Week 2 Power Rankings

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After an inspired week 1 showing, and a some of the hype disappating, Kirk’s Cousins takes the reigns atop the Power Rankings, Hype Zone moving to #2.

Jack jumps the most from #14 to #9, after finishing with the most points this week.

Duncan falls 9 spots after it became apparent Le’Veon’s 2018 presence is in serious jeopardy.

FAAB - Free Agent Acquisition Budget

The standard fantasy waiver wire system sucks, I think most of us can agree on that. Removing the reset in waiver priority with IFL Amendment VII helped, but it's still just not a dynamic free agent system. 

Here to save us all from our frustrations with the waiver system is FAAB, which stands for Free Agent Acquisition Budget.

It's pretty straightforward, but if you don't want to read and prefer to listen to someone explain it, this guy details the basics pretty well:

How it Works

You're given a budget, $100 for the season, during each waiver period you'll bid on players you want to acquire. It's a blind bid, and highest bid takes that player when the waivers process on Wednesday morning. 

NFL.com gives two examples to illustrate (It's call Waiver Acquisition Budget on NFL.com):

• Peyton Manning is available on waivers. Your League Manager has delegated 100 WAB points to each team in your league. You bid 45 points to obtain Peyton Manning and win. Those 45 points will be removed from your budget and you will have 55 WAB points left to bid on players for the rest of the season.
• Arian Foster is available on waivers. You bid 25 points out of the 100 season WAB points your League Manager gave each team. Another owner bids 30 points and wins Arian Foster. The 25 points that you bid will be returned to you and you will still have 100 points in your budget.'

Other important notes from NFL.com rules:

If you and another owner bid for the same player and tied, Waiver Priority will be used to break the tie. This Waiver Priority is determined by the Inverse Order of the Standings. Note that for any acquisitions made in Preseason, the Waiver Priority is determined by the Inverse Order of the Draft.

Say you have used all of your WAB points, you still are able to make claims on players. You can bid "Zero" points and if no one outbids you, you will be awarded the player.

With IFL Amendment IX, the FAAB system will be introduced for the 2018 season.

Pro-tip from Nick in the video above for this system: 

"People who use it for the first time, their bids are going to be very low, they're going to be super cautious about bidding. You give everyone $100, a lot of people are going to be very cautious, only spending $8 - $12 on a single player. If a big player goes down, don't be afraid to spend 30 to 40 to 70 percent of your total budget if he's going to be a playmaker. If a guy that you would select in the first 5 rounds of the draft becomes available, then you should spend a heavy portion of your budget to obtain that player."

Let's Make Waivers Great Again. 

The Commissioner

Best Team Name & The Deal With Hunt

Boy, oh boy, it's that time of year again. Lots to unpack in the coming days, but want to give everyone ample time to come up with their contender for best team name. Here's a refresher on the rules:

• The day after the draft a poll will be posted to vote for best team name based on these criteria: creativity, originality, comedic value, and poignancy
• An appropriate team logo image must be included to qualify, and it's quality and relevance will also factor in to the above vote
• Coach with most votes will get to submit 3 punishment ideas for the league's vote, one of which will be inflicted on the team that comes in last place at the conclusion of the season. Punishments will be non-permanent to the victim, approved by the commissioner prior to submittal, and intended to inflict maximum embarrassment. The 3 submitted punishment ideas will then be voted upon by the entire league, and the last place team must comply or else be banished from the league for all eternity

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Now you may be wondering, "wasn't Hunt the IFL Loser of the Year for 2017? I never heard tell nor saw any evidence that his punishment was doled out". 

Yes, Hunt was the IFL Loser of the Year for 2017 and no, his punishment was not doled. 

In fact, Hunt has been on the run from IFL authorities since early 2018. You see, to fully understand the man that is Tanner Hunt, you must appreciate how seriously he takes fantasy football. Hunt has the 2nd highest overall win-loss percentage in league history and has been a serious X-IA division contender every year with the exception of 2017. 

But Hunt has been plagued by misfortune, because despite his overall win-loss percentage of 59.5%, his real game win-loss percentage is only 48.3%. And so his going 4-11 and losing to TC in the Battle to Not Be Last in 2017 was somewhat of a final straw. Those closest to him say he vanished into the mountains and hinterlands of Montana shortly after the close of the IFL season. 

They say he is searching for his truest fantasy football form in those mountains.

I received some correspondence from Hunt recently and he said his current life would be largely incompatible with fantasy football this season.

With Anton itching to return from his own hiatus, it feels only natural that the two would swap places. Anton has the 3rd highest real game winning percentage at 60%, with a record of 18-12, has a division win and a 2nd place finish under his belt; not to mention one of the best winning streaks in IFL history at 8 straight. His fantasy skill will breathe new life into the X-IA division, a division that is currently sitting last in the all-time division standings. 

The league welcomes Anton and awaits Hunt's return, pending his penalty being paid with interest.

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With that settled, let's take a look at the top 3 team names for 2017 as voted by you, for a little inspiration:

3RD PLACE (6 VOTES)

JOE
THE NUT GRABBING 9 YEAR OLDS

The immortal 9 year old combines with his most potent offensive attack and strikes comedic gold, landing him dangerously close to the title of Best Team Name. The trauma of his victims' probably cost him some votes.

2ND PLACE (7 VOTES)

JESSE
HELM'S DEEP ARCHERY CLUB

LotR will always be fertile territory, and the nostalgia and playfulness of Jesse's entry scored big with Tolkien fans; though not quite universal enough.

1ST PLACE (9 VOTES)

BRADY
TC'S SICK FANTASIES

Much like the rings of Middle-earth, it is said IFL championship rings carry their own curious powers. Hot off his 2016 IFL Championship, Brady divined a team name so darkly comedic, that it Trumped all other contenders. His ring, I fear, was the source of this darkness, and I personally worry for his long-term mental health. Nevertheless, the peers agreed, and TC's SICK Fantasies took the freaking cake for the 2017 Best Team Name. 

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Much more to come.

The Commissioner