Jamie Albertson used his No. 1 slot on a quarterback who missed half of the season with a shoulder injury. And he put Peyton Manning only 4th on his board. How did he managed to outscore 208 other guys anyway?
At the quarterback position, it’s not who you picked – it’s who you didn’t. And that has me pondering how the scoring should be tweaked for next year’s competition. I never claimed to have the magic formula on this thing; it’s a work in progress that evolves from year to year.
Jamie Albertson, a banker from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is your winner at quarterback. So I naturally gave his list a quick check to confirm that he had Peyton Manning (who was the consensus No. 3 at the time) as his top quarterback and whatnot.
He did not. Albertson had Aaron Rodgers as his top guy, and was actually below-average on Manning – had him down at 4th. Albertson had Brees No. 2, which was very good, but followed that with Matt Ryan, which was not.
What the?
Upon further inspection, the strength of Albertson’s board is that he was cleverly about to avoid selecting the boobie-prize quarterbacks. No Josh Freeman. No Sam Bradford. No Matt Schaub. Instead of those guys, he worked Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer and Ryan Tannehill onto his list, and all of those guys ranked in the top 15 at the position.
Let me explain the math. Manning scored 497 points. So by not having him first, like a few others, Albertson lost 1,491 points there. But Rivers outscored Freeman by 311 points, so by having him 20th, he picked up 3,421 points there. And there are similar value pickups in the tradeoffs with those other guys.
In our scoring, recall, you’re getting the player’s production multiplied against where you ranked him – some number between 11 and 30. You rank Manning first, and that’s 30 x 497 = 14,910 points. You rank Manning 20th, and it’s 11 x 497 = 5,467 points.
If you use our old scoring system, with used a 20-1 scale (putting a lot more weight on the top of the draft board), than Albertson would have been only the 12th-place finisher. Still damn good – just not in the top spot.
So I’m mulling the pros and cons of the 20-1 and 30-11 scoring systems. With 20-1, those last few guys don’t count enough. It doesn’t really matter if you happen to get Josh Gordon with your 18th pick. But with the 30-11 scale, it seems like they might count too much. At quarterback, where the guys are putting up big numbers, it becomes a game of who can fit the most 16-game starters in their top 20.
I’m still mulling, but for 2014, maybe the answer is to switch to a 25-6 scale – split it right down the middle.
Kevin Hall, an accountant from Allen, Texas, is the No. 2 finisher in this category, and his list had a better balance. With the 20-1 scale, he would have been the top guy.
Kevin Cuozzo from Boston (and I wonder if he’s related to former Vikings quarterback Gary Cuozzo?) finished in 3rd.
But this one was all about scoring system. If you look at the 20-1 standings (and I’m posting both below), there are three guys who don’t even finish in the top 40 in the 30-11 standings. Matt Becker of Reading, Pa., finished 42nd in the official scoring, but he was 7th in old-school scoring. Mike Carlson from Sacramento climbs from 50th to 14th, and Rusty Stephens from Dallas moves up from 66th to 18th.
Overall scores coming up soon. Within the hour, I’ll crown the new champion, and he’ll be awarded the too-large-to-be-sent-by-regular mail trophy from the team at Affordable Trophies. They’re the sponsor of this competition.
The top 2 finishers (using the 30-11 system) will win berths in the mother competition, the regular Experts Poll that appears in the magazine (with selections due in mid-May).
QUARTERBACKS (official scoring system) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Name | Hometown | Occupation | Points |
1. | Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | Banker | 137,426 |
2. | Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | Accountant | 136,392 |
3. | Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | Payroll | 136,004 |
4. | Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | Engineer | 135,809 |
5. | Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | Insurance Salesman | 135,802 |
6. | Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | Sales | 135,727 |
7. | S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | Doctor | 135,721 |
8. | Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | Cook | 135,647 |
9. | Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | Police Officer | 135,621 |
10. | Keenan Raverty | North St Paul, Minn. | Banker | 135,429 |
11. | Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | Pastor | 135,325 |
12. | Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | Testing Technician | 135,297 |
13. | Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | Student | 135,110 |
14. | Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Accountant | 134,954 |
15. | Joe Vlcek | Virginia Beach, Va. | Environmental Engineer | 134,891 |
16. | Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | Attorney | 134,889 |
17. | Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | Office Space Denizen | 134,885 |
18. | Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | Advertising Executive | 134,876 |
19. | Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | Manager | 134,875 |
20. | Paul Kuchar | Schaumburg, Ill. | Educator | 134,873 |
This is how the overall top 20 would have looked if we’d stuck with the 20-1 scoring system we were using until a few years ago …
QUARTERBACKS (old-style scoring system) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Name | Hometown | Occupation | Points |
1. | Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | Accountant | 72,440 |
2. | Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | Financial Analyst | 71,842 |
3. | Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | Insurance Salesman | 71,539 |
4. | Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | Cook | 71,392 |
5. | Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | Advertising Executive | 71,376 |
6. | Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Accountant | 71,293 |
7. | Matt Becker | Reading, Pa. | Sales | 71,228 |
8. | Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | Payroll | 71,222 |
9. | S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | Doctor | 71,206 |
10. | Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | Pastor | 71,187 |
11. | Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | Minor League Baseball | 71,174 |
12. | Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | Banker | 71,152 |
13. | Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | Sales | 71,139 |
14. | Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | Fantasy Football Pro | 71,111 |
15. | Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | Police Officer | 71,106 |
16. | Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | Sales | 71,098 |
17. | Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | Office Space Denizen | 71,089 |
18. | Rusty Stephens | Dallas, Texas | Sales Manager | 71,087 |
19. | Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | Engineer | 71,056 |
20. | Dave Iampieri | Forest Hill, Md. | Teacher | 71,047 |
And here’s everybody’s score at quarterback, using the 30-11 scoring format. Those are the points for just quarterbacks, as well as your place at this position. There are 209 entries. One guy didn’t fully understand the format and sent only his top 10s. Another guy (from Tennessee) accidentally sent only 19 quarterbacks, which probably cost him about 2,000 points at this position – so 207 full entries at this position.
QUARTERBACKS (alphabetical) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Points | Rank |
Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 135,110 | 13 |
Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | 134,526 | 24 |
Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 132,318 | 75 |
Adam Renzoni | Buffalo, N.Y. | 127,351 | 191 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 129,602 | 155 |
Adam Thygeson | Portland, Ore. | 133,152 | 47 |
Alan Kaster | Green Bay, Wis. | 134,584 | 23 |
Alessandro Miglio | San Pablo, Calif. | 130,702 | 120 |
Andy Gough | Dallas, Texas | 130,017 | 142 |
Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 130,727 | 119 |
Austin Lee | San Francisco, Calif. | 133,400 | 38 |
Bill Mason | Huntersville, N.C. | 133,095 | 49 |
Bill Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 133,705 | 35 |
Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 132,638 | 60 |
Bob Buchner | Coral Springs, Fla. | 129,965 | 145 |
Bob Stone | Odenton, Md. | 128,620 | 178 |
Bob Tecca | Buffalo, Minn. | 132,292 | 78 |
Brack Varnon | Houston, Texas | 131,892 | 83 |
Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | 132,336 | 72 |
Brad Henderson | Louisville, Ky. | 128,862 | 174 |
Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | 128,731 | 177 |
Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | 134,763 | 22 |
Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 134,168 | 27 |
Brett Sanborn | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 132,687 | 57 |
Brian Carlson | Lexington, Ky. | 131,359 | 102 |
Brian George | Billings, Mont. | 131,100 | 112 |
Brian Laskiewicz | Randolph, N.J. | 129,716 | 153 |
Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | 129,977 | 143 |
Brian Staines | Mars, Pa. | 131,825 | 89 |
Bryan Sweet | Cookeville, Tenn. | 129,495 | 160 |
Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | 131,125 | 110 |
Chris Blacksmith | Las Vegas, Nev. | 130,603 | 125 |
Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 128,151 | 182 |
Chris Lingen | Rochester, Minn. | 132,063 | 80 |
Chris Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 126,501 | 197 |
Chris Winder | Pleasant Hill, Calif. | 128,538 | 179 |
Clifford Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 129,127 | 169 |
Cory Bonini | San Diego, Calif. | 132,327 | 74 |
Craig Robinson | Combined Locks, Wis. | 119,338 | 207 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 133,887 | 32 |
Dan Frye | Houston, Texas | 125,345 | 201 |
Dan Schneier | West Orange, N.J. | 128,125 | 183 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 132,847 | 54 |
Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 133,870 | 33 |
Darrell Duke | Spring, Texas | 129,795 | 150 |
Dave Bernhard | Madison, Wis. | 126,184 | 198 |
Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 129,859 | 148 |
Dave Iampieri | Forest Hill, Md. | 134,860 | 21 |
Dave Read | Cranberry, Pa. | 131,834 | 87 |
David Aikenhead | Lancaster, Calif. | 131,425 | 101 |
David Digregorio | Norristown, Pa. | 131,671 | 92 |
David J Thornton | Denver, Colo. | 103,007 | 208 |
Dean Tuffie | Aliquippa, Pa. | 133,511 | 37 |
Dennis Thomas | Watsonville, Calif. | 129,024 | 170 |
Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | 135,802 | 5 |
Dish Adams | Los Angeles, Calif. | 130,228 | 135 |
Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 129,240 | 164 |
Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | 135,809 | 4 |
Ed O'Hair | Katy, Texas | 130,171 | 138 |
Ed Weiss | Parsippany, N.J. | 133,521 | 36 |
Eddie Tietchen | Sicklerville, N.J. | 129,535 | 158 |
Edward Winklosky | Oakland, Calif. | 131,529 | 96 |
Eric Buchholz | Destin, Fla. | 128,971 | 171 |
Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 132,412 | 71 |
Eric Hotz | Fremont, Ohio | 129,787 | 151 |
Eric Scolnick | Redmond, Wash. | 130,268 | 131 |
Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | 135,621 | 9 |
Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 128,823 | 175 |
Gary Stehly | Hilliard, Ohio | 129,679 | 154 |
Geoff Maleman | Redondo Beach, Calif. | 132,447 | 69 |
Gilberto Baca | Fresno, Calif. | 131,195 | 108 |
Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 130,244 | 132 |
Hank Dabruzzi | Oakdale, Minn. | 132,294 | 77 |
Harriett Hunt | Atlanta, Ga. | 119,952 | 206 |
Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 129,139 | 168 |
Henry Karsen | Lecanto , Fla. | 124,928 | 202 |
Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 131,103 | 111 |
Isaac Mcnally | Billings, Mont. | 131,270 | 106 |
Jake Boegel | Minneapolis, Minn. | 125,820 | 199 |
James Sutter | San Carlos, Calif. | 128,034 | 186 |
James Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 130,701 | 121 |
Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 137,426 | 1 |
Jason Collington | Tulsa, Okla. | 132,515 | 65 |
Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | 132,049 | 81 |
Jason Pilon | Columbia Heights, Minn. | 127,133 | 192 |
Jason Spann | St. Louis, Mo. | 129,918 | 147 |
Jeff Fell | Sarnia, Ont. | 132,085 | 79 |
Jeff Fossett | Newburgh, Ind. | 130,508 | 129 |
Jeff Richey | Flower Mound, Texas | 131,334 | 103 |
Jeff Slawson | Buffalo, N.Y. | 130,183 | 137 |
Jeffery Lebeouf | Crowley, La. | 134,140 | 28 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 131,931 | 82 |
Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | 130,798 | 116 |
Jim Dilorenzo | Grayslake, Ill. | 132,473 | 67 |
Jim Kangas | Viroqua, Wis. | 126,720 | 196 |
Jim Nienaber | Georgetown, Ohio | 128,044 | 185 |
Joe Vlcek | Virginia Beach, Va. | 134,891 | 15 |
John D. Smith | Mount Laurel, N.J. | 133,300 | 40 |
John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 133,837 | 34 |
John Isett | Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. | 129,345 | 161 |
John Marino | Binghamton, N.Y. | 130,079 | 141 |
John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 132,333 | 73 |
John O'Kane | Flemington, N.J. | 131,820 | 90 |
John Richmond | Peoria, Ariz. | 129,783 | 152 |
John Roberts | Honolulu, Hawaii | 129,560 | 156 |
John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 128,885 | 173 |
Jon Elliott Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 127,064 | 194 |
Jonathan Mora | Miami, Fla. | 131,496 | 98 |
Joseph Michelangelo | Oceanside, N.Y. | 133,229 | 43 |
Juan Novo | Miami, Fla. | 132,956 | 52 |
Justin Morris | Midland, Ont. | 131,461 | 100 |
Keenan Raverty | North St Paul, Minn. | 135,429 | 10 |
Keith Mason | Sumter, S.C. | 130,229 | 134 |
Keith Mcgrail | Tinley Park, Ill. | 131,830 | 88 |
Ken Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 130,898 | 115 |
Kent Bailey | Puyallup, Wash. | 130,357 | 130 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | 136,004 | 3 |
Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | 136,392 | 2 |
Kevin Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 133,325 | 39 |
Kevin Weakland | Tracy, Calif. | 124,103 | 203 |
Kirk Kennedy | Pink Hill, N.C. | 131,845 | 86 |
Lou Sanicola | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 125,623 | 200 |
Louis Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 129,314 | 162 |
Manny De Jesus | Gilbert, Ariz. | 134,106 | 29 |
Marc Price | Kelowna, B.C. | 130,684 | 122 |
Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 132,644 | 59 |
Mark Faber | Columbus, Ohio | 130,095 | 140 |
Mark Kundrotas | Atco, N.J. | 130,935 | 114 |
Mark Stoecker | Mansfield, Texas | 130,510 | 128 |
Matt Becker | Reading, Pa. | 133,276 | 42 |
Matt Hayes | Winder, Ga. | 127,822 | 188 |
Matt Kons | Milwaukee, Wis. | 127,107 | 193 |
Michael Cabaza | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 131,171 | 109 |
Michael Crow | Orion, Ill. | 130,652 | 124 |
Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 131,273 | 105 |
Michael Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 134,230 | 26 |
Michael Mcaninch | Naperville, Ill. | 129,536 | 157 |
Michael Mccleary | Roseville, Calif. | 131,688 | 91 |
Michael Mcilraith | Los Angeles, Calif. | 132,440 | 70 |
Michael Murillo | Tampa, Fla. | 131,488 | 99 |
Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | 130,762 | 118 |
Michael Phillips | West Hartford, Conn. | 129,292 | 163 |
Michael Sarmento | San Jose, Calif. | 133,282 | 41 |
Michael Stanco | Clermont, Fla. | 131,846 | 85 |
Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 130,095 | 139 |
Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 129,854 | 149 |
Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | 133,044 | 50 |
Mike Clay | Fleetwood, Pa. | 134,277 | 25 |
Mike Craig | Kokomo, Ind. | 131,875 | 84 |
Mike Green | Des Moines, Iowa | 123,743 | 204 |
Mike Mcilraith | Fort Worth, Texas | 131,524 | 97 |
Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 130,766 | 117 |
Mike Todd | Otis, Ore. | 127,526 | 190 |
Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | 129,180 | 166 |
Mitch Wurst | Cincinnati, Ohio | 132,577 | 61 |
Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 131,585 | 94 |
Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | 135,297 | 12 |
Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 131,561 | 95 |
Nathan Roberts | Piketon, Ohio | 131,255 | 107 |
Paul Hazen | Granada Hills, Calif. | 133,030 | 51 |
Paul Kuchar | Schaumburg, Ill. | 134,873 | 20 |
Peter Steinke | Redmond, Wash. | 132,316 | 76 |
Rey Diaz | Miami, Fla. | 129,533 | 159 |
Rich Hodges | Tacoma, Wash. | 127,047 | 195 |
Richard Brisacher | Los Angeles, Calif. | 128,917 | 172 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | 134,889 | 16 |
Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 130,653 | 123 |
Richard Meadors | Seymour, Ind. | 121,733 | 205 |
Rick Calabro | Staten Island, N.Y. | 129,163 | 167 |
Rob Dammers | Ringwood, N.J. | 130,990 | 113 |
Rob Reiber | Randolph, N.J. | 132,577 | 62 |
Robert Cowart | Dallas, Texas | 132,823 | 55 |
Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 131,660 | 93 |
Ronald John Robuck | Tempe, Ariz. | 127,819 | 189 |
Russell Ditnes | Jamison, Pa. | 132,524 | 64 |
Rustin Paul | New York, N.Y. | 128,452 | 180 |
Rusty Stephens | Dallas, Texas | 132,491 | 66 |
S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 135,721 | 7 |
Sam Hendricks | Lynchburg, Va. | 132,765 | 56 |
Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 134,885 | 17 |
Scott Brady | Collegeville, Pa. | 132,457 | 68 |
Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 133,176 | 45 |
Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | 133,183 | 44 |
Scott Martin | La Crescenta, Calif. | 128,112 | 184 |
Scott Sachs | Huron, Ohio | 129,181 | 165 |
Sebastian Falsone | Philadelphia, Pa. | 133,938 | 31 |
Shane Scott | Toronto, Ont. | 132,939 | 53 |
Shiaw Chi | San Jose, Calif. | 129,970 | 144 |
Stephen Coleman | Aurora, Ill. | 127,973 | 187 |
Stephen Fisse | Mandeville (New Orleans), La. | 132,657 | 58 |
Stephen Mckenzie | Red Wing, Minn. | 133,121 | 48 |
Steve Hoyt | Buffalo Grove, Ill. | 130,207 | 136 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | 132,565 | 63 |
Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | 134,875 | 19 |
Thomas Oliver | Nashville, Tenn. | 128,344 | 181 |
Tim Lloyd | Newton , N.J. | 130,552 | 127 |
Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park , Calif. | 130,241 | 133 |
Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 129,926 | 146 |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 134,876 | 18 |
Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | 133,160 | 46 |
Tommy Libretti | New York, N.Y. | 88,178 | 209 |
Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | 135,647 | 8 |
Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | 135,325 | 11 |
Travis Gray | Wellington, Fla. | 133,950 | 30 |
Treavor Phipps | Salem, Ind. | 128,761 | 176 |
Troy Tretola | Port Saint Lucie, Fla. | 131,309 | 104 |
Ty Tietjen | Brandon, S.D. | 130,579 | 126 |
Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 135,727 | 6 |
Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 134,954 | 14 |
--Ian Allan