking that the option conflicts with our real-football-in-fantasy-football ideology, and you would be right.
Routine roster requirements, however, leave QBs enormously undervalued. But virtually any principle has a threshold at which you will overlook that standard. For us, eliminating the QB value issue is more important than our misgivings about real-world divergence.
So pipe down over there about our hypocrisy. Like we said, perfection is hard.
Outside of ridding ourselves of PPR, the only other minor wrinkles to basic scoring would be: going with 4 points per passing TD instead of 5, since adding a Superflex fixes our QB value inequity. We would score one point for a forced fumble and one point for a recovery, rather than just two for a recovery. That way, the DST is rewarded for causing the fumble as well, while also deemphasizing the random nature of recoveries. Plus, a point for forcing fumble and a point for recovery means the DST still get two for recovering.
And last thing, on fake punts or field goals, the DST, not individual players, gets credit for any fantasy points produced. The first reason for that is simple: the special teams are on the field, so any scoring should go to the DST since that includes special teams. Plus, any scoring normally is done by a kicker or punter or backup QB or deep backup — in other words, a player rarely on anyone’s roster, and virtually never in anyone’s lineup. Why have phantom fantasy points if you can avoid it? Especially when avoiding makes so much more logical sense anyway.
To put this perfect roster together, you need a draft, and auction drafts are always superior to redraft.
And there you have it: a perfect fantasy league. So call up your league provider and demand those options. Text your commissioner and let them know they need to change it up. Then it’s all up to you to pick the perfect roster. I mean, we’ve already done all the hard work here. You’re welcome, now enjoy.
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