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Controversy with quarterback rankings

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)
RkNameHometownOccupationPoints
1.Jamie AlbertsSturgeon Bay, Wis.Banker137,426
2.Kevin HallAllen, TexasAccountant136,392
3.Kevin CuozzoBoston, Mass.Payroll136,004
4.Doug PawlakKnoxville, Tenn.Engineer135,809
5.Derek MathisNorth Charleston, S.C.Insurance Salesman135,802
6.Victor KitzesMaple Valley, Wash.Sales135,727
7.S. LindMonmouth Junction, N.J.Doctor135,721
8.Tony ZellerDundalk, Md.Cook135,647
9.Eric StancliffMount Airy, Md.Police Officer135,621
10.Keenan RavertyNorth St Paul, Minn.Banker135,429
11.Travis BillmanDacula, Ga.Pastor135,325
12.Nathan KlineTopton, Pa.Testing Technician135,297
13.Aaron SucovMonmouth Junction, N.J.Student135,110
14.Zach LeavittHighlands Ranch, Colo.Accountant134,954
15.Joe VlcekVirginia Beach, Va.Environmental Engineer134,891
16.Richard JacksonBerkeley, Calif.Attorney134,889
17.Scott AndersonLakewood, Colo.Office Space Denizen134,885
18.Tom DeskovitzSouth Lyon, Mich.Advertising Executive134,876
19.Steve TortoraWallingford, Conn.Manager134,875
20.Paul KucharSchaumburg, Ill.Educator134,873

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)
RkNameHometownOccupationPoints
1.Kevin HallAllen, TexasAccountant72,440
2.Adam HoltzRochester, Minn.Financial Analyst71,842
3.Derek MathisNorth Charleston, S.C.Insurance Salesman71,539
4.Tony ZellerDundalk, Md.Cook71,392
5.Tom DeskovitzSouth Lyon, Mich.Advertising Executive71,376
6.Zach LeavittHighlands Ranch, Colo.Accountant71,293
7.Matt BeckerReading, Pa.Sales71,228
8.Kevin CuozzoBoston, Mass.Payroll71,222
9.S. LindMonmouth Junction, N.J.Doctor71,206
10.Travis BillmanDacula, Ga.Pastor71,187
11.Brent MilesPasco, Wash.Minor League Baseball71,174
12.Jamie AlbertsSturgeon Bay, Wis.Banker71,152
13.Brant HollenbeckLansing, Mich.Sales71,139
14.Mike CarlsonSacramento, Calif.Fantasy Football Pro71,111
15.Eric StancliffMount Airy, Md.Police Officer71,106
16.Victor KitzesMaple Valley, Wash.Sales71,098
17.Scott AndersonLakewood, Colo.Office Space Denizen71,089
18.Rusty StephensDallas, TexasSales Manager71,087
19.Doug PawlakKnoxville, Tenn.Engineer71,056
20.Dave IampieriForest Hill, Md.Teacher71,047

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)
NameHometownPointsRank
Aaron SucovMonmouth Junction, N.J.135,11013
Adam HoltzRochester, Minn.134,52624
Adam LockeLynnwood, Wash.132,31875
Adam RenzoniBuffalo, N.Y.127,351191
Adam SheetsSanta Rosa, Calif.129,602155
Adam ThygesonPortland, Ore.133,15247
Alan KasterGreen Bay, Wis.134,58423
Alessandro MiglioSan Pablo, Calif.130,702120
Andy GoughDallas, Texas130,017142
Andy RichardsonPort Chester, N.Y.130,727119
Austin LeeSan Francisco, Calif.133,40038
Bill MasonHuntersville, N.C.133,09549
Bill RehorCulver City, Calif.133,70535
Bob AdelmanSt. Louis, Mo.132,63860
Bob BuchnerCoral Springs, Fla.129,965145
Bob StoneOdenton, Md.128,620178
Bob TeccaBuffalo, Minn.132,29278
Brack VarnonHouston, Texas131,89283
Brad FreemanGeneva, Ill.132,33672
Brad HendersonLouisville, Ky.128,862174
Bradley WolfrumAlpharetta, Ga.128,731177
Brant HollenbeckLansing, Mich.134,76322
Brent MilesPasco, Wash.134,16827
Brett SanbornRochester Hills, Mich.132,68757
Brian CarlsonLexington, Ky.131,359102
Brian GeorgeBillings, Mont.131,100112
Brian LaskiewiczRandolph, N.J.129,716153
Brian SauberDenver, Colo.129,977143
Brian StainesMars, Pa.131,82589
Bryan SweetCookeville, Tenn.129,495160
Chad EisenhowerReading, Pa.131,125110
Chris BlacksmithLas Vegas, Nev.130,603125
Chris DurhamYuma, Ariz.128,151182
Chris LingenRochester, Minn.132,06380
Chris WhitneySan Jose, Calif.126,501197
Chris WinderPleasant Hill, Calif.128,538179
Clifford QuinnAnnapolis, Md.129,127169
Cory BoniniSan Diego, Calif.132,32774
Craig RobinsonCombined Locks, Wis.119,338207
Curt GoldgrabeBoise, Idaho133,88732
Dan FryeHouston, Texas125,345201
Dan SchneierWest Orange, N.J.128,125183
Dana DuffieldRochester, Minn.132,84754
Daniel BowmanLiberty, Mo.133,87033
Darrell DukeSpring, Texas129,795150
Dave BernhardMadison, Wis.126,184198
Dave CohenBrooklyn, N.Y.129,859148
Dave IampieriForest Hill, Md.134,86021
Dave ReadCranberry, Pa.131,83487
David AikenheadLancaster, Calif.131,425101
David DigregorioNorristown, Pa.131,67192
David J ThorntonDenver, Colo.103,007208
Dean TuffieAliquippa, Pa.133,51137
Dennis ThomasWatsonville, Calif.129,024170
Derek MathisNorth Charleston, S.C.135,8025
Dish AdamsLos Angeles, Calif.130,228135
Don PavelkaPlainview, Minn.129,240164
Doug PawlakKnoxville, Tenn.135,8094
Ed O'HairKaty, Texas130,171138
Ed WeissParsippany, N.J.133,52136
Eddie TietchenSicklerville, N.J.129,535158
Edward WinkloskyOakland, Calif.131,52996
Eric BuchholzDestin, Fla.128,971171
Eric GustitusExeter, Pa.132,41271
Eric HotzFremont, Ohio129,787151
Eric ScolnickRedmond, Wash.130,268131
Eric StancliffMount Airy, Md.135,6219
Gary AllenCharleston, S.C.128,823175
Gary StehlyHilliard, Ohio129,679154
Geoff MalemanRedondo Beach, Calif.132,44769
Gilberto BacaFresno, Calif.131,195108
Greg HeminwaySacramento, Calif.130,244132
Hank DabruzziOakdale, Minn.132,29477
Harriett HuntAtlanta, Ga.119,952206
Henry GoersBartlett, Ill.129,139168
Henry KarsenLecanto , Fla.124,928202
Ian AllanSeattle, Wash.131,103111
Isaac McnallyBillings, Mont.131,270106
Jake BoegelMinneapolis, Minn.125,820199
James SutterSan Carlos, Calif.128,034186
James WimmersLincolnton, N.C.130,701121
Jamie AlbertsSturgeon Bay, Wis.137,4261
Jason CollingtonTulsa, Okla.132,51565
Jason HoweOakland, Calif.132,04981
Jason PilonColumbia Heights, Minn.127,133192
Jason SpannSt. Louis, Mo.129,918147
Jeff FellSarnia, Ont.132,08579
Jeff FossettNewburgh, Ind.130,508129
Jeff RicheyFlower Mound, Texas131,334103
Jeff SlawsonBuffalo, N.Y.130,183137
Jeffery LebeoufCrowley, La.134,14028
Jeremy SchwartzEdison, N.J.131,93182
Jim CostelloPortland, Maine130,798116
Jim DilorenzoGrayslake, Ill.132,47367
Jim KangasViroqua, Wis.126,720196
Jim NienaberGeorgetown, Ohio128,044185
Joe VlcekVirginia Beach, Va.134,89115
John D. SmithMount Laurel, N.J.133,30040
John DugginsGreenville, S.C.133,83734
John IsettIndian Rocks Beach, Fla.129,345161
John MarinoBinghamton, N.Y.130,079141
John MooreSea Isle City, N.J.132,33373
John O'KaneFlemington, N.J.131,82090
John RichmondPeoria, Ariz.129,783152
John RobertsHonolulu, Hawaii129,560156
John RuppeFort Myers, Fla.128,885173
Jon Elliott HansenReno, Nev.127,064194
Jonathan MoraMiami, Fla.131,49698
Joseph MichelangeloOceanside, N.Y.133,22943
Juan NovoMiami, Fla.132,95652
Justin MorrisMidland, Ont.131,461100
Keenan RavertyNorth St Paul, Minn.135,42910
Keith MasonSumter, S.C.130,229134
Keith McgrailTinley Park, Ill.131,83088
Ken YuenArlington Heights, Ill.130,898115
Kent BaileyPuyallup, Wash.130,357130
Kevin CuozzoBoston, Mass.136,0043
Kevin HallAllen, Texas136,3922
Kevin SmithPhiladelphia, Pa.133,32539
Kevin WeaklandTracy, Calif.124,103203
Kirk KennedyPink Hill, N.C.131,84586
Lou SanicolaMenomonee Falls, Wis.125,623200
Louis Dale GanderSun Prairie, Wis.129,314162
Manny De JesusGilbert, Ariz.134,10629
Marc PriceKelowna, B.C.130,684122
Mark BurnsRunnemede, N.J.132,64459
Mark FaberColumbus, Ohio130,095140
Mark KundrotasAtco, N.J.130,935114
Mark StoeckerMansfield, Texas130,510128
Matt BeckerReading, Pa.133,27642
Matt HayesWinder, Ga.127,822188
Matt KonsMilwaukee, Wis.127,107193
Michael CabazaCherry Hill, N.J.131,171109
Michael CrowOrion, Ill.130,652124
Michael KoltonGreen Bay, Wis.131,273105
Michael LivengoodWard, Ark.134,23026
Michael McaninchNaperville, Ill.129,536157
Michael McclearyRoseville, Calif.131,68891
Michael McilraithLos Angeles, Calif.132,44070
Michael MurilloTampa, Fla.131,48899
Michael O'BrienBrighton, Colo.130,762118
Michael PhillipsWest Hartford, Conn.129,292163
Michael SarmentoSan Jose, Calif.133,28241
Michael StancoClermont, Fla.131,84685
Miguel TamesMiami, Fla.130,095139
Mike BallietMilton, Pa.129,854149
Mike CarlsonSacramento, Calif.133,04450
Mike ClayFleetwood, Pa.134,27725
Mike CraigKokomo, Ind.131,87584
Mike GreenDes Moines, Iowa123,743204
Mike McilraithFort Worth, Texas131,52497
Mike NeaseWest Chicago, Ill.130,766117
Mike ToddOtis, Ore.127,526190
Mike WellsGood Thunder, Minn.129,180166
Mitch WurstCincinnati, Ohio132,57761
Moishe SteigmannMilwaukee, Wis.131,58594
Nathan KlineTopton, Pa.135,29712
Nathan PriestWaynesboro, Pa.131,56195
Nathan RobertsPiketon, Ohio131,255107
Paul HazenGranada Hills, Calif.133,03051
Paul KucharSchaumburg, Ill.134,87320
Peter SteinkeRedmond, Wash.132,31676
Rey DiazMiami, Fla.129,533159
Rich HodgesTacoma, Wash.127,047195
Richard BrisacherLos Angeles, Calif.128,917172
Richard JacksonBerkeley, Calif.134,88916
Richard LoppnowEphrata, Wash.130,653123
Richard MeadorsSeymour, Ind.121,733205
Rick CalabroStaten Island, N.Y.129,163167
Rob DammersRingwood, N.J.130,990113
Rob ReiberRandolph, N.J.132,57762
Robert CowartDallas, Texas132,82355
Rocky PetrellaPhiladelphia, Pa.131,66093
Ronald John RobuckTempe, Ariz.127,819189
Russell DitnesJamison, Pa.132,52464
Rustin PaulNew York, N.Y.128,452180
Rusty StephensDallas, Texas132,49166
S. LindMonmouth Junction, N.J.135,7217
Sam HendricksLynchburg, Va.132,76556
Scott AndersonLakewood, Colo.134,88517
Scott BradyCollegeville, Pa.132,45768
Scott KopischkeMenomonee Falls, Wis.133,17645
Scott LilesRussellville, Ark.133,18344
Scott MartinLa Crescenta, Calif.128,112184
Scott SachsHuron, Ohio129,181165
Sebastian FalsonePhiladelphia, Pa.133,93831
Shane ScottToronto, Ont.132,93953
Shiaw ChiSan Jose, Calif.129,970144
Stephen ColemanAurora, Ill.127,973187
Stephen FisseMandeville (New Orleans), La.132,65758
Stephen MckenzieRed Wing, Minn.133,12148
Steve HoytBuffalo Grove, Ill.130,207136
Steve MoyerAlameda, Calif.132,56563
Steve TortoraWallingford, Conn.134,87519
Thomas OliverNashville, Tenn.128,344181
Tim LloydNewton , N.J.130,552127
Tim WandlingRohnert Park , Calif.130,241133
Todd VoorheesChula Vista, Calif.129,926146
Tom DeskovitzSouth Lyon, Mich.134,87618
Tom OverbergerBedminster, Pa.133,16046
Tommy LibrettiNew York, N.Y.88,178209
Tony ZellerDundalk, Md.135,6478
Travis BillmanDacula, Ga.135,32511
Travis GrayWellington, Fla.133,95030
Treavor PhippsSalem, Ind.128,761176
Troy TretolaPort Saint Lucie, Fla.131,309104
Ty TietjenBrandon, S.D.130,579126
Victor KitzesMaple Valley, Wash.135,7276
Zach LeavittHighlands Ranch, Colo.134,95414

--Ian Allan

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