My fantasy football league is approaching its 16th season. We have had 16 teams competing before, but now we are a 14-team league. Although the subject of performance points is bandied about at our league meetings virtually every year, we remain a basic scoring league — the only way to go for true fantasy football fans.
Now, performance point system fans will say that there is so much more involved, making their games more exciting and more high-scoring. Ridiculous, I say.
You see, we believe that to truly make our fantasy football league seem like more than just fantasy, we need to mirror the National Football League in as many ways as possible. So, we have desidned our rules after the NFL, and we attempt to score our points in the same fashion as the NFL.
So, when a running back or a wide receiver scores a touchdown, we credit the team in our league with that player with six points. When a kicker kicks a field goal, we allow three points, and we give one for PATs. We also award two points for a scored two-point conversion.
Our biggest difference is at the quarterback position. Although QBs can run for scores, earning six points, we award three points for a TD pass. This is the biggest departure from the mother league, the NFL.
This method of scoring allows for games that have very low scores, 9-6 is not entirely uncommon, but we have our fair share of high scores too. Fifty-seven points was the watershed mark in our league last season — a not entirely unrealistic number for a prolific NFL team. Again, we want to be like the NFL.
I’ve known guys who play in performance leagues that allow 10 points, if a QB passes for 400 yards. Their weekly scores are unrealistic, scores like 126-90. This is more like a lopsided college basketball game than a football game.
So, the bottom line is we want our games and our league to look like the NFL — the only way to go.
Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, the first work of fiction, based on fantasy football. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Learn more about his suspense thriller at
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