Fantasy Football Draft Guide

Scoring Format Breakdowns

June 16, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by KFFL Staff

So, did your buddies finally talk you into joining their fantasy football league? Or, did you break down and invest in four gigs of RAM so that you could track all eight of your teams at once? Either way, or for every which way in between, you need to familiarize yourself with the scoring formats that most leagues use to determine their winners.

Scoring formats are the result of assigned point values for the statistics players accumulate during the course of a game or season. For instance, if Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning throws for a touchdown, that's worth a certain number of points. You'll find countless variations on scoring formats, but they all boil down to one of three types: (1) basic scoring, (2) performance scoring and (3) distance scoring. There are advantages and disadvantages to all three, and some leagues even add the ingredients from one to another.

The format, or system, that your league uses depends on a number of factors, such as the level of competitiveness and the relative knowledge of those participating. (How much you plan to neglect your children or significant other can play a part in this decision, too.) It's important to understand the system thoroughly, because the differences between the three will affect each player's value. A player may be more valuable in a basic scoring league than a performance scoring league. How is that possible? Let's see.

BASIC SCORING

If you couldn't tell from the name, this format is the simplest of the three. In this system, an offensive player can only earns points for a scoring play (a TD, field goal, etc.) If your receiver catches two touchdowns in a game, he earns points for those touchdowns. In the most common point system, a touchdown pass is worth four points, a rushing or receiving touchdown is worth six, a field goal is worth three and an extra point is worth one. Team defenses would earn, say, one point for a sack, two points per turnover and six points for a defensive TD.

Basic formats are nice, especially for beginners, because the statistics are easily quantifiable. Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander led the NFL with 27 touchdowns last season - no problem. The drawback is that it doesn't take into account other performance factors like yardage, making less noteworthy players much more of a commodity because, due to their role on their team or nose for the goal line, they may score just as often as an All Pro. One example is Washington Redskins tight end/H-back Mike Sellers, who in 2006 caught 12 passes for 71 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as one touchdown rushing. His seven scores made him, that year, more valuable than New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, who hauled in 65 passes for 891 yards and the same number of touchdowns.

In this format, you'll want to watch for players who fill roles that enable them to score, such as the goal-line back. Players like Atlanta Falcons running back T.J. Duckett tend to take away, or " vulture," end zone trips from players like teammate Warrick Dunn. Note that in this format kickers reach a higher value because, most of the time, they lead the league in scoring. Of course, kickers are still a dime dozen, and are as predictable as a Stanley Kubrick film. If you want a league where kickers don't have so much influence, try another format.

PERFORMANCE SCORING

In a performance league, players still earn points for scoring plays, but they also tally points for yardage. The amount of points for yardage varies, but it typically awards one point for every 20 yards passing or 10 yards rushing and receiving. Such a minor difference has a major impact on any fantasy player's overall production. Take the example that we used for the basic format. Assuming six points for paydirt and the yardage point system described above, Sellers would've accumulated 48 points for his eight touchdowns and seven points for his receiving yards, giving him 55 for the season. Shockey would've totaled 42 points for his seven scores plus 89 points for his receiving yards, which equals 131 points. Just like that, the performance format has doubled the value of one player over another.

You should find out whether your league rewards for other plays like two-point conversions, safeties and special teams touchdowns, or penalizes for performance numbers such as interceptions thrown, fumbles lost and yardage allowed (team defense), as well. These stats can have a profound impact on a player's worth.

There are few negatives associated with performance scoring. One is that if a player gains 109 yards from scrimmage, that outing is still only worth 10 points. To combat this, some leagues employ fractional yardage formats, which would make 109 yards worth 10.9 points. Such discrepancies matter very little, however. And either way, kickers feel a little less important.

DISTANCE SCORING

Distance scoring takes performance scoring a step further. With distance scoring, the length of a scoring play becomes a factor in the number of points the play is worth; the distance the play covers is worth bonus points. In other words, a 46-yard touchdown scamper is worth more points than a four-yard touchdown run. Only scoring plays earn bonus points. Some leagues, for instance, tack on a point for every 10 yards that a scoring play travels. Others award an extra two points for a scoring play of 40 or more yards.

When playing in this format, examine statistics such as average yards per catch, number of rushes for 20-plus yards and number of 40-plus-yard completions. Such preparation may give you the edge in this format. Remember that a kicker's worth rises slightly also: field goals of 40-plus or 50-plus yards are usually worth one or two points more, respectively, per field goal.

Distance scoring adds another piece of excitement to the puzzle. It also means you have to devote more time to evaluating players. And those dang kickers always want a bigger piece of the pie.

Once you grasp the format your league uses, you can formulate rankings that will help you determine who to draft. Many fantasy football sources have already done the work for you, but it's up to you to determine how reliable their rankings, often put into cheat sheets, are. (Unlike school, cheat sheets are welcome here.)

The elements of various scoring systems are forever evolving. Many websites will even manage your league based on a customized scoring system - for a little extra green, of course. A lot of leagues are trending toward the utilization of individual defensive players (IDPs) which may require the redefinition of the league's point system - in addition to stats like sacks or interceptions, players earn points for tackles, forced fumbles and more. As interest grows, fantasy footballers will continue to modify scoring methods in an attempt to make the game more competitive and players feel more like front office bigwigs. Are you ready to become one?

Editor's Note: This article is an updated version of one that has run in previous years. Rather than having a report saying the same thing written again, we felt it would be better served to put our attention towards new pieces of information instead of reinventing the wheel. Some articles, like this one, never go out of style or change in concept but merely need updating.