By studying the rules of both the FFPC and the FPC along with some of the history and previous performances by FPC players, insights can be found that will help many players to not only compete well in both contests but also to be in a position to win their league and be in the running for a top prize in the championship round.
As the summer rolls on, I will continue analyzing many aspects of the Footballguys Players Championship and the Fantasy Football Players Championship. Through these articles, I hope to provide extra help with fully understanding how to best build a top-notch fantasy team within the contest. As someone who has competed against the best players in the world and in several contests much like the FPC and the FFPC, I fully understand how every possible advantage and extra edge can make all the difference in the world.
THE WAIVER WIRE
Under the microscope this time around is the special Waiver Wire / Free Agent Rules for additional player pickups after the draft. According to the rules of the Footballguys Players Championship, the rules for Free Agents are implemented as follows:
Blind Bid Waiver Wire, with Conditional Bidding Groups – The free agent blind bidding process is the only means by which free agents may be acquired in the FPC. There are no other ways to acquire free agents like ‘worst-to-first’ and ‘first-come-first-served’ or any other waiver methods other than blind bidding as described here and in the official rules. Each team will be given $1000 blind bidding “dollars” (not real money, just bidding dollars) to be used for the entire season. There are two (2) weekly free agencies on Wednesday & Friday, cut off at 10:00 pm Eastern. NFL players whose teams played on Thursday may be dropped from FFPC rosters on Friday as long as they were not in that team’s Thursday’s starting lineup. IMPORTANT: once these bidding dollars are used up, you will no longer have the ability to pick up free agents. Bids will remain hidden from the rest of the league until after all the winning bids have been awarded. Free-agent players will be awarded to the team with the highest bid for that free agent, and the winning bid amount will be deducted from that team’s free-agent dollars. Besides the winning bid, all other bids for that free agent are considered losing bids and are canceled. At this point, the highest remaining bid by any team for any remaining free agent will be considered.
The team with this winning bid will be awarded the free agent and all losing bids for that free agent will be canceled. This process will continue until every remaining bid has been considered. The FPC has extended the free agent time period (for playoff teams) beyond the 11-week regular season into weeks 12 and 13. All teams NOT qualifying into the League Playoffs will have their rosters locked at the end of Week 11 and will no longer have the ability to make free agent moves. There are no free agent moves for any teams in Weeks 14-16.
Additional details for these rules can be found here, but for thoroughness, here are some changes for 2019:
Expanded Free Agency: (NEW RULE) Starting in 2016 there will now be TWO “pre-season” free agency processes. The first is scheduled on the Friday prior to Labor Day weekend, at 10:00 pm Eastern for any FPC league which draft concludes on or before the Thursday prior to Labor Day weekend. The second is scheduled on Wednesday after Labor Day weekend, at 10:00 pm Eastern for any FPC league which draft concludes on or before Tuesday, after Labor Day weekend. All FPC leagues drafted on or after Wednesday, after Labor Day weekend will begin free agency after NFL Week 1 has concluded.
Extended Waivers for League Playoff Teams – The 4 qualifying League Playoff teams can continue to pick up players during Weeks 12 and 13. This represents a needed upgrade compared to other formats. The FPC League Playoffs and Championship Round run for five weeks. Due to this, we felt that an additional two weeks of waivers is vital for efficient roster management. This can lead to increased strategy decisions. Free Agency money has increased value for playoff teams. Do you “go for it” if you are close? Or save your FA dollars if you make the League Playoff weeks? You decide, not the schedule; and that’s part of the challenge – and flexibility – of the FPC in-season team management.
So how do you figure out this process, especially if you are new to blind bidding? First of all, as with any league or contest, you must read over the rules a few times and try to understand all of them. For example, it is important to understand that for the majority of teams, free agency is over after Week 10 of the NFL schedule (prior to Week 11 of the FPC), and the latest it will go is just two more weeks for playoff teams. Additional rules and conditions are there to protect against collusion and to allow for moves before and after Thursday Night Football but can be tricky to understand. When in doubt, just assume you cannot pick up a player cut on the first set of waivers until next week and that once the Thursday game is played, those players are unavailable until the next week as well.
A quick discussion of the basics is in order. Every owner has $1,000 mythical dollars to bid on free agents. The bids can range from $1 to $1,000 in $1 increments, and for each bid, there must be a designated player to be released. Multiple bids are permitted each week but if a team wins more than one bid then they will have to have two different players to drop (this is where one version of conditional bidding would be wise).
To go over all the different implications and nuances of conditional bids would take quite a bit of time, so I will stick to the simpler versions of advice for understanding waivers. Instead of an add/drop waiver wire where either you get new players in a first-come, first-served basis (waiver priority), the playing field is level for all teams. That is actually a good thing for teams that start off the year well, as a 4-0 or 3-1 fantasy team would have next to no chance to get their hands on a hot pickup in Week 5.
While most of the waiver wire activities are geared around Weeks 1-11 of the NFL season, the preseason (before Labor Day Weekend) and postseason (after NFL Week 11) warrant specific discussions. The Expanded Free Agency rule affords FPC team owners that are in leagues that formed earlier in the year (prior to the Thursday before Labor Day Weekend) to make changes before Week 1. That is significant, and owners who are on top of training camp battles could easily benefit here. Knowing which players are likely to enter Week 1 as a new starter will be heavily targeted here - or owners that had drafted two players competing for a starting role can cut one of them in favor of a different prospect.
The Playoff Extended Waivers is also a significant rule. Teams that are poised for the postseason now have a shot at both mid-November late bloomers (Dante Pettis, for example, who was WR11 over NFL Weeks 12-16 last year) to be added to their rosters, but also to round out their teams before the playoff push. This is the best window to pick up an insurance policy player or two (such as a backup kicker, tight end or quarterback) to guard against an injury to a fantasy starter. As a result, teams with strong playoff chances have to save a few Waiver Wire / Free Agency bidding dollars to be certain that these types of moves can be executed.
SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind for managing Free Agency in the FPC contest:
- Do not be afraid to spend early. These drafts are pretty deep (12 teams and 20 rounds = 240 selections) so you would think that the pickings would be pretty slim. Often there are few gems that slip through the cracks, especially in the first week or two. Remember Anquan Boldin in Week 1 several years ago in Arizona? How about Marques Colston? Peyton Hillis or Russell Wilson, anyone? Of course, how about Victor Cruz? Even a few years ago there was Gary Barnidge, and in 2016 there was Stefon Diggs. The point is that a few stars will burst onto the scene in September, and getting them early could take your team up a couple of notches, giving you that extra boost to win your league.
- Odd dollar amounts are a good idea. Bidding an even $100 amount on a player may cost you that player simply because another owner bids $101. Of course, there is no way in telling what the other owners will bid, but human nature is to favor even dollar amounts. Ending a bid in a 2 or 3 instead of a 0 might get the job done.
- Kickers and defenses rule the bye week pickups. Most teams are going to conserve roster spots by only drafting one kicker and one defense. Know this going into your draft and plan accordingly. It might serve your team best to get one or both with later bye weeks, and it certainly is a good idea for their byes not to match if you plan on keeping your drafted defense or kicker all season.
- Roster freezes are important rules to understand. In an effort to prevent collusion or dumping players, any player cut after Week 10 cannot be added to a team (kickers and defenses not included). Keep that in mind if you are dropping a player and hoping to grab them after their bye week, that will not be allowed. It is especially important to note this year as a large number of teams (10) have byes in Week 10 and later.
- Unspent dollars do no good. This one sounds simple, but it is often overlooked. Teams have until Week 11 to spend all of their dollars unless they make the league playoffs - and then they only get two more weeks. Spend all of your $1,000 mythical dollars and be sure you get players you want or need for the postseason. Important update due to rule changes for the postseason waiver wire period for playoff teams - the new Playoff Extended Waiver rule allows playoff-bound teams to make waiver wire moves in Weeks 12 and 13. Hold back some waiver wire money (if you can) for this period to pick up key players for a stronger playoff push.
- Getting a second kicker for the playoffs. While it's understandable to go with one defense for Weeks 14-16, going with one kicker is risky. Believe it or not, kickers are human and they can and do get hurt. Do not give up a championship season because you did not have a backup. Pick one up for a few bucks, especially in the Playoff Extended Waiver period.
- One week early is far better than one week late. This is where a site like Footballguys can really make your season. The price of free agents skyrockets in the event of an injury or a starter change. If you see that a player is possibly one play away from being a starter, grab him if you can before he earns that role. A $5-10 gamble is much, much cheaper and safer than a $300-500 feeding frenzy for the next starting running back in the NFL.
- Rosters are deep, so do not be afraid to hold a couple for free agents. While the FPC does require 10 starters, there are 10 bench spots for depth and other purposes. One of those uses is to have one or two roster spots reserved for bye week help and for free agent speculation. Once bye weeks start to occur, you will be adding and dropping anyway, so use the first three NFL weeks to decide who your first cuts will be when that time comes. Be willing to give up a sixth or seventh wide receiver that rarely gets a few catches in favor of grabbing potential starters.
- Training camp battles are a good thing. This is a nice way to find a starter and also create that extra room on a fantasy team roster. If you grab two players who are battling for touches or starter snaps during your draft, odds are that a clear winner will emerge no later than Week 3 of the NFL schedule. Here is where you can cut the loser and free up that coveted roster space. This is also a great way to take advantage of the pre-season waiver wire rule (for teams drafted before Labor Day Weekend) by cutting the loser of a training camp battle and picking up your kicker, defense or a different prospect just before Week 1.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Every fantasy league and its rulebook is a little different. For the FPC and the FFPC, the free agency period and the waiver wire process is possibly the biggest activity that will happen for your team after your league draft. Learning all the different ways in which the addition of new players can help your team to win your league and hopefully push towards a strong December push towards the overall prize is a key factor in managing your team during the season. Hopefully, some of the ideas presented above will help you to manage your team better and give you that extra advantage you need to win your league.
It takes a little time to get your mind wrapped around a new contest with a new set of rules, but the time spent is often well worth it if the goal is to field a competitive team. Giving a little bit of effort to get a greater understanding of the twists and turns to the rulebook can give turn a good fantasy player into a great one and a great player into a dominant force. Knowledge is power - so be as powerful as you can!
Questions, suggestions, and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.