A Winning Loser

In what may have been the low point for the Truffle Shuffle (my team in one of my three leagues), I lost to a team that started Kevin Faulk and Rock Cartwright at running back against me this week.  It didn't help that it's a two league and I played against McNabb and Brady, but still, Faulk and Cartwright?  Sheesh.

The loss dropped me to 5-5, and in any other year, I'd be nervously fighting for a playoff berth for the next three weeks.  However, thanks to my friend and fellow fantasy enthusiast/writer Christian Peterson, we instituted a new rule in the TC Bombers fantasy league this season.  The league now awards its sixth and final playoff spot to the team with the most total points that hasn't already claimed one of the first five berths.  It's a genius idea, and it helps to institute a fail safe against horribly bad luck.  Teams with the most total points should be in the playoffs, don't you think?

Anyway, the Shuffle is 5-5, but I'm second in total points and have very little chance of falling out of that last playoff spot.  So, I can focus on tweaking my roster for the playoffs right now, just like my luckier counterparts (James, Jeff, and Ben), have been doing for a couple of weeks.

I strongly suggest implementing such a rule in your league.  Christian actually took it one step further in another league I play in with him.  He awards four playoff berths based on won-loss record, one for points, and one for all play record.  All play record is the cumulative total of what your win-loss record would be had you played every other team every week.  My all play record, for example, is 68-41-1 at this point, which is good enough for second place in that category despite my, once again unlucky, 4-6 record.

The main point here is that you should always look to tweak and improve your leagues, even if they have been successful for years.  There are always ways to make things better.  Anyone else have any out-of-the-box ideas?

Cheers,
TFAM