Tom Deskovitz had the best entry at wide receiver -- or did he? It depends on how you score the entries. Ian Allan explains.
We’re going with a more balanced scoring format in this contest – putting more value in the picks in the teens and less at getting the top couple of guys right. Tom Deskovitz, an advertising executive from South Lyon, Mich., probably didn’t give a hoot about this when he was filling out his ballot, but he should be loving that rule right now.
With the revised 30-to-11 scoring system, Deskovitz is the big winner at the wide receiver position in the Fantasy Index Open. Under the old scoring system (where the No. 1 picks were worth 20 times more than the 20th picks) Deskovitz would have finished only 28th.
Right behind Deskovitz were a trio of guys from Minnesota. They would have finished 1-2-3 in the old scoring format. Stephen McKenzie from Red Wing is your runnerup. Bob Tecca, an IT manager from Buffalo (Minn.) takes the bronze. Mike Wells – a professor at Minnesota State – finished in 4th, and he would have been the position winner using the old 20-1 scoring format.
How is it, you might wonder, that Deskovitz can have the No. 1 entry in one scoring format, but just one of the good ones in another – just outside the top 10 percent?
Well, it comes down to how much credit you want to give him for ranking Josh Gordon 13th on his board? Gordon was the breakout player at this position, and Deskovitz was one of only 12 guys who included him on his board – only two guys ranked Gordon higher?
Using the 20-1 scoring system, the key to a good list is having a strong top 10. Deskovitz missed on three of his top-10 picks – Roddy White, Julio Jones and Randall Cobb all got hurt. The Minnesota guys all had only two blown picks in their top 10. So if you want to put the emphasis on those early-round guys, they’re you’re three winners.
But if you start jacking up the value of the guys in the teen, then Deskovitz really starts raking in the value for the Gordon gambit.
In this format, recall, everyone’s getting credit (in varying degrees) for everyone they rank. Gordon scored 227.4 points, and with Deskovitz having ranked him 13th, that pick was worth 18 x 227.4 = 4,093.2 points. The 18 there, as I’ve explained in past stories, comes from 31 minus 13 (where he ranked him). In the old 20-1 format, Deskovitz received only 1,819.2 points (8 x 227.4).
A shout out is in order for Jon Elliott Hansen, a craps dealer from Reno. He’s the guy who was the gutiest of all – ranking Gordon way up at 5th. (What did he know?) But Hansen undid that brilliance by taking too many other gambles that didn’t work out. He was one of the lower guys on Brandon Marshall, and he had four receivers in his top 11 who didn’t finish in the top 30 – Julio Jones, Randall Cobb, Danny Amendola and Roddy White. Reggie Wayne was in there too.
I haven’t re-tabulated the overall numbers, but it appears that Steve Moyer has increased his lead on the big board. He finished in 12th at this position, so only 11 other entries gained ground on him. Jason Howe of Oakland was No. 2 overall entering the wide receivers, but he finished over 4,000 points back – way down at 164th.
“I literally lay awake last night thinking about my picks at QB, RB and WR,” Moyer said. “This is my favorite hobby and I would be tickled to finish in the top 10. This is the most fun I can possibly have with my clothes on.”
There are two positions left to grade – running backs and quarterbacks – and they tend to count the most. The overall winner of this competition – the best of the 209 entries – wins a monstrously huge trophy from the team at Affordable Trophies. They’ve partnered with us on this competition.
The top 2 finishers (the winner and the runner-up) win berths in the Fantasy Experts Poll in the magazine (which runs just the same way but is limited to 20 participants). In future years, I might tweak that rule. Instead take the winner of the 30-11 format and the winner of the 20-1 format (kind of like the WBA and WBC titles in boxing). Last year, though, Sam Hendricks was the overall winner, and he won in both systems. Anyway, it’s something I’m mulling over.
WIDE RECEIVERS (top 10 percent) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Occupation | Points |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | Advertising Executive | 65,979 |
Stephen McKenzie | Red Wing, Minn. | Books Are Fun Sales Rep | 65,773 |
Bob Tecca | Buffalo, Minn. | IT Manager | 65,133 |
Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | Professor | 64,962 |
Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | Gentleman Adventurer | 64,443 |
John O'Kane | Flemington, N.J. | Catholic Priest | 64,412 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | Self Employed | 64,385 |
Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | Small Business Owner | 64,376 |
Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | Engineer | 64,304 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | Payroll | 64,300 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | Engineer | 64,289 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | Investment Realtor | 64,269 |
Brian Laskiewicz | Randolph, N.J. | Attorney | 64,241 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | Network Engineer | 64,181 |
Marc Price | Kelowna, B.C. | Law Firm Manager | 63,880 |
Jason Pilon | Columbia Heights, Minn. | Office Grunt | 63,868 |
Edward Winklosky | Oakland, Calif. | Attorney | 63,755 |
Paul Hazen | Granada Hills, Calif. | Acquisitions | 63,749 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | Student | 63,693 |
Eric Buchholz | Destin, Fla. | Stay-at-home Dad | 63,682 |
Here’s the overall list in alphabetical order, with hometown, rank at this position (out of 209) and points scored.
WIDE RECEIVERS (alphabetical) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Rank | Points |
Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 111 | 61,777 |
Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | 127 | 61,541 |
Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 50 | 63,124 |
Adam Renzoni | Buffalo, N.Y. | 181 | 59,549 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 7 | 64,385 |
Adam Thygeson | Portland, Ore. | 195 | 58,348 |
Alan Kaster | Green Bay, Wis. | 178 | 59,759 |
Alessandro Miglio | San Pablo, Calif. | 100 | 62,107 |
Andy Gough | Dallas, Texas | 177 | 59,820 |
Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 140 | 61,212 |
Austin Lee | San Francisco, Calif. | 74 | 62,587 |
Bill Mason | Huntersville, N.C. | 139 | 61,238 |
Bill Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 122 | 61,607 |
Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 169 | 60,182 |
Bob Buchner | Coral Springs, Fla. | 156 | 60,715 |
Bob Stone | Odenton, Md. | 167 | 60,250 |
Bob Tecca | Buffalo, Minn. | 3 | 65,133 |
Brack Varnon | Houston, Texas | 37 | 63,332 |
Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | 160 | 60,528 |
Brad Henderson | Louisville, Ky. | 30 | 63,499 |
Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | 8 | 64,376 |
Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | 31 | 63,488 |
Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 85 | 62,429 |
Brett Sanborn | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 46 | 63,176 |
Brian Carlson | Lexington, Ky. | 189 | 59,031 |
Brian George | Billings, Mont. | 148 | 60,825 |
Brian Laskiewicz | Randolph, N.J. | 13 | 64,241 |
Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | 9 | 64,304 |
Brian Staines | Mars, Pa. | 141 | 61,125 |
Bryan Sweet | Cookeville, Tenn. | 65 | 62,782 |
Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | 166 | 60,345 |
Chris Blacksmith | Las Vegas, Nev. | 24 | 63,579 |
Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 89 | 62,336 |
Chris Lingen | Rochester, Minn. | 164 | 60,446 |
Chris Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 99 | 62,119 |
Chris Winder | Pleasant Hill, Calif. | 61 | 62,889 |
Clifford Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 101 | 62,102 |
Cory Bonini | San Diego, Calif. | 63 | 62,831 |
Craig Robinson | Combined Locks, Wis. | 150 | 60,820 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 80 | 62,552 |
Dan Frye | Houston, Texas | 28 | 63,520 |
Dan Schneier | West Orange, N.J. | 86 | 62,424 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 11 | 64,289 |
Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 26 | 63,531 |
Darrell Duke | Spring, Texas | 109 | 61,871 |
Dave Bernhard | Madison, Wis. | 41 | 63,244 |
Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 23 | 63,595 |
Dave Iampieri | Forest Hill, Md. | 200 | 57,766 |
Dave Read | Cranberry, Pa. | 138 | 61,256 |
David Aikenhead | Lancaster, Calif. | 157 | 60,690 |
David DiGregorio | Norristown, Pa. | 208 | 54,915 |
David J Thornton | Denver, Colo. | 135 | 61,357 |
Dean Tuffie | Aliquippa, Pa. | 115 | 61,662 |
Dennis Thomas | Watsonville, Calif. | 67 | 62,724 |
Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | 143 | 61,026 |
Dish Adams | Los Angeles, Calif. | 72 | 62,598 |
Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 131 | 61,414 |
Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | 144 | 60,923 |
Ed O'Hair | Katy, Texas | 104 | 62,040 |
Ed Weiss | Parsippany, N.J. | 145 | 60,905 |
Eddie Tietchen | Sicklerville, N.J. | 171 | 60,024 |
Edward Winklosky | Oakland, Calif. | 17 | 63,755 |
Eric Buchholz | Destin, Fla. | 20 | 63,682 |
Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 25 | 63,553 |
Eric Hotz | Fremont, Ohio | 125 | 61,572 |
Eric Scolnick | Redmond, Wash. | 94 | 62,219 |
Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | 66 | 62,726 |
Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 174 | 59,876 |
Gary Stehly | Hilliard, Ohio | 149 | 60,824 |
Geoff Maleman | Redondo Beach, Calif. | 161 | 60,491 |
Gilberto Baca | Fresno, Calif. | 187 | 59,349 |
Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 147 | 60,875 |
Hank DaBruzzi | Oakdale, Minn. | 129 | 61,473 |
Harriett Hunt | Atlanta, Ga. | 207 | 55,324 |
Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 180 | 59,642 |
Henry Karsen | Lecanto , Fla. | 184 | 59,416 |
Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 119 | 61,629 |
Isaac McNally | Billings, Mont. | 182 | 59,544 |
Jake Boegel | Minneapolis, Minn. | 45 | 63,227 |
James Sutter | San Carlos, Calif. | 146 | 60,891 |
James Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 48 | 63,140 |
Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 71 | 62,602 |
Jason Collington | Tulsa, Okla. | 82 | 62,510 |
Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | 110 | 61,815 |
Jason Pilon | Columbia Heights, Minn. | 16 | 63,868 |
Jason Spann | St. Louis, Mo. | 84 | 62,436 |
Jeff Fell | Sarnia, Ont. | 204 | 56,655 |
Jeff Fossett | Newburgh, Ind. | 175 | 59,861 |
Jeff Richey | Flower Mound, Texas | 134 | 61,377 |
Jeff Slawson | Buffalo, N.Y. | 185 | 59,381 |
Jeffery Lebeouf | Crowley, La. | 64 | 62,795 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 19 | 63,693 |
Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | 158 | 60,667 |
Jim DiLorenzo | Grayslake, Ill. | 77 | 62,572 |
Jim Kangas | Viroqua, Wis. | 112 | 61,749 |
Jim Nienaber | Georgetown, Ohio | 97 | 62,168 |
Joe Vlcek | Virginia Beach, Va. | 90 | 62,321 |
John D. Smith | Mount Laurel, N.J. | 79 | 62,563 |
John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 159 | 60,611 |
John Isett | Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. | 105 | 62,032 |
John Marino | Binghamton, N.Y. | 205 | 56,571 |
John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 113 | 61,703 |
John O'Kane | Flemington, N.J. | 6 | 64,412 |
John Richmond | Peoria, Ariz. | 173 | 59,972 |
John Roberts | Honolulu, Hawaii | 76 | 62,580 |
John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 170 | 60,062 |
Jon Elliott Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 51 | 63,060 |
Jonathan Mora | Miami, Fla. | 130 | 61,427 |
Joseph Michelangelo | Oceanside, N.Y. | 88 | 62,387 |
Juan Novo | Miami, Fla. | 136 | 61,275 |
Justin Morris | Midland, Ont. | 190 | 58,940 |
Keenan Raverty | North St Paul, Minn. | 81 | 62,546 |
Keith Mason | Sumter, S.C. | 120 | 61,616 |
Keith McGrail | Tinley Park, Ill. | 151 | 60,816 |
Ken Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 33 | 63,475 |
Kent Bailey | Puyallup, Wash. | 201 | 57,723 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | 10 | 64,300 |
Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | 152 | 60,802 |
Kevin Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 197 | 58,170 |
Kevin Weakland | Tracy, Calif. | 38 | 63,312 |
Kirk Kennedy | Pink Hill, N.C. | 59 | 62,937 |
Lou Sanicola | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 96 | 62,179 |
Louis Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 87 | 62,409 |
Manny De Jesus | Gilbert, Ariz. | 176 | 59,859 |
Marc Price | Kelowna, B.C. | 15 | 63,880 |
Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 58 | 62,953 |
Mark Faber | Columbus, Ohio | 54 | 63,033 |
Mark Kundrotas | Atco, N.J. | 126 | 61,544 |
Mark Stoecker | Mansfield, Texas | 42 | 63,241 |
Matt Becker | Reading, Pa. | 102 | 62,082 |
Matt Hayes | Winder, Ga. | 123 | 61,603 |
Matt Kons | Milwaukee, Wis. | 121 | 61,608 |
Michael Cabaza | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 21 | 63,664 |
Michael Crow | Orion, Ill. | 93 | 62,227 |
Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 163 | 60,450 |
Michael Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 68 | 62,713 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | 14 | 64,181 |
Michael McCleary | Roseville, Calif. | 199 | 57,919 |
Michael McIlraith | Los Angeles, Calif. | 192 | 58,679 |
Michael Murillo | Tampa, Fla. | 162 | 60,456 |
Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | 78 | 62,567 |
Michael Phillips | West Hartford, Conn. | 27 | 63,526 |
Michael Sarmento | San Jose, Calif. | 116 | 61,660 |
Michael Stanco | Clermont, Fla. | 202 | 57,642 |
Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 98 | 62,139 |
Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 114 | 61,667 |
Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | 36 | 63,335 |
Mike Clay | Fleetwood, Pa. | 47 | 63,147 |
Mike Craig | Kokomo, Ind. | 196 | 58,310 |
Mike Green | Des Moines, Iowa | 29 | 63,501 |
Mike McIlraith | Fort Worth, Texas | 92 | 62,285 |
Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 34 | 63,405 |
Mike Todd | Otis, Ore. | 35 | 63,358 |
Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | 4 | 64,962 |
Mitch Wurst | Cincinnati, Ohio | 183 | 59,437 |
Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 22 | 63,598 |
Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | 73 | 62,596 |
Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 106 | 61,983 |
Nathan Roberts | Piketon, Ohio | 193 | 58,486 |
Paul Hazen | Granada Hills, Calif. | 18 | 63,749 |
Paul Kuchar | Schaumburg, Ill. | 95 | 62,212 |
Peter Steinke | Redmond, Wash. | 70 | 62,626 |
Rey Diaz | Miami, Fla. | 62 | 62,838 |
Rich Hodges | Tacoma, Wash. | 168 | 60,204 |
Richard Brisacher | Los Angeles, Calif. | 69 | 62,674 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | 55 | 63,002 |
Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 108 | 61,915 |
Richard Meadors | Seymour, Ind. | 194 | 58,399 |
Rick Calabro | Staten Island, N.Y. | 117 | 61,638 |
Rob Dammers | Ringwood, N.J. | 206 | 56,190 |
Rob Reiber | Randolph, N.J. | 52 | 63,057 |
Robert Cowart | Dallas, Texas | 57 | 62,957 |
Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 83 | 62,506 |
Ronald John Robuck | Tempe, Ariz. | 198 | 58,036 |
Russell Ditnes | Jamison, Pa. | 154 | 60,756 |
Rustin Paul | New York, N.Y. | 44 | 63,233 |
Rusty Stephens | Dallas, Texas | 155 | 60,734 |
S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 56 | 62,998 |
Sam Hendricks | Lynchburg, Va. | 60 | 62,903 |
Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 188 | 59,256 |
Scott Brady | Collegeville, Pa. | 128 | 61,524 |
Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 49 | 63,126 |
Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | 5 | 64,443 |
Scott Martin | La Crescenta, Calif. | 186 | 59,373 |
Scott Sachs | Huron, Ohio | 203 | 56,890 |
Sebastian Falsone | Philadelphia, Pa. | 153 | 60,791 |
Shane Scott | Toronto, Ont. | 179 | 59,672 |
Shiaw Chi | San Jose, Calif. | 172 | 60,008 |
Stephen Coleman | Aurora, Ill. | 39 | 63,296 |
Stephen Fisse | Mandeville (New Orleans), La. | 40 | 63,273 |
Stephen McKenzie | Red Wing, Minn. | 2 | 65,773 |
Steve Hoyt | Buffalo Grove, Ill. | 75 | 62,580 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | 12 | 64,269 |
Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | 191 | 58,683 |
Thomas Oliver | Nashville, Tenn. | 165 | 60,422 |
Tim Lloyd | Newton , N.J. | 132 | 61,399 |
Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park , Calif. | 32 | 63,478 |
Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 142 | 61,056 |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 1 | 65,979 |
Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | 43 | 63,237 |
Tommy Libretti | New York, N.Y. | 209 | 43,048 |
Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | 124 | 61,589 |
Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | 91 | 62,319 |
Travis Gray | Wellington, Fla. | 103 | 62,067 |
Treavor Phipps | Salem, Ind. | 107 | 61,968 |
Troy Tretola | Port Saint Lucie, Fla. | 118 | 61,632 |
Ty Tietjen | Brandon, S.D. | 133 | 61,382 |
Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 137 | 61,268 |
Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 53 | 63,035 |
--Ian Allan