The Sanderson Gazette - 2020-08-08 - 2020 Season Plans
2020 Season Plans
Thank you to everyone who contributed their feelings on 2020. I've taken all your opinions into account, plus my own feelings, and here is the plan.
Business as Usual
The big decision is that we're going to try doing Blingaleague with our standard rules, with only a few minor changes (see below).
We discussed doing some experimentation with rules or rosters or scoring, basically putting keepers on pause. To be honest, part of me is tempted by that option. But after thinking about it a lot, I realized I don't really have the motivation to run a league that is not the "real" Blingaleague.
Draft Date
The NFL season is scheduled to start on Thursday, September 10. Given the general state of uncertainty, and that we'll be doing the draft remotely for sure, it makes sense to try to do it as close to the season's start as possible. Therefore, I will be sending out a survey of options for the week leading up to September 10 soon; please fill it out as soon as you can.
Keepers
Once we know the draft date, I will set a keeper deadline of one week prior to the draft.
I know I said I didn't want to experiment in general, but I actually will with regards to how keepers are declared. This year, let's see how it works without a set declaration order and without me sending out everyone's options proactively. Instead, the onus will be on each franchise to send in their keepers to me by the deadline.
Don't worry, I will be sending out reminders to do so. And also don't hesitate to ask for any clarification you need on what it would cost to keep a player or about other similar topics.
Rule Changes
Initial Waiver Order
As a reminder, there is one permanent rule change we voted for following last season: the initial waiver wire order - i.e. immediately following the draft - will go in reverse order of standings. (Previously, it had been the reverse order of the first round.)
COVID-19-Related Absences
As far as I'm aware, no more players will be opting out prior to the season (the deadline was August 6). However, as we've seen with MLB, there's the possibility players do start opting out once the season starts after there are some positive tests.
Therefore, I am going to add one extra roster spot for this year that can only be used for a player that opts out after the season starts. (If you have more than one player who opts out that you'd like to stash for 2021, you'll only be able to use this extra spot for one of them; the other would need to take up a spot on your normal roster.)
I am not 100% sure how this will be managed, but it's likely I will track this manually.
At this time, I am not planning to allow any exceptions to standard roster rules for individual players who miss time due to positive tests, since that is similar enough to regular injuries.
Canceling the Season
It seems likely the NFL will not be able to play a full seventeen-week regular season. Therefore, at any time, I reserve the right as commissioner to cancel the Blingaleague 2020 season.
Some possible reasons this could happen:
- The NFL misses several weeks of games.
- Outbreaks result in teams playing irregular schedule that don't allow for Blingaleague head-to-head competition.
- A Blingaleague team has multiple players test positive for COVID-19, keeping them from fielding a competitive team.
If the unfortunate cancellation of the season happens, I will treat it like 2020 never happened. That means that all 2021 keepers would be based on 2019 final rosters.
Rest assured, I will not cancel the Blingaleague season without exploring all options or without consulting as many of you as possible.
Draft Order
- Rob
- Dave
- Ed
- Scott
- Richie
- Rabbit
- Kevin
- Pat
- Pulley
- Babel
- Mike R.
- Derrek
- Matt
- Schertz
Closing Thoughts
Once again, thank you all for your input. I'm doing what I feel is best for Blingaleague, but if you still have strong feelings that what I've decided won't work, please let me know. I definitely don't want to have a league where some people aren't having fun.