Rejoice! It’s time to swap summer watermelons for fall pumpkins because NFL training camps are officially open. Yes, the NFL is back, and with it comes all the gyrations, frustrations, humiliations and celebrations of Fantasy Football. If your current league is mundane or lacks excitement, consider the following Fantasy Billboard suggestions to spice things up.
GYPSIES IN THE CHALICE
The NFL has the Lombardi Trophy, and the hilarious Fantasy Football-themed TV show “The League” named their trophy The Shiva. Your league trophy should have a name as well. Is your league made up of lawyers? Call it the My Cousin Vinny Trophy. Is it an office league? Call it the Dwight Schrute. I was in a league of pastors. The winner won the Holy Grail. OMG!
GEORGE COSTANZA DO THE OPPOSITE WEEK
I was in a league where an owner purposely set bad lineups to lose and improve his draft position for the next season. While unscrupulous, it spawned an interesting idea; who could set the worst lineup in the league? Can you master this domain? Well let’s find out. Pick a random week of the season where all teams play their worst possible players and give a victory to the lowest scoring half of the league. We’re rewarding shrinkage here!
NAME OF THRONES
You can lose your keys, your wallet, your virginity and your hair. But is there anything worse than losing a Fantasy Football game? What if it meant losing your identity with it? That would happen if you employed this rule: Any team that loses to a rival by more than 50 points on any given week will also lose their team’s name. “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” Hence, the victor has the right to rename the vanquished anything he chooses. The Undertakers could become the Duct Tapers. The Kardiac Kids could become the Crackerjack Squids. The Studbears could become the Care Bears.
THEM’S THE RULES
Many Fantasy Leagues make stuff up as they go along. Sometimes it’s the result of a weak commissioner or rapscallion owners. To avoid confrontation and unforeseen circumstances, a rule book should always be in place. If your league website does not offer clearly laid out rules, get the brainiac among you to put together a page or two of expected standards for every franchise owner. Additionally, no rule changes should be allowed once the season begins.
TIS BUT A SCRATCH
It’s archaic that some leagues don’t have an injured reserve option. Forcing teams to roster a player who might not play for six to eight weeks is an unjust burden. If a player misses a game to injury or is listed as “out” on the NFL injury report, make that player eligible for IR. Once a player on IR takes the field again, he must be put on the active roster and a corresponding player must be cut to make room before waivers run for the week. Limit the number of IR candidates to two per team.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Some matchups are juicier than others, and competitive leagues should take notice. If two division leaders face each other in a pivotal battle, have owners place their bets. Pick the victor, the point spread and total points scored. Whoever predicts the most accurate result wins the first waiver wire pick of the week, a free add/drop, or maybe even a discounted entry fee for next year.
FREE FLICKER
12 team leagues offer the perfect setting for a last week regular season free for all. With four divisions of three teams, every squad plays their division rivals twice and every other team once from Weeks 1-13. In Week 14, all teams compete against each other with the highest six scoring teams getting a victory. This final week scramble will have far-reaching implications in the mad dash for a playoff berth.
BE FLEXIBLE
Often a team has a player on their bench they wish they could start, but there’s no room in the standard lineup (1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex RB/WR/TE). Why should that player score points on the pine when he could be scoring points for your team? Add an additional Flex spot and get your bench stud in the game. It will increase scores and make roster depth a much bigger priority.
ONE MAN’S OPINION
Fantasy Football guru Jeff Mans has invaluable insights in his 2024 Draft Guide, available now on FantasyGuru.com. For example, his breakout is Titan QB Will Levis. His WR bust is rookie Xavier Worthy of the Chiefs. Jeff’s player to avoid is the 49er WR Brandon Aiyuk. You’ll never guess who Jeff has ranked the best overall first choice in Fantasy (it’s not Christian McCaffrey). But what should most intrigue the New York fanbase is his Super Bowl pick for the AFC is the Jets. Want more of Jeff’s wisdom? Get 30% off the subscription price from FantasyGuru.com, the finest source for Seasonal, DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) and Sports Gaming advice. Just go to FantasyGuru.com and enter the code NEW30 for instant savings.
Bill Reinhard is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, a columnist and artist for FantasyGuru.com, and author of Jets legend Joe Klecko’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech.