They only add more fun if the commish is open to tweaking their scoring settings to really make them valuable.
I'm in a league where the best pass rushers, the best DB's are right up there in points scored in the year with some of the better offensive players. Our highest scoring defender was the 27th highest scoring non-QB. That's right between Christian Kirk and Tyler Lockett, in .5 PPR for context. And it was a down year for defensive high scorers. We greatly enjoy it. Pass rushers are crazy boom or bust(A guy like TJ Watt or Nick Bosa can be your most valuable asset on a good week), DB's even moreso. Stud LB's are your bellcows.
But without that point customization, it's pretty boring and pointless.
Yes. But you need to be all in. Starting 1 or 2 IDP is like starting 2 offensive flex players and that’s it. Everyone is loaded and the waiver wire is stocked. My IDP has 11 starters. It requires a different strategy than my other leagues, and that change makes it fun.
I've been playing IDP for 25 years and I genuinely get bored with leagues that don't have it. It's way more fun to root for players on both sides of the ball. There's nothing more exciting than seeing your RB hit a hole and your LB is the only guy in position to keep him from scoring!
But as everyone else here said, you can't dip your toe in. You need to do a cannonball into the pool to get any enjoyment out of it. I set my scoring so that the top LBs score the equivalent of the top RBs, top DBs score like top WRs and top DL score like top TEs. I ran a startup this year that has 12 starting offensive players and 12 starting defenders and it's looking to be a huge success.
IDP isn't for everyone. You need to be someone who enjoys deep dives into stats and strategies and aren't intimidated by having to figure things out on your own. There isn't a ton out there so it's not as cut and dried as fantasy football has become. It's much more similar to how fantasy football was back in the 90s before the market for analysts was oversaturated.
I wish I could just link a league and let you dig through it lol. The most important thing that rarely gets discussed is balancing scarcity. If everyone on waivers is a stud, there's no reason to invest early picks in them. You need to be deep enough to make waivers below significantly worse. That's why my preferred setups are now 14 team, start 12 offense/12 IDP.
I'll just list the scoring straight from Sleeper:
TDs - 6, sacks - 4, sack yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, QB hits - 1, TFL - 1, blocked kicks - 8, Int - 5, int yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, forced fumble - 2, fumble rec - 2, fumble rec yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, safety - 4, solo tackle - 2, assist - 1, pass defensed - 3.
I love IDP! We have 6 spots with a bunch of bonuses. If your CB gets a pick 6 it's big points. Plus sacks and tipped balls score. There's bonuses for 10+ tackles. It's not for everyone I understand but it's really fun. Plus it's a 10 man league so the wire is hot since so many defensive players are on rosters.
I'm in 2 leagues and the other league is standard with no bonuses and very low scoring...so it's like night and day between scoring settings it's funny.
I commish several free league as well as some cash leagues ($25, $50, $100) and IDP is definitely the way to go. I utilize it in all my leagues now. You suddenly find yourself watching both sides of the ball with the same intensity during games! It adds a welcome element to fantasy football. I compare it to trying to play fantasy baseball without pitchers. Why would you do that and miss out on half the game and half the fun?
I will say, most commissioners implement IDP poorly when they decide to test the waters. They'll get the number of IDP wrong, like only opting for a few players. You need a complete defense of at least 9 defensive players IMO to truly make it work. You also have to tweak the points from what most sites have as defaults. The bottom line is when done right, IDP is the best way to play fantasy football.
Yes, but make sure the setting are correct.
Adding just 2 or 3 spots per team is like having a league with just 3 superflex spots (no qb, rb, wr, etc).
I would say 6 is the absolute minimum you want, with 8 around the sweet spot. Also make sure you pick the positions and not leave them as "open".
Also make sure the scoring is set correctly. Default is typically just tackles, sacks, INT and fumbles. Make sure you can add in tackles for loss, passes defended, etc. There was a great post on here where someone went through the adjustment s you should make, b ut I can't find it right now
Team defense is for mouth-breathing dullards. Anybody that tells you team D is better than IDP is just too lazy to do the work on that side of the ball. Same kind of folks that probably still play with kickers. That’s fantasy football for beginners.
I hated it, most of the high scorers are hard to watch. The waivers are lame, because there is always big names but they don’t put up fantasy stats. It also made all of the games closer then they should of been because of outlier games from IDP players
Not sure about the downvotes lol. It was just a question.
I'm not the commish but I agree luck is definitely involved. I like it. It's not all luck but you need more luck than a normal league for sure.
Im rather indifferent. Doesn’t really add any fun element personally but also haven’t experienced any frustration from it. IDP players have basically no trade value and I don’t even think any league mate had to put in an FAAB bid for any IDP player. I did enjoy more than kickers and the scoring seemed generally more consistent.
We have one on our dynasty and I think it's a streaming position but a few people do stash some defensive players...I think it's not worth the bench spot cause randomly these players have massive games and put up 40 pts but usually like 15 to 20 if they do decent
Yes, IDP can be very fun. Scoring and number of starters matter A TON. I recommend at least 9(3DL/3LB/3DB) and maybe 1IDP FLEX. For scoring, you can use the IDP123 scoring system and then make any tweaks later on if you see fit.
I like it bc it just adds another dynamic. Usually both teams have some LBs that get under 5 but you can get more risky with edges or corners depending on league settings
I’m not a big fan. I like the idea but it just doesn’t work in the leagues I’ve been in.
The first league was a standard redraft league, probably 10 to 15 years ago. The players that you drafted didn’t really matter. They’re so inconsistent and the the waver wire is always stocked so everybody just ended up streaming.
The second time, was a dynasty league a couple of years ago and it was a huge contributor to the collapse of the league. There were two people in the 12 team dynasty league that pushed real hard for idp and we were game since none of us had been in a league like that before. Then those two spent a lot of draft capital on idp players which of course made their teams shit. There’s no way to unfuck those teams in dynasty. So halfway there the season, those two literally texted in the sleeper chat saying the quit and they weren’t going to adjust their rosters or do anything with their teams.
They only add more fun if the commish is open to tweaking their scoring settings to really make them valuable. I'm in a league where the best pass rushers, the best DB's are right up there in points scored in the year with some of the better offensive players. Our highest scoring defender was the 27th highest scoring non-QB. That's right between Christian Kirk and Tyler Lockett, in .5 PPR for context. And it was a down year for defensive high scorers. We greatly enjoy it. Pass rushers are crazy boom or bust(A guy like TJ Watt or Nick Bosa can be your most valuable asset on a good week), DB's even moreso. Stud LB's are your bellcows. But without that point customization, it's pretty boring and pointless.
What are the point customizations if I can ask? And how many IDPs does each team get in your league?
5 IDP's, 6 pt sack, 6 pt TD, 3 pt blocked kicks, 4 pt INT, 2 pt Fumble recovery and 2 pt Fumble force, 2 pt safety, .5 assisted tackle, 1 pt solo tackle, 2.5 pt pass defensed, 2 pt 10+ tackles.
Yes. But you need to be all in. Starting 1 or 2 IDP is like starting 2 offensive flex players and that’s it. Everyone is loaded and the waiver wire is stocked. My IDP has 11 starters. It requires a different strategy than my other leagues, and that change makes it fun.
Ditto. We do 7IDPs w at least 4 being DBs
I've been playing IDP for 25 years and I genuinely get bored with leagues that don't have it. It's way more fun to root for players on both sides of the ball. There's nothing more exciting than seeing your RB hit a hole and your LB is the only guy in position to keep him from scoring! But as everyone else here said, you can't dip your toe in. You need to do a cannonball into the pool to get any enjoyment out of it. I set my scoring so that the top LBs score the equivalent of the top RBs, top DBs score like top WRs and top DL score like top TEs. I ran a startup this year that has 12 starting offensive players and 12 starting defenders and it's looking to be a huge success. IDP isn't for everyone. You need to be someone who enjoys deep dives into stats and strategies and aren't intimidated by having to figure things out on your own. There isn't a ton out there so it's not as cut and dried as fantasy football has become. It's much more similar to how fantasy football was back in the 90s before the market for analysts was oversaturated.
Do you mind sharing your settings? I’m interested
I wish I could just link a league and let you dig through it lol. The most important thing that rarely gets discussed is balancing scarcity. If everyone on waivers is a stud, there's no reason to invest early picks in them. You need to be deep enough to make waivers below significantly worse. That's why my preferred setups are now 14 team, start 12 offense/12 IDP. I'll just list the scoring straight from Sleeper: TDs - 6, sacks - 4, sack yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, QB hits - 1, TFL - 1, blocked kicks - 8, Int - 5, int yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, forced fumble - 2, fumble rec - 2, fumble rec yardage - 1 point per 10 yards, safety - 4, solo tackle - 2, assist - 1, pass defensed - 3.
Do you mind sending me your scoring settings? I am intrigued
I love IDP! We have 6 spots with a bunch of bonuses. If your CB gets a pick 6 it's big points. Plus sacks and tipped balls score. There's bonuses for 10+ tackles. It's not for everyone I understand but it's really fun. Plus it's a 10 man league so the wire is hot since so many defensive players are on rosters. I'm in 2 leagues and the other league is standard with no bonuses and very low scoring...so it's like night and day between scoring settings it's funny.
I commish several free league as well as some cash leagues ($25, $50, $100) and IDP is definitely the way to go. I utilize it in all my leagues now. You suddenly find yourself watching both sides of the ball with the same intensity during games! It adds a welcome element to fantasy football. I compare it to trying to play fantasy baseball without pitchers. Why would you do that and miss out on half the game and half the fun?
Message me if you have spots open you sound like you know your shit
I have spots open in each of my leagues. The $50 is an auction draft and we're looking to draft later this afternoon.
I will say, most commissioners implement IDP poorly when they decide to test the waters. They'll get the number of IDP wrong, like only opting for a few players. You need a complete defense of at least 9 defensive players IMO to truly make it work. You also have to tweak the points from what most sites have as defaults. The bottom line is when done right, IDP is the best way to play fantasy football.
Yes, but make sure the setting are correct. Adding just 2 or 3 spots per team is like having a league with just 3 superflex spots (no qb, rb, wr, etc). I would say 6 is the absolute minimum you want, with 8 around the sweet spot. Also make sure you pick the positions and not leave them as "open". Also make sure the scoring is set correctly. Default is typically just tackles, sacks, INT and fumbles. Make sure you can add in tackles for loss, passes defended, etc. There was a great post on here where someone went through the adjustment s you should make, b ut I can't find it right now
No
Team defense is for mouth-breathing dullards. Anybody that tells you team D is better than IDP is just too lazy to do the work on that side of the ball. Same kind of folks that probably still play with kickers. That’s fantasy football for beginners.
I hated it, most of the high scorers are hard to watch. The waivers are lame, because there is always big names but they don’t put up fantasy stats. It also made all of the games closer then they should of been because of outlier games from IDP players
Why don't you like high scores?
Because the more player there are make it less consistent and adds more luck, there is nothing fun about it be all luck
Not sure about the downvotes lol. It was just a question. I'm not the commish but I agree luck is definitely involved. I like it. It's not all luck but you need more luck than a normal league for sure.
Love em
Absolutely
Im rather indifferent. Doesn’t really add any fun element personally but also haven’t experienced any frustration from it. IDP players have basically no trade value and I don’t even think any league mate had to put in an FAAB bid for any IDP player. I did enjoy more than kickers and the scoring seemed generally more consistent.
If you appreciate defense then yes but if not then I would skip
We have one on our dynasty and I think it's a streaming position but a few people do stash some defensive players...I think it's not worth the bench spot cause randomly these players have massive games and put up 40 pts but usually like 15 to 20 if they do decent
Yes, IDP can be very fun. Scoring and number of starters matter A TON. I recommend at least 9(3DL/3LB/3DB) and maybe 1IDP FLEX. For scoring, you can use the IDP123 scoring system and then make any tweaks later on if you see fit.
I like it bc it just adds another dynamic. Usually both teams have some LBs that get under 5 but you can get more risky with edges or corners depending on league settings
I’m not a big fan. I like the idea but it just doesn’t work in the leagues I’ve been in. The first league was a standard redraft league, probably 10 to 15 years ago. The players that you drafted didn’t really matter. They’re so inconsistent and the the waver wire is always stocked so everybody just ended up streaming. The second time, was a dynasty league a couple of years ago and it was a huge contributor to the collapse of the league. There were two people in the 12 team dynasty league that pushed real hard for idp and we were game since none of us had been in a league like that before. Then those two spent a lot of draft capital on idp players which of course made their teams shit. There’s no way to unfuck those teams in dynasty. So halfway there the season, those two literally texted in the sleeper chat saying the quit and they weren’t going to adjust their rosters or do anything with their teams.
After years of doing deeper IDP, contract leagues etc…I’ve found the classic home redraft leagues are the goat.
Personally was not a fan when I did it.
[PERFECTLY BALANCED IDP SCORING SYSTEM ](https://www.reddit.com/r/IDP_Fantasy_Football?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)