Westeros Experts League 2017

[Mya Stone]

I was really, really mad that I slept until 4pm on Sunday - working nights is not conducive to watching the injury report, but was so relieved I eked that W out. 

This week is tough with my two RB horses on bye. 

We'll see. 

[Mudguard]

35 minutes ago, Whiskeyjack said:

Feel like I'm headed in the opposite direction.  Too many injuries.  I've probably lost about $100 in value in OBJ, Cook, and Carson.

Expect I'll end up around 7-6.

Your team is still very good, despite the big losses to OBJ and Cook.  Dak has been putting up huge numbers for the past month, and Jacksonville has been putting up crazy numbers comparable to a RB1.  Don't know if that can last, but they've been doing it for 7 games already and their schedule over the next 6 games is very favorable.  Without the injuries though, you'd probably have a 2000 pt team.

[JJ Lannister]

2 weeks in a row losing a starting QB. Son of a bitch!

[Week]

Great, Belichick trades my Brady handcuff. Unless ... Handsome Jimmy to the rescue in six days!? I would love to not play Drew Stanton (against the 49ers).

So glad to see that I - single-handedly - saved our commissioner from Jaxoming. Because. Fuck. I don't want that job.

[Jaime L]

20 hours ago, Week said:

Great, Belichick trades my Brady handcuff. Unless ... Handsome Jimmy to the rescue in six days!? I would love to not play Drew Stanton (against the 49ers).

So glad to see that I - single-handedly - saved our commissioner from Jaxoming. Because. Fuck. I don't want that job.

That ~45 points a week Wentz/Fuller have provided have been mighty helpful getting Riverrun back on its feet. As a small token of my appreciation, I have decided not to start Le'Veon and Juju against you this week. 

[Jaime L]

Week 8 Power Rankings

1) Whiskeyjack: 50-22
2) Mya: 42-30
3) Mudguard: 41-31
4) Week:  39-33
5) Dunknegg: 38-34
6) Jaime:  37-35 
7) POTN:  33-39
8) Pyro: 29-43
9) JJ Lannister: 26-46
10) Bronn:  25-47

We've also seen the inverse of the "2nd place = 1st loser" trend. This was the 3rd time this season the 2nd lowest scoring team faced the lowest scoring one. For those scoring at home, that means the 2nd highest scoring team in a given week is now 4-4 on the season whereas the 2nd lowest scoring team in a given week is 3-5. Theoretically this is still a skill game. 

There's also now a 5 way tie for first place with no team better than 5-3. 

[JJ Lannister]

21 hours ago, Jaime L said:

Week 8 Power Rankings

1) Whiskeyjack: 50-22
2) Mya: 42-30
3) Mudguard: 41-31
4) Week:  39-33
5) Dunknegg: 38-34
6) Jaime:  37-35 
7) POTN:  33-39
8) Pyro: 29-43
9) JJ Lannister: 26-46
10) Bronn:  25-47

We've also seen the inverse of the "2nd place = 1st loser" trend. This was the 3rd time this season the 2nd lowest scoring team faced the lowest scoring one. For those scoring at home, that means the 2nd highest scoring team in a given week is now 4-4 on the season whereas the 2nd lowest scoring team in a given week is 3-5. Theoretically this is still a skill game. 

There's also now a 5 way tie for first place with no team better than 5-3. 

I was on the winning end of that twice, and the losing end once. I honestly have no idea how my team is 5-3. Two more wins should get me in the playoffs. A tremendous amount of luck will hopefully keep me from getting jaxomed.

[Week]

Trade between POTN and I --

I get [smokin'] Jay Cutler

POTN gets [Handsome] Jimmy G

Trade of short term value (I need a QB for Brady's bye this week) for long term value (Jimmy G starting after the bye).

 

Speaking of trades, seems like they are ultimately down this year -- we just keep exchanging waiver-level guys in add/drop. The list of transactions is pretty funny with the flurry of dominoes after a pickup/drop.

[Whiskeyjack]

3 hours ago, Week said:

Speaking of trades, seems like they are ultimately down this year -- we just keep exchanging waiver-level guys in add/drop. The list of transactions is pretty funny with the flurry of dominoes after a pickup/drop.

Its easily the most boring season we've ever had.

[Week]

15 minutes ago, Whiskeyjack said:

Its easily the most boring season we've ever had.

Boring view while perched in 1st place in record and power rankings (by 8 games -- the next largest gap is 3 games) -- ho-hum

[Bronn Stone]

2 minutes ago, Week said:

Boring view while perched in 1st place in record and power rankings (by 8 games -- the next largest gap is 3 games) -- ho-hum

Making a trade early on that completely destroys your trade partner's ability to compete is not a way to encourage further trading activity.

[Whiskeyjack]

4 minutes ago, Week said:

Boring view while perched in 1st place in record and power rankings (by 8 games -- the next largest gap is 3 games) -- ho-hum

My team kind of sucks now, after the injuries.

But thats not really what I mean. 

Most people in this league like to draft their team and then stick to add/drop transactions and minor bye week trades.  Makes for a boring season. 

[Week]

3 minutes ago, Bronn Stone said:

Making a trade early on that completely destroys your trade partner's ability to compete is not a way to encourage further trading activity.

:/ I made a trade early on the severely damaged my own ability to compete. Oh well. There have been 9 trades with about 3 of consequence -- I don't think any have been as profoundly negative as mine.

1 minute ago, Whiskeyjack said:

My team kind of sucks now, after the injuries.

But thats not really what I mean. 

Most people in this league like to draft their team and then stick to add/drop transactions and minor bye week trades.  Makes for a boring season. 

I was only kidding - I know and agree to an extent. For me, it's more the lack of activity here. Old leagues used to have dozens of pages -- we're on page 15.

[Whiskeyjack]

2 minutes ago, Bronn Stone said:

Making a trade early on that completely destroys your trade partner's ability to compete is not a way to encourage further trading activity.

I know you're just doing your normal thing here.  And that's fine.  But regardless - I doubt anybody in this league is so fragile that the sight of that trade froze them into inactivity for the remainder of the season.

All I'm saying is that in a fun league, every player would want to be active and make moves to improve his team.  Everyone would be sending out multiple offers/messages each week, people would be engaging in back and forth discussions, and there would be a lot more action.  This league is pretty far from that.  I was wrong to say this is the most boring season, because its actually been this way for a few years.  The only exception was when Jace was in the league - she actually made things interesting for a year.

Somebody will probably reply that she ended up getting bounced due to her deals, and yeah, thats true.  But at least it was fun.  And no, I'm not saying that as the result of any trades with her - pretty sure we didn't get a deal done in experts last year.

[Week]

7 minutes ago, Whiskeyjack said:

I know you're just doing your normal thing here.  And that's fine.  But regardless - I doubt anybody in this league is so fragile that the sight of that trade froze them into inactivity for the remainder of the season.

In a vacuum*, undoing the trade from the start of this year would not swing a single game for the HHH. 

 

*assuming that Allen and Kelce slot back in every week for Pyro

[Bronn Stone]

The reason you have hunkered down owners is that the ones who didn't hunker down got eliminated for it.

[Week]

Nevermind.

Suffice to say, that doesn't make any sense.

[Jace, Extat]

WEFFL Media Insider Spicey here with a Deep-Dive into the state of the Leagues.

Sparks have been flying all over the board's Fantasy leagues today. A few strange trades, rhymes of the tymes, and waning fan participation has many questioning whether Experts commissioner is long for his post.

After assuming the role from JJ last year, Experts Commissioner JaimeL was a popular -if unorthodox- choice with the managers throughout Westeros Fantasy. Early returns were great. Trades and commentary in Experts, B, and C were up massively from last year. But then the cracks began to appear. As one team headed by an incompetent owner skewed the power rankings, there was serious contention about they cutting system and Feeder League Primacy.

The confusion raged into the offseason, with doubt lingering over whether this power mad commissioner had overstepped his bounds. Nonetheless, he endured.

Whether or not the Commissioner has overstepped his bounds, the state of the league is set for this year. One senior member of Experts told me anonymously "there cannot be an over reliance on the Commissioner to make the league exciting. The other owners have a job, okay? Their job is to avoid relegation to feeders. If they don't want to trade, why would they? Fuck Hugor." 

And they're right. It isn't the responsibility of the owners in Experts to be flashy or exciting. Their job is to win the league, and failing that maintain the chance to come back next year. Just look at what it takes to make Experts (barring flukes). You have to win a feeder that most of the Experts participate in. The only way you do that with any consistency is either top-notch drafting, trading, or both.

What I see by the lack of trades in Experts is that we have presently 10 owners who all feel to some degree comfortable. Eight weeks in, the tenth place team is three games out of first place. Everyone has a chance at the playoffs at this point, and they think their roster has what it takes to get them there. Sure, maybe that doesn't give you all the razzle and dazzle, but that tells me we have a somewhat diverse cast of football minds in the league this year. By not fighting over select players, I see evidence that the crossover appeal simply isn't there.

Say what you will about whether it gets your heart racing, I'm eager to see how it all shakes out.

When I asked an anonymous former Experts Manager what he thought about this year's action they said "This year has been no less exciting than any other, except perhaps 2016, in its own way. But regarding the Commissioner... I am capable of only love and hate. And I hate Commissioner Jaime L."

I'm your Spice, you be the life.

[Week]

#TraderApes4eva

[Bronn Stone]

1 minute ago, Week said:

That makes no fuck sense.

Makes perfect sense to me.
Aggressive trading in this league has generally lead to losing.
Not making aggressive trades leads to not losing. 

The amount one has to offer to make an owner in this league move, especially among those owners who've watched WJ fleece n00bs over and over again, has become so absurd that it is generally a bad strategy to initiate trades.