Starting Lineups How To

Each week in the fantasy season your team owners will need to define a subset of their overall roster players to be used as their weekly starting lineup players. The first step necessary to allow for this is to define the overall number of player each team may start each week and the various position restrictions imposed on these starters. To accomplish this task, go to the For Commissioners > Setup > Players & Rosters > Starting Lineups Setup screen.

Specify the number of starting coaches for each fantasy team. Most league's do not use coaches, but they are available. Define either a single discrete number or a range for your starting Coaches.

First, you must define if your league will be using individual QB or Team QB (it's extremely unlikely that you would ever use both at the same time). If your league drafts Peyton Manning (starting QB, IND) for example, then you should define the 'Quarterback (QB)' field. Most leagues only start one QB here, but you can define more as needed. If your league instead prefers to draft a Team QB, them instead use the 'Team Quarterback (QB)' field. In a TMQB environment, if Peyton Manning got injured and Jim Sorgi (backup QB, IND) had to take over, the fantasy team that drafted the IND TMQB would automatically receive Sorgi's points too. In effect, by using the TMQB, a team is drafting all of the pro team's quarterbacks and will receive fantasy points regardless of which player is actually playing.

The next sections of this screen allows you to define the RB, WR, and TE lineup positions for your league. If you do not use a position, it's best to just leave the field blank.

After the QB position, the next most common set of positions include the RB, WR, and TE. The site presents you with three separate ways to define these based on your league's needs. You can select...

a fixed number of RBs, WRs, and TEs. This is the strictest setting as it requires you to define each position individually. Note, however, that you can define either a single, discrete value (ie, "2" to start two RBs) or you can define a range (ie, "2-3" to start at least two, but no more than three RBs). Use the RB, WR, and TE rows for this setting.

a fixed number of RBs, and a fixed number of receivers (WRs + TEs). This option is designed for leagues that combine the WR and TE position without concern for how many of each a team may start. as above, you can define a single, discrete value (ie, "3" to start three WRs+TEs) or you can define a range (ie, "2-3" to start at least two, but no more than three WRs+TEs). Even if you use this setting, you MUST still define TE rules for your league in order to have the TE players score correctly. Use the RB and WR+TE rows for this setting.

c.	a more flexible lineup (RBs, WRs, and TEs). This final option is the most flexible in that you can define a single number or range (as above) to be used for the combination of RB, WR, and TE starters. Use only the RB+WR+TE row for this setting.

NOTE: If your league considers WRs and TEs to be one and the same, there is no need to use the change player position page to manually change all WRs to TEs. Simply choosing one of the WR+TE combined positions above will automatically enforce this rule for you, and there will be no need for any extra work on your part.

While most leagues typically use a specific number of starters at each position, some leagues prefer to offer a range. For example, instead of the specific requirements to start 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 1 TE, some leagues may add another player of any RB/WR/TE. While one owner could start 3 RBs, 2 WRs, and 1 TE, another might start 2 RBs, 3 WRs, and 1 TE, while yet another would start 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 2 TEs. This is setup as follows:

There's still no way to start more than the six players at these positions (this is constrained by the Total Starters option above) as well as at least 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 1 TE. Another common example using individual defensive players (IDPs) is to start up to three at any of DL/LB/DB. Define these positions as follows:

Here, one owner could start one player at each position while another could start three DBs.

Define the FB position ONLY if you league requires fullbacks to be used independently of running backs. Use the KR position ONLY if your league defines some players to score points only when they are returning kickoffs and punts. If you prefer to allow all WRs, DBs, etc. that return kicks & punts to also receive other points (ie, WRs for receptions, etc.), then do not use this option. Instead, just define Kickoff and Punt Return scoring rules to the WR position.

When using either of these positions, the commissioner must manually change individual players via the Change Player Position screen as needed (to FBs or KRs).

Next, you must define if your league will be using individual PKs or Team PKs (as in the QB decision above, it's extremely unlikely that you would ever use both at the same time). If your league drafts Jason Elam (PK, DEN) then you should define the 'Place Kicker (PK)' field. Most leagues only start one PK here, but you can define more as needed. If your league instead prefers to draft a Team PK, them instead use the 'Team Place Kicker (TMPK)' field. In a TMPK environment, if Jason Elam was injured and his backup had to take over, the fantasy team that drafted the DEN TMPK would automatically receive the backup's points too. In effect, by using the TMPK, a team is drafting all of the pro team's kickers and will receive fantasy points regardless of which player is actually playing.

You can similarly define Punters (PN) or Team Punters (TMPN) as needed by your league. Most leagues do not use punters, but they are available.

Specify the number of starting defensive linemen (both defensive ends and defensive tackles) for each fantasy team or Team DLs. Most league's do not use DLs (opting instead to use the Def position), but they are available. As always, define either a single discrete number or a range.

Specify the number of starting linebackers for each fantasy team or Team Lbs. Most league's do not use Lbs (opting instead to use the Def position), but they are available. As always, define either a single discrete number or a range.

Specify the number of starting defensive backs (both cornerbacks and safeties) for each fantasy team or Team DBs. Most league's do not use DBs (opting instead to use the Def position), but they are available. As always, define either a single discrete number or a range.

If your league uses both flex offensive players and flex defensive players, then you should define this field as the total number of independent defensive players (IDPs) for your weekly lineups. This will prevent a team owner from substituting an extra IDP for a higher scoring IOP.

Enable and define this field if your league uses a separate defensive team OR a combined defensive team + special teams position. For the latter, just define both Def-type (such as Total Yards Against) and ST-type (such as Punt Return Yardage) rules to the Def position. The only leagues that typically do not use this are those that instead use individual defensive players (IDPs). A single number or range is again supported.

Specify the number of starting (pro) offensive teams for each fantasy team. Most league's do not use the Off position, but it is available. As always, define either a single discrete number or a range for your starting Offensive team.

Only define this field if your league uses a separate special teams position. For leagues that combine the ST with the Defensive Team, use the setting above. A single number or range is again supported.

In the first section, you are required to define the overall number of starter for each franchise each week.

NOTE: This number must equal the sum of all the individual position starters defined in the remainder of this page.

On occasion a team owner may not be able to submit his weekly lineup. A common practice is to address this by copying that team's previous lineup for the current week. By default, lineups are not automatically copied over, however you can check and of the boxes to enable this for your league. If unchecked, a team that does not submit a lineup for a given week will score zero fantasy points.

As Soon As The Previous Week's Final Results Are Available: - When checked, this option will automatically carry everyone's lineup through to the following week as soon as the previous week's results are finalized (typically late Monday night).

As Soon As Preliminary (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) Results Are Available: - Select this option to automatically have all lineups resolved for owners who did not submit lineups by the first game of the above preliminary day.

As Soon As Final (Monday) Results Are Available: - Select this option to automatically have all lineups resolved for owners who did not submit lineups for the week.

See the For Commissioners > Setup > Players & Rosters > Starting Lineup Setup screen for more information.

The system supports a variety of ways to define when a weekly starting lineup is due. These options get set using the For Commissioners > Setup > Transactions Setup > Weekly Lineup Setup screen.

There are four different ways to set the time in which each franchise owner must have their weekly lineup submitted.

This option requires that the entire weekly starting lineup be defined by the start time of the earliest game during the week. For most weeks this will be the early Sunday game, however, there are a few weeks that start with either a Thursday or Saturday game. See the 2008 NFL Schedule for more information on when the early games occur.

This setting requires all players in early (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday) games to be started/benched at the kickoff of their individual game. All other players must be started/benched at the start of the first game on Sunday. By using this setting the playing status (started or benched) of all players in early games will be locked at the kickoff of that player's game. As a result, not actively starting an early player is the same as actively benching that same player (unless no lineup is submitted and the league allows lineups to be copied over from the previous week). He cannot be started at a later time.

Each player must be started or benched by the kickoff of their respective pro game. While this is by far the most flexible of all options, franchise owners need to be aware of when each player on their roster plays each week. It's easy to not start some players in the early games only to realize (too late) that there are no other players at a given position to start in the late games.

All players must be submitted based on the custom-defined For Commissioners > Setup > League Calendar Setup screen. NOTE: When using this setting, be sure to adjust as needed based on the 2008 NFL Schedule.