Weeb Ewbank League - Rules - Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues

GREAT LAKES FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUES

Weeb Ewbank League Rules

Wilbur Charles (Weeb) Ewbank was the only coach to win titles in the AFL and NFL. He coached Joe Namath and the New York Jets over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7 in the third Super Bowl in 1969, giving the AFL its first title over the more established NFL. In 1958, Ewbank coached Johnny Unitas and the Colts to a 23-17 overtime win over the New York Giants for the NFL championship. Often called ``The Greatest Game Ever Played,'' it was credited with making pro football one of the most popular American sports. Over the course of 20 seasons, his record was 134-130-7. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. Ewbank died on Nov. 18, 1998 at the age of 91.

Section I - General

1. The Franchise Fee is $100.00.

2. Each of the three (3) divisions will consist of six (4) teams.

3. Rosters will be limited to 18 players at all times. Starting lineups will consist of 9 players: 1 QB, 1-2 RB, 3-4 WR, 1 TE, 1 PK, 1 DF. These core starting positions must be maintained on every roster at all times.

4. The initial draft will be held on-line. Teams will be formed in a draft that will be carried out in 1-12 then 12-1 order (known as 'serpentine' or 'switchback'). Drafts may be done in live draft format (4-6 hours on a chat site) or in email format (over several weeks). The order for all initial drafts is decided randomly by the MyFantasyLeague commissioner software.

5. The first Rookie/Remaining Free Agent transaction period will take place on May 15th. In new leagues, the rookie/remaining free agent draft order will be reversed from the original drafting positions that teams held in February and March (i.e. 1st overall pick in Feb. picks 12th in May, 12th overall pick in Feb. picks 1st in May). In subsequent years, the teams with the worst regular season records the previous season will have the first opportunity to select rookies and free agents in May. Subsequent rookie and free agent transaction periods will take place in June, July and August, with the order being serpentine or switchback.

6. Starting with the 2005 off-season, teams may keep a total of two (2) players from year to year with the requirement that each must play a different position. The rest are cut and go into a pool to be re-drafted the following year. Roster cuts must be made prior to May 1st of the following year.

7. Any player on the roster and/or draft picks may be traded during the off-season. Before trades are approved, both owners participating must pay a down payment equal to half of their $100 entry fee to ensure that they will return for the upcoming season.

Section II - Scoring

1. The scoring method will be combined (basic + performance) with points awarded as follows, using the decimal system:

RUSHING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 point bonus for 100 yards rushing, 6 for every touchdown run, 2 for conv., 1 point every 10 carries, -1 point for every fumble, -3 additional points for a fumble returned for a TD
RECEIVING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 point bonus for 100 yards receiving, 2 for conv., 1 point for 7 receptions and then 1 point for every 1 reception thereafter, -1 point for every fumble, -3 additional points for a fumble returned for a TD
PASSING - .05 points every 1 yard, 4 for every touchdown pass, 2 for conv., 1 point for 28 completions and then 1 point for every 3 completions thereafter, -2 points for every interception, -3 additional points for an interception returned for a TD
KICKING - 3 points every field goal (0-39 yards), 4 points every field goal (40-49 yards), 5 points every field goal (50 yards plus), 1 point every PAT, -3 points for missed field goals (0-29 yards), -2 points for missed field goals (30-39 yards), -1 point for missed field goals (40-49 yards), -1 point for every missed PAT.
NFL TEAM - Any touchdown scored by your defensive unit is considered a score for your defensive team. 6 points for Special Teams and Defensive TDs (Fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return, punt return, kickoff return), 2 points for safeties, 1 point for interceptions, 1 point for fumble recoveries, 1 point for sacks, Team Points Allowed - 0 to 2, 8 points; 3 to 5, 7 points; 6 to 8, 6 points; 9 to 11, 5 points; 12 to 14, 4 points; 15 to 17, 3 points; 18 to 20, 2 points; 21 to 23, 1 point; 24 and above, 0 points.

2. Points for kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns will only be awarded to the NFL Team, not individual players.

3. Overtime Games: Tie games will be broken by using reserve players. Tie games will be broken using the same performance point system used by the rest of the players in the starting lineup.

Section III - Trading and Transactions

1. All transaction requests must be submitted via the web site to the commissioner's office no later than 11 p.m. EST on Friday night. Free agents will be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis using MyFantasyLeague.com's Power Ranking System (system takes into account points scored, possible points scored, efficiency rating, bench points, maximum and minimum points for and all-play record). These requests will be processed and posted to your respective teams immediately after transactions are processed. You can select up to TWO Free Agents per week during the initial transaction period. Starting on Friday evening at 11:01 p.m. ET, owners may make additional unlimited transactions on a first-come, first-serve basis. If adding a player or players during any of these transaction windows will take you over the roster size limits for this league, you will also need to designate a player to be dropped for each player you are requesting to add. Leaving the dropped player field blank will cause the following to happen - the system will SKIP OVER anyone who would be in violation of the roster size restrictions by adding a player. You could be the first owner on the waiver priority list but you WILL NOT get your player if you fail to designate a drop at the same time.

2. All trades must be approved and forwarded to the commissioner's office no later than Saturday evening at 9 p.m. EST in order to ensure that the players involved are available for Sunday's games.

3. If a trade is made with an uneven combination of players (2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc.), the team receiving the extra player must immediately notify the commissioner's office regarding who will be dropped to keep the roster size at 18. While teams are permitted to start play with a roster size below 18, they are not allowed to go above that number. Failure to report a drop to the commissioner in this circumstance will result in the trade being voided.

4. Both teams need to give approval and list terms of the trade for it to be confirmed. This must be done through the league's web site. Once approved by the league commissioner, the trade will be official. Trade results will be posted on the web site for each league. As a trade is approved, the team(s) rosters will automatically be updated and a transaction record will be listed.

5. A player cannot be traded back to a team until four (4) games have passed.

6. The league has the ability to call for a trade veto within 48 hours of the trade becoming official during the regular season and 72 hours of the trade becoming official during the off-season. Making a case to call for a veto vote must consist of something more substantial than "I don't agree with the trade and I want to vote against it." The owner calling for the veto should post a rationale on the league message board and send out an email to the commissioner for consideration by the entire league. Once this occurs, the trade will be voted on by a 12-member panel of the GLFFL's Board of Directors, consisting of the owners who have the longest tenure and most representation in the GLFFL. This way, deals can be decided by individuals who are unbiased since they are not a part of the league in question. In the event that members of the Board of Directors are involved in the trade in question, they must abstain from the voting procedure. Trades will be vetoed if 60 percent (seven panelists) vote for a reversal within the 48-72 hour period.

7. During the off-season, you can make as many trades per month as you wish. They also have to be submitted via the web site by both parties to the league commissioner. Upon approval, they will be listed on the web site.

8. Owners are permitted to submit the names of starting players up until the respective player's game time. Once a game has begun, all players participating in that game are either locked in as a starter or as a bench player. Lineups should be submitted through the league's web site.

9. Owners are not permitted to trade transaction slots.

10. You will be responsible for fielding a complete team during bye weeks. No carryover points will be awarded for position players or NFL teams.

11. No trades will be permitted following the kickoff of Week Ten's games. Drop/Add transactions are permitted up to and through the playoffs.

Section IV - Playoffs and Payouts

1. In order to determine division championships and playoff seedings, the following tiebreaker system will be used:

1.) Best W/L Record,
2.) Head to Head Competition,
2a.) Best Division Record,
3.) Most Points Scored All Games,
4.) Best Net Points Head to Head,
4a.) Best Net Points Division Games,
5.) Least Points Allowed All Games,
6.) Coin Flip.

2. Division statistics (2a,4a) are used to resolve division ties only. Playoff seedings WILL NOT consider these values. Please note: If more than two teams are tied, Head-to-Head can only be used if one team has a definitive advantage over all the others (i.e. One team was undefeated against all the others). Otherwise, total points scored becomes the main tiebreaker.

3. Three (3) division champions and three (3) wild-card teams will qualify for the playoffs. The two division winners with the best records will receive a first round bye and the first and second seeds. The other division winner will be the third seed and the wild-card teams will be seeded fourth, fifth and sixth using the tiebreaking formula above. Division Winner (#1 seed) plays #4 and the #2 seed plays #3. Wild-card weekend will be held during week #14 of the NFL season.

4. The winners advance to the conference semi-finals. The lowest seed to advance plays the highest seeded division winner, with each successive seed taking on the lowest advancing seed. This action will take place on week #15 of the NFL season.

5. The winners will square off for the Weeb Ewbank League Championship. This action will take place on week #16 of the NFL season. The champion will receive $400 while the runner-up receives $125. The division champions will collect $100 each while each wild card team will receive a check for $25. GLFFL is not responsible for the taxes on the prizes of the winner.

6. The six (6) non-playoff teams are entered in a single-elimination consolation tournament that will run through NFL weeks 14, 15 and 16. The seeding will be determined using the formula listed above. The top two seeds will receive a bye during NFL week 14. Seed #3 will play #6 and #4 will play #5 during that week. The winners advance to play the two teams receiving byes during NFL week 15. The winner of the consolation tournament earns a compensatory draft pick in next May's restocking draft (the pick will be an extra pick at the end of the 5th round).

Section V - Miscellaneous Items

1. All starting lineups will consist of 9 players: 1 Quarterback, 1-2 Running Backs, 3-4 Wide Receivers, 1 Tight End, a Place Kicker and a Team Defense.

2. Rosters will consist of 18 players. The nine (9) reserves on your roster may consist of any number of quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, kickers, or NFL teams. It is your responsibility to maintain your roster at all times. If a team goes over the 18 spots (by free agent pickup or trade) the transaction or transactions will not be processed for that week. When new players are added during the off-season drafting periods, owners WILL be required to drop a player to stay at the 18-man roster limit.

3. The act of "throwing games" (losing on purpose by turning in a lineup filled of players that normally would not play) is not tolerated in the Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues. We will revert your starting lineup back to a typical lineup for games that are tried to be thrown and further action will also take place (i.e. possible removal from the league without refund).

In every instance where a team has found to intentionally lose a game by submitting a bogus lineup, that owner will immediately be REMOVED from the league in question. When other instances arise, teams will be REMOVED the moment the indiscretions are discovered, whether they happened this year or in a previous year.

The REMOVAL involves the leagues in question only. After one year has passed, the offending owner has the opportunity to apply for reinstatement to that league. Reinstatement can only take place if 60 percent (seven panelists) of the GLFFL's Board of Directors vote for REINSTATEMENT. Other leagues are not impacted, although a meticulous study will begin on those other franchises to see if tanking games occurred at any time in the history of that club.

In addition, the offending owner will be placed on a PERMANENT PROBATIONARY STATUS in all other leagues, meaning any other incident of intentionally throwing games will result in PERMANENT EXPULSION from ALL GLFFL LEAGUES for LIFE.

4. Each season, divisions will be realigned based on performance from the previous season. The Black Division will feature all three 4th place finishers, as well as the 3rd place finisher with the fewest points scored. The Blue Division will feature the two other 3rd place finishers, as well as the two 2nd place finishers with the fewest points scored. The White Division will feature the three 1st place finishers and the other 2nd place finisher.