The Real League- Week 8
“Trade Rape”
Before I begin I just wanted to make note that this past Friday night was a sad day for everyone. The final season of
Chuck has officially started. For some reason NBC has moved it to Friday nights and in its Season Premier, Chuck got
Trade Raped by game 7 of the World Series. (P.S. Congrats to the Cardinals on the big win)
Trade Rape
I hope the title doesn’t offend anyone in the league but I figured it was appropriate due to this week’s Special Trade Issue.
There have been a ton of trades and trade talk this past week and I think it was about time that our League gave trade talk
the appropriate focus it deserves. The entire weekly update will be focused on trades, how to make them, how not to
make them, what to do, who to do it with and how to avoid the famous and infamous Trade Rape. According to UrbanDictionary.com a Trade Rape is a term originating from “the FX show "The League", and refers to a fantasy football trade
in which one team receives a much better player or players.” Obviously every coach wants to avoid being another victim
to the Fantasy Rapists out there. Believe it or not, there are easy ways to avoid this. In my research for this week’s blog I
came across some of the worst trades in fantasy football history. Just google Worst trade in fantasy football ever and I
promise you that you will not be disappointed. But you may be asking yourself, “What can I do to prevent my fantasy
football team from being taken advantage of? Do I get some type of whistle if I fear I am being taken advantage of? How
do I protect myself?” Coaches, your prayers have been answered. I present you all with the TEN COMMANDMENTS OF
FANTASY FOOTBALL TRADING.
TEN COMMANDMENTS OF FANTASY FOOTBALL TRADING
1. Always Look to Improve your team:
a. Don’t just make a trade because you are a trade-aholic or because someone offered you your favorite
player. If your team needs a WR don’t trade for a new RB. Trust me, I too get that awesome rush when a
trade goes through but that doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your team with every trade you make.
Stay focused on the goal and only trade to improve your team.
2. Know your other league owners
a. We are all friends and all know each other well. Take advantage of your friends’ likes and dislikes. If your
friend is a crazy Jet fan and thinks Sanchez is the next Namath, take advantage, if your friend is a huge
Dolphin fan, maybe he thinks the Dolphins will win a game and give him Marshall for a #1RB, if you know
your friend has Big Balls, then know you can trade him a player with big potential for a proven and
experience veteran, if your friend over-values his players, he probably over-values other players out
there, find them and make a good trade that of course follows the first commandment of improving your
team.
3. Studs Typically Produce
a. Every year there are those owners, myself included who panic when proven producers have a bad week
or two. Remember one thing, studs will typically produce. Adrian Peterson is not the #1 overall every year
because he is always #1 in stats; he is #1 because he always produces solid numbers. This is important
for two reasons; firstly, don’t sell your players too early. Just because they have a bad week doesn’t
mean they will have a bad season so don’t sell them short and then regret it later on. Second, take
advantage of other peoples panicking. If a stud out there has a few bad weeks, perhaps you can swoop in
there and trade for him at a low price.
4. Other coaches look to improve their team
a. I think this commandment holds particular water in our group. Guys, if you wouldn’t make the deal
yourself, don’t offer it to another coach. Every coach is hopefully following rule #1 and which case, trying
to improve their team. If you make a bogus trade offer you will not only fail get a trade done, you will
offend and scare off other coaches. Remember that we are all intelligent people and while you can
definitely play to other coachs’ likes and dislikes, don’t insult them with your offer of a #3 WR for their
#1RB just because they need a wideout.
5. Time is on Your Side
a. Don’t rush into a trade. If you are unsure over a trade do not give in to that adrenaline rush and just do it.
Think it through first and if you need some time, take it. Get feedback from other fantasy owners and ask
around, do some research before just acting on an offer. If you don’t believe me ask the Counselor if he
regrets his trade the other day in which he acted impulsively and didn’t listen to #1 rule of the league by
trading a needed WR for a unnecessary RB.
6. No Player is Untradeable
a. Not everyone will agree with this one but when you truly think about it, no player is untradeable. Even if
you had Achilis himself on your team (oh right I do, his name is Tom Brady) then you need to realize that
any player is worth trading in the right package. For instance, Adrian Peterson who for years is deemed
7.
8.
9.
10.
untradeable can be worth a deal if you get 3 solid players in return. Remember one really good fantasy
player is not always better than 2-3 solid fantasy players. Sometimes its even worth it to trade an
untradeable player for some crazy potential (see Daniel Tennenbaum). This is especially prevalent if you
are able to get additional players that fill your holes your starting lineup. Sometimes it is important to look
at the bigger picture. Additionally, we all tend to overrate our players making them absolutely untradeable.
Just remember one thing; we are in fact overrating them.
It’s OK to Counter an Offer
a. If you look at all the big and successful trades this year, you will notice they all had a back and forth
dialogue. Just because you don’t like an offer you received, don’t get insulted by it. Use it as a starting
point and work with the other coach to get a deal done. We all get low-ball offers but sometimes it is just
to get the conversation going. Once the conversation has started the trade can get done. Obviously if you
are both on two different pages then it won’t happen but be open and discuss all possibilities to get a
good fair deal done.
Watch Injury Reports and Transaction Lists
a. Ignorance is not bliss in fantasy football. Being a step ahead of your fellow coaches can give you a leg up
on so many levels. If someone is playing but players hurt see if you can move him, if you see a #2 RB is
going to start because of a lingering injury to the starter, take advantage of this. If you watch the waiver
and free agency market you can bolster your bench with trade bait. Who would have thought grabbing
Tim Tebow in week 6 would end up getting me a solid starting #2 running back. Any good coach is
looking at the weekly injury report and picking up those backups to help them win. Jay the Wise picked up
Julius Jones’ backup who won him the Battle of the Schwartzs.
Evaluate Other Trades
a. See how trades have been going in your league. Try to get a sense of what the value players are getting
out there. There are numerous trade websites out there that every coach is using. Plug some trades into
the evaluator and see what it says. You need to figure that other coaches out there are using similar tools
so if you are seeing results, figure someone else is as well. For instance, this year there were a lot of
good RB moved early in the season, it would have behooved any coach to try and strike a good early
deal for one of these solid starters.
Get Feedback before Making a Deal
a. “That’s what Friends are for.” I think everyone in this League has done a good job of discussing their
trades and obtaining valuable feedback from their trusted sources. Before making an instinct deal, ask
around to see if you are being blinded by your love for big numbers or that favorite player of yours.
Sometimes potential works out but sometimes you trade too much when the potential that is just not
there. Please before you deal, call or message a friend. There is no worse feeling than making a trade
you are proud of only to get the feedback afterwards that you were a victim of the Rapist!
The 11th Commandment
There are only 10 real commandments out there but if there were to be an 11th Commandment it would be none other
than the phrase that has not only become a motto but a staple of all theories and strategies that are fantasy football in the
“Mer Loves Poon” League. And that is HAVE BIG BALLS. Just as there is a fine line between crazy and genius and there
is a fine line between Big Balls and Idiotic. According to Urban-Dictionary.com, Big Balls means making a big move that
shows guts and shows the intelligence to make a risky but calculated move. No one has represented this theory more
than the creator himself, Dr. T. An early season trade in which he gave up the #1 RB in football for a rookie WR and
rookie QB was risky but calculated. The trade has paid itself off 100 times over again. Dr T’s gutsy coaching has triggered
a movement in the League. Just recently, Maximus Decimus Meridius moved a top 5 QB and good RB to fill some holes
while making a move for unproven QB but proven winner Tim Tebow. While some thought he was a victim of the Rapist,
he showed big balls in this calculated move that will be evaluated as the season goes on.
Double Jeopardy
In legal terms, double jeopardy prevents an individual from being charged with the same crime two separate times. In
Fantasy terms, double jeopardy refers to the biggest trade controversy in the history of the League. What started out as a
mere notification to the league of a trade between cousins, though that has no bearing on the situation, has turned into a
full out war going through the night. In a nutshell, a big trade was agreed upon by two coaches but to benefit both coaches
the trade was done in two parts, one before this week’s games and one after. Questions, good and bad, began to flow in
from all directions. Was the first part of the trade fair? Is it a full trade standing on its own? Was the second part of the
trade fair? Did the Commish really agree to this? How is it fair for someone to keep a player for one week before doing the
rest of the trade? Couldn’t they just say it is two separate trades? Are they colluding with each other because they share
the same blood? Is this screwing over other coaches? How can one coach deliberately make a deal to help another coach
win his game? Doesn’t the Commish and Maximus deal with this stuff and not the league as a whole? While I am not
going to voice my personal opinion it is not because I don’t want stir any drama or pick sides, I simply am of the opinion
that as a League we decided on a system of vetoing trades. In an earlier issue I addressed the criteria by which the
Commish reviews trades and determines their fairness. I will not delve into that issue again but it is a fact that as a group
we decided on a system and must respect that system. If for whatever reason the Commish made a decision we must live
by the Rules of Mer. Perhaps this can be a discussion before next season that the league can discuss as a whole and
see what solution would make all the coaches happy. Until then, let us live by the Rules of Mer and move on from the
deal.
Types of Trades
As mentioned above, trades can be done for numerous of reasons but should all be done using the Ten Commandments.
We all have a reason for our trades, some that will remain a mystery for the rest of time but if you look closely at all trades
you can sort of classify them into a few different categories. Before I delve into the categories it should be noted that
obviously all trades and trade values are a matter of opinion and if I offend anybody with the analysis please forgive me.
These are just the thoughts of a lowly Writer combined with the comments made by the League Thread.
ATrade Rape
This as mentioned above is when one team just completely takes advantage of another team. Very often a trade rape can
occur once someone gets into a deep whole and needs to fix the situation (Often related to the Recover Trade- See F).
Something very important to realize is that when one gets taken advantage of they obviously do not realize it is happening
because they believe they are getting something worthwhile in return. This misconception is usually caused by the fact
that the one being taken advantage of is giving up too much simply to fill a whole on his team. If you give up 2 very solid
proven players for a #2 WR because you need that position, chances are that you may be so blinded by the fact that
you’re filling that hole on your team you don’t realize how much you are giving up. Obviously those being taken advantage
of will claim that they made a good trade because they got what they wanted and that may be true (and is the reason the
Commish let it through) but the following trade(s) were the generally agreed upon to be Trade Rape.
Player
Mathew Stafford
Darren Sproles
Miles Austin
Jackie Battle
Player
To Coach
Grade
The Lady's Man
A+
The Counselor
D
To Coach
Grade
Brandon Lloyd
Brandon Jacobs
Jason Witten
Jay the Wise
C+
Dallas Clarke
Michael Turner
Nate Washington
The Commish
A
BDesperate Move Trade
Desperate Move Trades are trades made by a desperate Coach simply to shake things up. Sometimes if your team is 1-5
or 2-4 and still healthy, a big trade simply to stir things up on your team can be a useful way to make Fantasy more
exciting and perhaps turn things around on your team. Please do not forget the Commandments though and give up on
your team too early. The following trade(s) have been determined to fall into this category.
Player
To Coach
Grade
Santonio Holmes
Anquan Boldin
Frank Gore
The Frock
B+
David Nelson
Miles Austin
Mark Ingram
Ryan Fitpatrick
The Lady's Man
B
CBench Trade
Often viewed as an automatic trade win, the Bench Move Trade is when a coach successfully trades off his bench players
for a useful starter. Some may question how these trades can be fair but if you have two amazing QB, you can trade one
of them off your bench for a really good starter. Obviously, this is more likely to apply to QB and TE since there are only
starter at these positions but sometimes teams are stocked with RB and WR and have a true starter sitting on their bench.
These trades are signs of good coaching. It means that you are watching the injury wire, free agency list and had a good
draft by which you were able to acquire significant talent on your bench. There is no better feeling than filling a starting
spot with people you were not going to be playing anyway. The following trade(s) are the best examples that fall into this
category.
Player
To Coach
Maximus Decimus
Meridius
Tim Tebow
Greg Olsen
Benjarvus Green-Ellis
The Writer
Player
Darren Sproles
Larry Fitzgerald
To Coach
The Counselor
Big Ben Lovers
Grade
AB+
Grade
C
B+
DBig Balls Trade
We have already spent time focusing on this type of deal already. What should be clarified again regarding these deals is
that while they are considered good deals they have the opportunity to go sour. Even if one of these deals doesn’t go as
planned, they must be respected and promoted because they show good coaching based on calculated risk. None of
these deals are completely baseless even though they may seem so at times. There have been two main trades which
would fall into this category with the awards going to Dr. T and Maximus as mentioned earlier.
Player
To Coach
Grade
Cam Newton
AJ Green
Dr. T.
A+
Fred Jackson
Jerome Simpson
Mark Sanchez
The Writer
A
Player
To Coach
Grade
Eric Decker
Arian Foster
Maximus
A+
Matthew Stafford
Larry Fitzgerald
Rashad Mendenhall
The Counselor
A
EBored out of Your Mind Trade
Hi, my name is Yitzy (aka Jordan, aka the Writer) Kolb and I am a TRADE-Aholic. When trade talk happens and trades go
down I get a bubbly feeling in my stomach and no it is not gas. I get excited when the fantasy trade world is buzzing and
enjoy the back and forth of negotiations. If you fall into this category of Trade-aholics you have at some point in your
fantasy existence made one of these trades. Sometimes you just get bored of your team or bored of your league and just
want to make a big deal to shake things up. The problem with these trades is that your motivation for making the deal is
not founded in the Ten Commandments. If you’re making a deal because you are bored you are probably not thinking how
to improve your team the most. These trades may seem like a lot of fun but trust me when afterwards you will regret it. I
remember two years ago trading Adrian Peterson because he wasn’t playing so well and I was so so bored of my team.
The following trade(s) are the best examples that fall into this category.
Player
Julio Jones
To Coach
Maximus
Grade
B
Jordy Nelson
Ladainian Tomlinson
The Bear Jew (aka Tiny)
Player
Ben Tate
Nate Burleson
To Coach
The Counselor
Jay the Wise
Grade
B (for Boring)
B (for Boring)
Player
To Coach
The Lady's Man
The Counselor
Grade
B (for Boring)
B (for Boring)
Greg Little
Michael Bush
B-
FRecovery Trade
As mentioned earlier, this type of trade is one made to recovery from some damage to your team. This deal can result as
of a separate bad deal that you made or can be done to simply help your team recover from an injury or unexpected
prison sentence. This type of deal can often lead to someone being taken advantage of as the motivation for these deals
in one of “self-preservation as opposed to self-improvement”. ©® The following trade(s) are the best examples that fall
into this category.
See other trades posted here.
GBlockbuster
Like in real sports, there are always going to be blockbuster deals in which big stars are traded. These deals are exciting
and fun to observe. It is always exciting to see what little things will give one team an advantage coming out of these
deals.
Player
To Coach
Grade
AJ Green
Joseph Addai
Greg Jennings
Beanie Wells
Eli Manning
The Guru
A
Jabar Gaffney
Darren McFadden
Roddy White
James Starks
Dr. T.
A
Back to School
Nobody likes getting grades or giving grades so before you all have nightmare flashbacks to those days getting kicked out
of MTA class or getting that dreaded exam back, the above mentioned grades don’t mean anything but are just a general
consensus as to the grade of a trade that went down this season in the League.
Week 8 in Review
Matchup
McGibblets
Willfork for Food
Points
105.92
136.20
Summary
The #1 seed had another powerful week and moved to 7-1.
Even without a TE for the game due to last minute injury, Big
Ben led an impressive group to an tough win. McCoy and
the Philly Defense dominated the Cowboys leading to the
win over the Fred Jackson led McGibblets who fell to 4-4.
The Commish bounced back with a big win this week. All but
one player was in double digits and he scored 9 points.
Though there were no outstanding performances everyone
was solid. Tebow failed in his second start as Foster was not
enough to Maximus get the win.
YEAH BUDDY ryan
HABSolutely Rude Eh
111.36
88.98
JapanSwordBivakasha
NTawsome White Stuff
82.06
97.56
In a week where everyone thought he would get killed, the
Guru put up a fight but fell short to the Wiseman. Vick was
big in the win and Eli and Beanie produced in the loss but
this game was full of poor performances.
Consensual Butt Rex
Niginta Please
85.40
91.72
Coming down to the Monday night showdown, The
counselor pulled out the win even with the Cincy defense
being highest scorer. Cam was once again fantastic in the
loss with 24 points Dr. T suffered from a bye week.
Amy’s B*tch
My Vick In A Box
119.88
125.64
In a fantastic finish to this one. The Kopps ending up losing
by a few points to the Lady’s man as the San Diego Defense
was not able to hold on. Jackson and Peterson were
monsters this week combining for 64 points, but were not
enough for Stafford and Ray Rice’s big day.
Wats closer FLorMTL?
The Floridians
133.20
78.56
In this insane blowout, the Legend of Frock dominated the
Bear Jew. 30 points from Detroit, and 20 from three others
were just overbearing for the Bear Jew who had only 1
player in double digit points. This was the second loss for
the previously dominating Floridians.
Power Rankings
Current
PR
Team
Coach
Record
1
2
Wilfork for Food
Big Ben
Lovers
7-1
2
1
McGibblets
The Writer
4-4
3
3
YEAH BUDDY ryan
The
Commish
5-3
4
4
the floridians
The Bear
Jew
6-2
5
5
My Vick In A Box
Koppel
4-4
6
9
Niginta Please
The
Counselor
5-3
7
7
NTawsome White Stuff
Jay the Wise
4-4
8
6
ConsensualButtRex
Dr. T
3-5
9
11
Wats closer FLorMTL?
The Frock
4-4
Explanation
The Big Ben Lovers are on a roll right now. After making a Bench Player trade for
another #1 WR who produced (Fitzgerald) the Big Ben lovers have already clinched a
playoff spot and are looking like the #1 overall seed. This team is tough to beat at
every single position. For all those haters out there from draft night, eat your heart
out. This team blew out the #2 seed without even playing a tight end.
Once again, despite scoring over a 105 points, the McGibblets got a tough matchup
against the #1 seed and lost for the second week in a row. The producers on this
team are fantastic and Fred Jackson continues to average over 20 points a game.
Unfortunately there is still no #2 RB on this team and Pettigrew has been inconsistent
at TE.
The Commish got back to his winning ways this week with a nice victory. The
Commish was able to pull out a victory or two through its tough bye weeks and is
looking prime for the playoffs. Bowe and Manningham are starting to come to true
form and a solid running game should help Brees all the way to the playoffs.
The Floridians suffered an embarrassing loss this week but still stand strong at 6-2.
Rodgers has been unearthly this year and continues to win. While the running game
has been great here all year, the hope is that Forte and Rodgers will continue
carrying a weak Wide Receiving core all the way to the playoffs.
With a second win in a row the original #1 is back on track mostly due to those two
studs named Peterson and Jackson who last week combined for like 350-400 yards
and 4 touchdowns. The WR have been good but spotty and surprisingly the team is
getting by with makeshift quarterbacks. Question is how long will they do enough to
win games?
The Counselor was able to pull out another victory on Monday night and has moved
to a very solid 5-3.A bunch of trades have shaken up this team and only time will tell
if the new acquisitions pay off. While the team is now filled with underachievers the
team has done what is needed to get the wins including Jackie Battle’s one drive last
night that got this weeks victory.
With the victory the team moves to 4-4 on the season and is in the playoff race.
Welker has definitely slowed down this year along with Brady but the team still has
some home run hitters. With Vick at the helm you are always ready for a big game as
we got Sunday night. Ryan Matthews has been a stud hopefully the little pieces on
this team and some people coming off injuries can make a playoff push.
Doc T. lost a tough one this week in a Monday night showdown. No one would think
this team is 3-5 with a fantastic lineup that gets put out every week. With a big trade
for Darren McFadden the team that already boasts studs like Johnson, Newton White
should hopefully go on a run right now to get back in the playoff picture.
The Frock also moved to 4-4 this week with a nice win. Again, its never a good thing
when your defense is your highest scorer but when its almost 30 points you will take
the win. This team has not gotten a ton of points from any one player but has done
enough to get some victories. But with underachieving RB and WR this team needs
to show more to be considered in the elite of the League.
10
8
JapanSwordBivakasha
The Guru
2-6
11
10
HABSolutely Rude Eh
Maximus
2-6
12
12
Amy's Bitch.
The Lady’s
Man
2-6
The Guru made a bunch of deals, fought the disease called the Bye Week and fell
short to get his 3rd win. With all the moves this team has new look built around good
level 2 RB and a revamped WR core. Eli has exceeded everyone’s expectations this
year and the hopefully all the moves will turn things around for this squad.
One great move, one ok move. That is the story right now for Maximus’ troops.
Adrian Foster has been a stud scoring almost 100 points since being acquired but
newly acquired Tim Tebow is a big ??? up in Denver the WR are young, talented and
inconsistent. I think Maximus needs to give his squad a serious pep talk before going
into the playoff battle season.
More and more disappointment for this team. We have focused on the bad but now
there seems to be a few new faces in that black book. With the newly acquired
Stafford, Sproles and Brown, the Lady’s Man hopes to shake things up and turn
things around. The team has added some of the highest scoring people in fantasy
this season, will they continue to provide for this new team is the question.