In this issue: A rundown of the season so far Page 3. Draft Day Meeting Summary Page 4. Injury/Suspension Report Page 4. Waiver Wire Tutorial Page 5

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1 The NGFFL Newsletter September 25, 2014

2 Note from the commissioner: Hi everyone. I was intending to put out a newsletter every week, but the new job has completely taken over all my time. That said, I m not going to let a whole month go by without doing anything, so I ll be putting out something monthly at the very least. In this issue: A rundown of the season so far Page 3 Draft Day Meeting Summary Page 4 Injury/Suspension Report Page 4 Waiver Wire Tutorial Page 5 The Basics of Trading w/ team analysis and some suggested trades Page 6-7 Weekly Games announcement! Page 8

3 Week 3 Roundup With 3 weeks of football on the books, this season looks like it shaping up to be a crazy one! There have been more catastrophic problems for fantasy owners in just the first three weeks than full seasons in many other years! But our intrepid team owners have been slogging through it and putting up numbers anyway. The current startings are as follows: Alan s Kobayashi Maruders have made a definitive statement that they re going to be the team to beat this year. With an undefeated 3-0 start, they re also outscoring every other team in the league by at least 10 points a week (on average). They ve broken the 100-point barrier every week and are looking nigh unstoppable. Hot on their heels, also sitting on an undefeated 3-0 record, are Todd s Givin Her All I Can and Herb s Romulan Raiders. That said, both have been a bit lucky, as their average weekly point totals are lower than a number of other teams. We ll see if that luck hold out over the next few weeks, and their schedules look fairly friendly. Steve s Borg and Josh s Wrath of Khan are by themselves at 2-1. Steve s one loss came against Brett s Red Shirt Expendables in week 1, losing by the narrowest margin yet this year, only 0.32 points! Josh lost a close one to Steve in week 3. Both teams look very strong, however, and are scoring in the top 4 of the league on average. It would not be surprising to see these two teams climb the ranks. Almost half the league is sitting at 1-2, and only two teams at 0-3. While certainly not the start any of those owners were hoping for, there s still a ton of time left. With 10 full weeks left to play, the playoff are still wide open to every team in the league. This week (week 4) is what s known as a bye-nado with TONS of fantasy relevant players on byes. This is where the teams with good depth get separated from the ones without!

4 Draft Day Meeting Summary A few owners were not present for the meeting we held on draft day, and those that were probably don t remember the decisions we made. So here s a quick rundown: 1. $5 per week will be set aside for weekly challenges (TBD by commissioner, more on that below) 2. 3 rd Place Prize will be $20, basically winning the entry fee back 3. 2 nd Place Prize will be $40, double the entry fee 4. 1 st Place Prize will be whatever money is left in the pot, or an official NFL jersey of their choosing, or both (note that some money may be needed for trophy construction, but 1 st place will probably be around $120 ish) 5. Week 12 will be Rival Week. Each owner will play their in house rival. It s probably obvious to most of you who that will be, but feel free to look at the schedule in the system to double check, as I already changed it. Your rival is the only team you re guaranteed to play twice this year. 6. Week 13 will be Prove Your Worth Week. Matchups will be set at the beginning of the week, with 1 st place playing 2 nd place, 3 rd place vs 4 th place, etc. This will serve as a pre-playoffs and give everyone one last chance to get a needed win, but only in a fair matchup. In other words, a team that s right on the bubble isn t going to have to win that critical last week matchup against the best team in the league, and the really good teams don t get an easy win. The playing field will be level in week 13. Injury Report This has been a ridiculously weird year for fantasy football owners. Here s a list of players that were drafted in the first 3 rounds that are having major issues: Jamaal Charles RB (pick 1) High ankle sprain keeping him useless and/or out of multiple games Adrian Peterson RB (pick 2) On suspension (possibly for the rest of season) for legal issues Eddie Lacy RB (pick 5) Off to a VERY slow start Drew Brees QB (pick 10) Putting up average QB numbers, but not 1 st round worthy ones Doug Martin RB (pick 12) Knee injury in week 1, out ever since Ryan Matthews RB (pick 18) Sprained MCL in week 2, expected to be out for half the season AJ Green WR (pick 22) Foot injury, put up zero points in week 2 Brandon Marshall WR (pick 24) Ankle Injury making him impossible to predict Arian Foster RB (pick 25) Hamstring injury, kept out of games Not to mention all the other bizarre issues around fantasy relevant players: Ray Rice RB Suspended indefinitely and cut from the Ravens for domestic abuse Josh Gordon WR Suspeded for the whole season for drug use no wait scratch that, he s going to be playing this week nope never mind, actually 4 week suspension um, correct that, 6-8 weeks actually no suspension at all ok finally, got it, 10 week suspension. We ll see him week 12. Tom Brady QB playing like garbage? If not garbage, certainly not like Tom Brady. Wes Welker WR Was on suspension, but returned to active status when the drug policy was revised. Robert Griffin III QB Out for most of the season. Injured his leg when, um, walking? Sam Bradford QB Injured, out for the season Carson Palmer QB Missing multiple games with injuries The list goes on and on. Nobody s team has been completely safe, and all of this personnel churning means that the successful owners are the ones that are actively managing their rosters, speaking of which:

5 Roster Management the waiver wire In general, the fantasy teams that do the best are the ones with owners that are always looking for an edge. A lot of that edge can come from the waiver wire. Many of you are already active with using waivers, but for those that aren t, here s a quick explanation: Most of the time, any players that aren t on any fantasy teams are considered Free agents. You can drop a player to pick up a free agent pretty much whenever you want. However, there are two times when a non-owned player is put on waivers 1) When their NFL team has already played for the week 2) When they re dropped off someone s roster. When a player is on waivers, that means that nobody can pick him up yet. What you can do is put in a claim on him. Multiple people can put claims in on the same player. When enough time has elapsed and that player becomes a free agent again, whoever had the highest waiver priority gets him (more on that in a bit). The whole purpose here is to give everyone a fair chance at players, not just the people that sit on their computers all day and watch it like a hawk. Anytime someone drops a player off their roster, they will go on waivers for a couple of days from the time they are dropped. But they also go on waivers when their real NFL team plays. The reasoning is that if something happens in the game (say Jamaal Charles gets injured), then a nonowned player can suddenly be VERY valuable (like his backup). Once again, having the backup on waivers gives everyone a chance to react and make a claim, rather than just the people sitting in front of the TV on Sunday. A Week in fantasy football runs from Tuesday to the following Monday. Here s the breakdown: Tuesday All free agent players on waivers. Waiver priority is set in reverse order of standings (whoever is in last place gets the highest waiver priority) Wednesday Waiver claims process at early o clock (like 4 am or something) Thursday Thursday night football game, any players on those teams will be on waivers until the following Wednesday Friday Nothing Saturday Nothing Sunday Most of the other NFL games. Any players on those teams will be on waivers until the following Wednesday Monday Monday Night Football, Any players on those teams will be on waivers until the following Wednesday Next Week Starts Tuesday All free agent players on waivers. Waiver priority is set in reverse order of standings (whoever is in last place gets the highest waiver priority) Wednesday Waiver claims process at early o clock (like 4 am or something) And so on So if you followed all that, it basically means that you should check in on Tuesdays and put in waiver claims. But that s only one way to manage your roster, the other is:

6 Trading One of the most fun things about fantasy football is making trades. However, in many leagues (especially leagues with people new to fantasy), there s often a HUGE fear of trading. This league seems to be that way, as there s only been one trade so far and a lot of teams would benefit from some trading. The thing to bear in mind is that 95% of the time, the players on the waiver wire are the dregs. There are tons of WAY more useful guys sitting on the bench for other teams than there are on waivers. Trading is where you go to actually make your team better, not just take potshots and hope you luck out by grabbing someone who surprises us all. Most of the players with real value are already owned, so trading is a must! That said, people are often afraid of it because they think they re going to get screwed. That s not the point of trading. A good trade is mutually beneficial. For instance, the trade Brett and I made last week: I had more WR s than I knew what to do with, but a big crappy hole at RB2. Brett had the exact opposite problem, lots of RB s but a hole at WR2. One of my bench receivers (Jeremy maclin) was really really good. Probably put up points a week. But I had 3 better ones, so the only time he would get playing time would be on bye weeks. Again Brett had the opposite situation with Shane Vereen. While each player was valuable (probably 125 or more points this year), to us they were only worth the they d get during the one week we used them. By trading Maclin for Vereen, I now have a solid handle on my RB2 spot and he has a solid handle on his WR2 spot. We both gave up something extremely valuable (in a vacuum), but ended up with something much more valuable for our specific teams. So here s how to go about trading, it s not rocket science: Step 1) Figure out what your team weaknesses and strengths. Step 2) Figure out everyone else s weaknesses and strengths. (more on this below) Step 3) Find someone that could benefit from something you have, and see if they have something you need. Step 4) Make an offer! Now if you re a team that s been offered a trade, it s good manners to respond within 24 hours. If you like it, accept! If you don t, make a counter offer. It s generally bad form to straight-up reject a trade with no explanation. If you re afraid of getting screwed by someone that knows more about football than you, CBS does a very useful trade value chart. It s not set in stone, but it will give you a good idea of whether it s a fair trade or not. Here s the link:

7 Trade Potential Analysis: Alan s Kobayashi Maruders: Solid at QB. Also very comfy at RB. With Eric Decker and Kyle Rudolph injured, Alan s pretty weak at WR and TE. He s really going to need a lot help at WR, especially for week 9 (because of bye weeks). Alan may be willing to trade away a QB and/or RB for some help at WR or TE. Todd s Giving Her All I Can: Fine at QB. RB1 and WR1 are great, but everything below that is a little inconsistent. Todd may be willing to trade away a couple of high upside speculations (like Robinson, Watkins, etc) for someone that he can count on to give consistent numbers every week. Herb s Romulan Raiders: Very weak at QB. Yikes, Brady and Eli? Brady is not working out the way we all thought he would, and despite an awesome showing this week, Eli is iffy at best. While he s getting hit pretty hard by Bye-Nado, he s pretty comfy at WR and TE. But Lynch is the only solid RB, the rest are very inconsistent. Herb may be willing to trade away some of that depth to get a better QB, maybe even leverage a Lynch trade to solve multiple problems. Steve s Borg: Extremely solid at QB and WR. McCoy is a solid RB1, but all the RB s behind him are still pretty inconsistent. At TE, Gronk is not putting up the numbers he should, so possibly a soft spot there too. Sources tell me that Steve may be willing to trade away a QB (cousins) for some help at RB. Josh s Wrath of Khan: Solid at QB. Stacked at TE! WR s are ok, but some problems at RB. Josh would probably be willing to trade away a TE (Bennet) for some depth at another position. Beth s Tribble Trouble: Fine at QB as long as Brees starts putting up numbers again, but there s a potential problem brewing there. Very comfy at WR and TE. Two decent starters at RB, but zero reliable depth for bye weeks and in case of injuries. Beth would probably be willing to trade away a receiver for some help at RB. Cam s and Jess s Wesley Crushers: Solid at QB. Every other part of his team has been chewed up by suspensions and injuries though. He needs help at WR, RB, and TE. Probably WR the most. He d be well served to trade away Andrew Luck to someone that needs an upgrade at QB, and try to get multiple WR/RB starters in return. Mike s Offside in the Neutral Zone: Awesome at QB. Stacked at WR. Solid at TE. Lots of options at RB, but no real superstars. Mike s team is outstanding, he s just had a couple of bad luck breaks against him to bring him to 1-2. Probably willing to trade multiple WR/QB/TE for a tier 1 RB. Brett s Red Shirt Expendables: Huge problem at QB. A little weak at TE, but not drastically so. Absolutely bonkers good at WR and RB. Same as mike, really good team, probably just bad luck to be 1-2. Probably willing to trade some RB and/or WR for a good QB. Sean s No Intelligent Life Here: Solid at QB and TE. Lots of awesome options at RB, but lots of injury problems. WR s are good, but a little inconsistent, making for a tough-to-predict lineup. Probably willing to trade away some highupside RB s for some consistency. Kym s Beam Me Up Rodgers: Solid at QB. Big problems at RB, WR, and TE. There were a lot of high upside picks here that aren t working out as hoped and a ton of injuries. Probably willing to trade away a QB for some starters at other positions. Brenna and Frank s Set Phasers to Stun: Very comfy at QB and TE. They have a few backups that have been promoted into starting jobs for their NFL teams in their lineup. If those guys work out, they re probably fine at RB. They re a little shallow at WR. Maybe willing to trade away a QB for a reliable WR or RB. Suggested Trades: Cam could trade Andrew Luck to Brett in return for Pierre Thomas and Kelvin Benjamin. Solves Brett s QB problem and gets Cam some much needed starters. Kym could trade Colin Kaepernick to Herb for Greg Olsen and Isaiah Crowell. That would handily solve Herb's QB problem while shoring up the issues at TE/RB for Kym. Alan could trade Terrence West to Brenna and Frank for Antonio Gates. That would be a big step up at TE for Alan, and a solid pair with Ben Tate for Brenna and Frank. That way they'll have the lead RB for Cleveland, whoever than ends up being.

8 Weekly Challenges! Reminder, we agreed to have $5 weekly challenges in addition to the total prize for winning the league. These will be available to everyone, and paid out at the week 17 party/award ceremony. Week 4 This week our weekly contest is the "Battle Captain Challenge." The best captains know how to properly use the talents of the officers serving under them. The best fantasy football owners should too. The winner of the Battle Captain Challenge will be the team that comes closest to the "optimum lineup" between their bench and starting players. This doesn't necessarily mean the highest score, just that the least amount of potential points were left on the bench. Week 5 Next week the weekly contest will be the "Landing Party Challenge." All good Starfleet captains know that the best way to preserve your chain of command is to send your best people down to the surface of an unknown planet (of course), along with one un-named crewman to be killed. Each owner will choose a "Landing Party" out of the players on their roster. 1 starting QB (the 1 st Officer), 1 starting RB (Security Chief), 1 starting WR (Chief Engineer), and 1 player of any position from your bench (the expendable one). The landing party with the highest total wins. Your landing party must be submitted to the commissioner by the start of the Thursday night game (Oct 2nd) to be eligible for this contest. Week 6 The week after that the weekly contest will be the "Nausicaan Bar Fight Challenge. Arguably Captain Picard s closest brush with death was when he got stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan in a bar fight. He survived, but only with an artificial heart. The winner of this challenge will be the team that wins their matchup by the narrowest margin. Week 7 For this week, the weekly contest will be the Dyson Sphere Challenge. When the Enterprise discovered the only known Dyson Sphere, they also discovered that Scotty (from the original series) had kept himself alive by locking himself into the transporter buffer for 75 years. He emerges as spry as ever, and shows the new Enterprise crew what an ancient engineer can do! This is our week to honor the old farts of the NFL. The winner of the Dyson Sphere challenge will be the team with the non-qb player with the highest point total who is over the age of 30. Weekly challenges for weeks 8-11 will be announced later.