New Dynasty Format. Nothing Like It (that I know of). Opinions Wanted

[MEuRaH]

I just had an idea for a dynasty format and I got a little excited about it. 14 or 16 team league. The goal of the league is to keep all teams engaged all year long by creating a system that allows teams to earn a playoff spot as the year unfolds. The league will generate a 4-team qualifying playoff bracket on a weekly basis. The winner of that bracket earns a guaranteed playoff spot, 1 of 12 total. There are no head-to-head games (in the regular season, that is), as qualifying for a bracket is based on total points per week, earned by the top 4 teams. The better teams will obviously have a chance to earn multiple spots in the playoffs, and this also gives the bad teams a sliver of hope on a weekly basis so there's no reason to tank.

EXAMPLE:

Week 1: All teams play a starting lineup. The top 4 teams, based on total points, will be put into a 4-team qualifying bracket (Bracket A). #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3. These teams play each other beginning next week.

Week 2: All teams play another starting lineup. The top 4 teams again are put into a 2nd qualifying bracket (Bracket B). Meanwhile, the losers from Bracket A are eliminated, and the winners from Bracket A will play each other next week.

Week 3: All teams play another starting lineup. The top 4 teams are put into a 3rd qualifying bracket (Bracket C). The Losers from Bracket B are eliminated, and the winners from Bracket B play each other next week. The sole winner from Bracket A has successfully qualified for a playoff spot.

The weeks continue like this for 10 weeks. Due to the regular season ending on Week 12, the Week 11 outcome will create a small 2-team bracket for the top 2 teams only. Week 12 will have 3 qualifiers (The 4 team bracket winner that was created week 10, the 2 team from 11, and the overall points leader from Week 12 will earn the final spot).

The playoffs now have 12 teams. The top 4 teams in the playoffs, based on total points for the season, get a bye week. If the top team in the league happens to have qualified for the playoffs four times, then they get all 4 bye week spots. Playoffs are then played without reseeding until a champ is declared

Undecided on roster format, but it'll probably be a 12-man keeper because that helps keeps teams even in the long term of the league (my most successful league uses this. It's so popular I have a people asking to join it all the time but rarely do any of the 32 owners opt out), and also helps create longer rookie/vet drafts (12 rounds instead of just 4).

Thoughts?

[MEuRaH]

A question just proposed off-site was: How would playoff seeding work.

I think the only thing guaranteed can be the playoff spots first. After all 12 teams have been determined, the seeds will be rearranged so that the top seeds play the bottom seeds, with the top 4 teams/seeds earning a bye week. No reseeding.

That's my initial thought.

[ArrylT]

So if I am reading correctly - after Week III 1 team from Bracket A has clinched a playoff spot*. Are they still competing on a weekly basis in future brackets? Either way you might have an issue.

If they are still competing technically they could win all the playoff spots by winning each bracket. Otherwise your brackets decrease by 1 team each week after Week III which will increase the odds for each team remaining.

IE 1 of 16, then 1 of 15 then 1 of 14 then 1 of 13 etc.

I suppose they could compete but be barred from winning but then whats to stop a team from coasting if they clinch a playoff spot early?

* Week I - 16 teams compete
Week II - 4 teams compete in Bracket A
Week III - 2 teams compete in Bracket A

[MEuRaH]

So if I am reading correctly - after Week III 1 team from Bracket A has clinched a playoff spot*. Are they still competing on a weekly basis in future brackets? Either way you might have an issue.

If they are still competing technically they could win all the playoff spots by winning each bracket. Otherwise your brackets decrease by 1 team each week after Week III which will increase the odds for each team remaining.

IE 1 of 16, then 1 of 15 then 1 of 14 then 1 of 13 etc.

I suppose they could compete but be barred from winning but then whats to stop a team from coasting if they clinch a playoff spot early?

* Week I - 16 teams compete
Week II - 4 teams compete in Bracket A
Week III - 2 teams compete in Bracket A

This is true, but I figured it would be very rare to see a team in a league that size completely dominate the playoffs. Good point though.

I’ll have to take a few 14 and 16 leagues and simulate a season and see what happens. Maybe put a cap on playoff spots if I need to. Great point ty for the response.

[thebeast]

Not much feedback other than to say cool idea. Haven’t heard of anything like it and once kinks are worked out it sounds like it could be a really fun league! Good job.

[thebeast]

So if a team goes 3-0 to start the season they automatically make the playoffs?

No. The 4 highest scoring teams in week one go into a mini two-week playoff, and the 4 highest scoring teams in week two go into a mini two-week playoff (could be all the same teams or all different teams). The winner of the two-week playoff brackets win entry into the season end playoffs.

[Pet_Smith]

I like it. If you've been truly dominant, then can maybe expect 4 playoff spots -> but you set one lineup or allowed to set one per spot? And then get an extra bye if two of your spots are drawn against each other.

[ninotoreS]

Interesting. I'm gonna bookmark this thread.

[MEuRaH]

Interesting. I'm gonna bookmark this thread.

Took me several hours to test-run several season. It turns out that the top 6 teams to make the playoffs in a standard 14 team format would be nearly the same 6 teams to make the playoffs in this proposed format.

And then the outcomes were nearly identical too. The top team ended up winning 5 of the 6 hypothetical playoffs I had suggested above.

So even though the format is very different, the outcome is still the same. Do I even bother going through with this format anymore? Would it at least keep all teams engaged right down to the very end? I dunno...

[Pet_Smith]

2 teams in my 14 team redraft are currently 3-8 with no shot at the playoffs (3rd and 8th highest PF)

I've just run through for this year as if we were doing your format; one of them has definitely got a playoff slot, the other most likely depending on how to adjudicate draws (tie in one of the bracket finals - I gave it to the highest score in the semi, in which case both of them). And both of them are in the bracket final for the last week for another shot.

So I think it definitely has merit and would get you different results, but only if you can be bothered! Would need to agree how to sort ties though as there were a couple I had to deal with

[ArrylT]

Interesting. I'm gonna bookmark this thread.

Took me several hours to test-run several season. It turns out that the top 6 teams to make the playoffs in a standard 14 team format would be nearly the same 6 teams to make the playoffs in this proposed format.

And then the outcomes were nearly identical too. The top team ended up winning 5 of the 6 hypothetical playoffs I had suggested above.

So even though the format is very different, the outcome is still the same. Do I even bother going through with this format anymore? Would it at least keep all teams engaged right down to the very end? I dunno...

I am impressed you spent the time to test run it - you get kudos for that alone. It is always great to check a hypothesis regardless of results and thanks for (a) sharing this idea and (b) checking to see viability through simulation.

[ninotoreS]

Does it matter if the ultimate result isn't all that different if the journey to get there is more interesting?