Well, our 44th season is now history. Gonna toss out some thoughts and ideas here in no particular order.
I looked at the Yearly Best chart in the EHFL Links on the website and this was the 15th time the team with the best record (or was tied for the best record) went on to win the championship. I'm not sure if that is surprising or not. And there have been 12 seasons in which the highest-scoring team became the title holder. I would have thought that there would be a higher correlation for that than the best record but whatever.
You'll probably be happy to know that I can't see any rule changes on the horizon with the possible exception of changing the roster limit. I thought 18 players was too many. It puts a crimp into waiver claims which to me is a good chunk of the fun of doing this. I also got the impression that NFL players were falling by the wayside at an alarming rate. I didn't do any research beyond my team but at that the Flyers had each of their top 8 or 9 picks sidelined for at least a game or, in the cases of DHenry and Anthony Richardson, exit a game in the opening minutes (twice in DH's case).
So dropping a roster spot but adding a second IR slot may be the way to go. I have a poll on the site but it got little response. I'll figure it out.
I've updated all the stat files that I link in the EHFL Links section of the league home. I've created a banner for 2024's league page on MFL But that doesn't mean we will return to MFL. There is a chance I will move the league to one of the many other free options available. I've had teams on ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, NFL.com, and Fantrax (baseball). All have advantages and disadvantages. One thing they all have in common is they are less work for the commish. MFL has (by far) the most flexibility when it comes to rule options, customization, etc. But to be honest, I'm getting tired of maintaining the league site.
I could go to ESPN and have a league up and running in five minutes and never have to think about anything except my lineup until I do a championship newsletter. The downside of that is those leagues are zero fun. Again, I'll figure it out.
And there's always the chance that I won't feel like doing this anymore. I've gone back and forth over the last few years on continuing. I'll think things over and decide later this spring or over the summer. I will 're-up' with MFL when next season's site is available but I won't pay for 2024 until I know I want to push forward.
Speaking of stat pages (and we were just a bit ago) I recently got to thinking about the lineup options we had this year given the new 'two flex player' rule. That allowed for six possible lineup configurations. Those are:
1 RB 4 WR 1 TE
1 RB 3 WR 2 TE
1 RB 2 WR 3 TE
2 RB 2 WR 2 TE
2 RB 3 WR 1 TE
3 RB 2 WR 1 TE
So I spent (far too much) time building a spreadsheet to help me determine how the lineups were used and the results they produced in terms of W/L and PPG. I was mildly surprised to find that two of those options (in red above) made up 149 of the 178 lineups submitted through the Hughes Bowl, about 84%. One of the choices (in blue) was not used even once which surprised me considering Brownstein is still an owner. 😅
You can check the complete results by clicking here or by going through the 'EHFL Links' section of the homepage. Just look for Lineup Data '23. I should have labeled the spreadsheet data better but I think you can puzzle out what it indicates. My take? To be honest I don't know what to make of what the data shows. I had a feeling going in that one config (1/4/1) would produce points at a higher rate than the more traditional 2/3/1 lineup. I was a bit surprised by how many times 3 RBs were used. Overall I think one season isn't quite enough to jump to solid conclusions. Anyone who dares to delve into the data and send along his thoughts will get a bronze star from me.
Other Stuff:
I'm pretty much done with my postseason work. The Hughes News Hughes Bowl issue is printed and framed. You can see it on the league page under the Championship News tab. Mike's trophy is here. All the stat sheets are up to date and posted. I even have the Team Profiles updated for 2024. I usually let that slide until August. The 2024, 45th season banner is ready if we return to MFL.
Saturday, February 10 will be the date for our Houston owner's gathering. Mark off the date with a tentative time of 2-ish. We'll likely meet somewhere on the west side of town as usual. I have a few locations in mind but I'm going to wait until the week of the meetup to decide on a location. I want to see what the weather will be.
The Postseason contest is live. I've sent out invites via email. Request a re-send if you need another invite. You have until the kickoff of Saturday's first NFL playoff game to enter and choose your players. But I will be headed to the Texans-Browns game that day so I won't be able to help you if you wait that long and have an issue getting in. Waiver cash goes to the top two finishers ($30/$15). I found it particularly tough to fill out my team this year. A couple of the NFL clubs had crap for offensive options. Also..be sure you click through the lineup submission process. It's easy to skip over that last page after you put in your tiebreakers. Good Luck.
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