Thoughts On 75 Second Limit For Online Drafts

[Greg Ambrosius]

The Online drafting season is coming to a close and before we move onto the regular season I wanted to get some feedback on the drafts while it's still fresh in your minds. The first area that I want to address is the time per pick.

Right now we allow 75 seconds per pick for all Online Championship and Satellite League drafts. We used to allow 90 seconds per pick online, but with the improved software we feel very comfortable that 75 seconds is long enough. In fact, we are considering a shorter time frame for 2013, but want your feedback first. Feel free to vote in the poll above and then make your comments in this thread. Thanks all.

What we are looking for is input on whether:

a) We should keep it the same as this year. If so, you feel 75 seconds is just right

b) We could shorten it slightly to 65 seconds as a nice compromise.

c) 60 seconds. If so, you feel that's enough time to find your player and make a pick.

We received some good feedback on a few new enhancements to the Draft Prep software that we can hopefully add next year. Making it easier to load your own player default list into each online draft you compete in is the key to making these drafts move along faster and that's what we'll do. Right now some of these drafts are getting done as quicly as 2 hours and 30 minutes, most in 3 hours to 3.5 hours. But we have had some 12-team leagues take 4+ hours, some 15-teamers take 5+ hours and we question whether those really should be taking that long. Help us decide a happy medium and I think it will be good for all of us. Thanks all and remember we're talking about 2013, not the final drafts of 2012.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I'll start the ball rolling....
I don't want to make a mistake while drafting.
First, because I want the player that I want, and second because I don't wanna be the guy holding up the draft while making a boob mistake.
So when drafting a player, I make sure that he is highlighted both in the available players section and my que.
This takes a bit of time.
Add to that the decision between a couple of players on some picks and there were a few times I needed a full minute.
In most cases, other drafters and I were not taking a minute, but it's nice to know that extra 15 seconds is there.
I like it as it is.

[Sack]

If you give people a clock limit, most will tend to use most of the time to make
a decision. For a thirty round draft, this can add as much as an hour, hour an a
half to your draft experience.

I love to draft, but when the draft drags to 4 - 4.5 hours for an online league it
starts to work on the enjoyment. I feel 60 seconds is more than enough time
to study the choices and make a selection. I'd like to see a one minute clock going
forward for the Online Leagues.

[DOUGHBOYS]

One more thing...
For Main Event drafts, there are no breaks for those online.
I leave it for others to decide if that is a disadvantage or not.

While drafting live, the choice is made in front of you and it takes about 15 seconds for the folks to find the name and put the sticker on the Draft Boards.
Then the one minute clock starts.
For Main Events, the online 1:15 clock should remain, regardless of what is done in other online drafts.

[mattjb]

The drafts move at a good pace if there are no roll backs and I don't see any need to change it personally.

[Lunatic]

60 seconds, my Main in Vegas was done in under 4 hours, a little over 3.5 hours; I have done 15 team drafts that lasted over 5 hours sometime 5.5;

[Greg Ambrosius]

One more thing...
For Main Event drafts, there are no breaks for those online.
I leave it for others to decide if that is a disadvantage or not.

While drafting live, the choice is made in front of you and it takes about 15 seconds for the folks to find the name and put the sticker on the Draft Boards.
Then the one minute clock starts.
For Main Events, the online 1:15 clock should remain, regardless of what is done in other online drafts.

I totally agree to this and this is easy to set up this way. It definitely takes an extra 15 seconds in the live events to find the sticker and put it on the board. So no matter what we decide, the Online Main Events should remain at 75 seconds.

[Greg Ambrosius]

If you give people a clock limit, most will tend to use most of the time to make
a decision. For a thirty round draft, this can add as much as an hour, hour an a
half to your draft experience.

I love to draft, but when the draft drags to 4 - 4.5 hours for an online league it
starts to work on the enjoyment. I feel 60 seconds is more than enough time
to study the choices and make a selection. I'd like to see a one minute clock going
forward for the Online Leagues.

Totally agree. For some folks, if you give them 90 seconds they make a pick in 89. If you give them 75 seconds they pick in 74. 60 = 59. I don't have a problem with it, but I understand.

That's why I'm giving three choices. Maybe a middle ground has merit.

[kamakazi]

How about reduce the time to 75 or 60, but give one mulligan/time out to every owner. This way the draft goes faster, but owners can call a timeout and get an additional minute one time. I don't really care how long the draft takes; I love every minute. But, thought I would throw it out in this brainstorming session.

kamakazi

[Driver Love]

Is the draft not the most fun part of fantasy sports? Why would we be in a rush to get it over? I don't think it takes too long at all. There are tons of things happening and changing with each pick and countless decisions need to be made. I see no reason to have to rush those decisions.

I personally like it how it is.

[Atlas]

Personally, I would prefer the 60 seconds, but can certainly continue on with 75 seconds.

I would rather find a way to stop/reduce the errant picks. There's nothing more discouraging than to go 2 or 3 picks past and realize things are getting rolled back.The last on line I participated in,there were at least 5 stoppages for mis-picks. There was also a stop or two because a manager couldn't find a player. Perhaps consider reducing the offending manager's time the next round by 15 or 30 seconds.

I know the administration's answer is that they want the manager to get the player they want, but if you made the picks stick, the problem manager (yes, one guy did it 4 times ) would figure it out quickly.

Hope this didn't come across too harsh.

[CaptainCrunch]

A 15-team draft shouldn't take more than 4 hours - that's 16 minutes per team. So, give each drafter a 16-minute clock ... when their 16 minutes are done, they go on auto and can't change from that. In this way, you can go a little faster at the start, think a bit more in the middle (especially after someone has snaffled a couple of yer picks) and then faster at the end. Max time for the draft will be 4 hours, and it will probably be done in 3.5 or less.

Another benefit is that this would speed up the opening rounds, as people would (probably) pick a little more quickly in order to bank some time for later rounds.

Similar thing could be done for 12-team drafts.

[Red Sox Nation-]

I'll start the ball rolling....
I don't want to make a mistake while drafting.
First, because I want the player that I want, and second because I don't wanna be the guy holding up the draft while making a boob mistake.
So when drafting a player, I make sure that he is highlighted both in the available players section and my que.
This takes a bit of time.
Add to that the decision between a couple of players on some picks and there were a few times I needed a full minute.
In most cases, other drafters and I were not taking a minute, but it's nice to know that extra 15 seconds is there.
I like it as it is.

+1 Agreed. I consider myself a fast drafter but just in case something happens its nice to have those 75 seconds. Maybe I only need to go over 50 seconds twice in a draft but it happens once or twice a draft.

I feel online is more challenging that live drafts. I find myself multi-tasking between the draft software, my spreadsheet, and websites. In a live draft I don't have to worry about looking at the draft board. I get to hear the pick announced. I'd like the 75 seconds to remain.

[DenverDan]

Forget about changing the time limit it's fine the way it is. If you really want to help online drafters, find a way to have the computer announce the pick as it is made. The pick is Derek Jeter would let everyone know Derek Jeter is off the table. The hardest part is when picks are almost made back to back with little to no time in between.

Audio would be nice.

[Rainiers]

I'll start the ball rolling....
I don't want to make a mistake while drafting.
So when drafting a player, I make sure that he is highlighted both in the available players section and my que.
This takes a bit of time.

I'm doing the same thing. Also, the software still locks up occasionally, so I have to unload and reload a player before I draft him. This takes 15-20 seconds. I think many drafters are doing the same thing and helping the drafts move along in this manner avoiding stoppages. Until all the glitches are programmed out of the software, I think you are better off leaving it at 75 seconds or you will end up with a lot more stoppages which really screws up and slows down the flow of the draft.

Last night, I had a perfect draft...not a single stoppage and it flowed real well. Four hours, but it didn't seem like anyone was taking undue advantage of the time. I say leave it alone for the time being.

[Quack]

I would certainly vote for 75 seconds over the 90 second rule.

On a side note, the draft software was great this year!

[Greg Ambrosius]

We'll let the voting continue through next week and it's great to get all of this feedback. We certainly want everyone to get the picks they want and I'm sure all of you feel that the extra time allows for that. However, I have to say that a few new tweaks to the draft software could easily do the same thing and we'll continue to explore those options before making any changes.

We watched TWENTY-ONE online drafts last night and I must say that no matter what the clock says there are certain people who will just take it down to the last second. Several folks timed out during their picks last night and we were rolling back picks for them. The same thing would have happened at 60 seconds, 65 seconds or 90 seconds for these owners. Online Championship drafts were lasting 4 hours and 15 minutes last night, which is just crazy. I wonder if it's a fun experience when it takes that long. That's what concerns me. And remember, these were 12-team, 30 round drafts.

Keep the feedback coming and we'll do our best to save you time next year when you're on the online clock. I have a few ideas that can speed up the process and we'll explore them all before our football draft begin. Stay tuned, but I really believe we can reduce drafts by several minutes in the future.

[mattjb]

After last nights satellite took over 4 hours i might change my vote...

[DOUGHBOYS]

Here's my reckoning and it may be full of boloney, I don't know.
Usually there are one or two drafters who take the full time. Even with two drafters taking the full time, at 15 seconds each, you'll only be shaving 15 minutes.
On the flip side, other drafters having to hurry a little more with a 60 second clock will make a few more mistakes and drafts will have to be rolled back more. Rolling back drafts is what makes these drafts longer. Not only did that drafter take the full time, but we have to wait for Admin to re-set and roll back and then go back through the same picks again. Five minutes goes by before we get back up to snuff.
Going to 60 seconds LOOKS to make things faster, but the reality is that it won't change total time at all.
And may even make for a more unpleasant draft.
Just my thought...

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's my reckoning and it may be full of boloney, I don't know.
Usually there are one or two drafters who take the full time. Even with two drafters taking the full time, at 15 seconds each, you'll only be shaving 15 minutes.
On the flip side, other drafters having to hurry a little more with a 60 second clock will make a few more mistakes and drafts will have to be rolled back more. Rolling back drafts is what makes these drafts longer. Not only did that drafter take the full time, but we have to wait for Admin to re-set and roll back and then go back through the same picks again. Five minutes goes by before we get back up to snuff.
Going to 60 seconds LOOKS to make things faster, but the reality is that it won't change total time at all.
And may even make for a more unpleasant draft.
Just my thought...

As you said Dan, just your opinion!!

[Money Men]

Draft Day is like Christmas morning. Especially when you're playing in a national contest.

I spent months prepping for my online draft. Who cares if it takes 3 hours or 4 to open up the presents?

[Quahogs]

Here's my reckoning and it may be full of boloney, I don't know.
Usually there are one or two drafters who take the full time. Even with two drafters taking the full time, at 15 seconds each, you'll only be shaving 15 minutes.
On the flip side, other drafters having to hurry a little more with a 60 second clock will make a few more mistakes and drafts will have to be rolled back more. Rolling back drafts is what makes these drafts longer. Not only did that drafter take the full time, but we have to wait for Admin to re-set and roll back and then go back through the same picks again. Five minutes goes by before we get back up to snuff.
Going to 60 seconds LOOKS to make things faster, but the reality is that it won't change total time at all.
And may even make for a more unpleasant draft.
Just my thought...

I agree with Dough. I've heard from numerous people who have mis-picked for various reasons but didn't feel right about stopping the draft since subsequent picks flew by right after. I'm not saying a 90 or 120 second would have helped but a 60 second would really hurt. I'm as organized as they come and have no issues searching for who I want and picking under 60 seconds. However throw any kind of strategic thought process out the window. It's all about reacting instead of being proactive. When you're looking at your roster, looking up a player, viewing other team's rosters, just trying to THINK what to do next - you turn to the draft and see 5 players gone. Good luck catching up. That'd doesn't happen in a live event.

I can't see how making it 60 will help matters. Like dough said it'll create more rollbacks and more dissatisfied drafters.

[Money]

Here's my reckoning and it may be full of boloney, I don't know.
Usually there are one or two drafters who take the full time. Even with two drafters taking the full time, at 15 seconds each, you'll only be shaving 15 minutes.
On the flip side, other drafters having to hurry a little more with a 60 second clock will make a few more mistakes and drafts will have to be rolled back more. Rolling back drafts is what makes these drafts longer. Not only did that drafter take the full time, but we have to wait for Admin to re-set and roll back and then go back through the same picks again. Five minutes goes by before we get back up to snuff.
Going to 60 seconds LOOKS to make things faster, but the reality is that it won't change total time at all.
And may even make for a more unpleasant draft.
Just my thought...

I personally voted for the 60 second clock. Now after reading Dan's thoughts and participating in the NFBC XII last night I agree with him. We had numerous rollbacks, mostly the same culprits. Possibly we look at the roll back language in the rules. One team was allowed to time out twice (on the same pick) then hitting on the third time. He literally had 5 minutes (when you include the stopped time) for 1 pick. His explanation was he was looking for Kendrys Morales who happened to have been picked a few rounds previous.

Bottom line is I can live with 75 seconds. The constant stops can be annoying. All in all if you can't do it live, it's the next best thing and a great time no matter what the time limit.

[Tom Kessenich]

I personally voted for the 60 second clock. Now after reading Dan's thoughts and participating in the NFBC XII last night I agree with him. We had numerous rollbacks, mostly the same culprits. Possibly we look at the roll back language in the rules. One team was allowed to time out twice (on the same pick) then hitting on the third time. He literally had 5 minutes (when you include the stopped time) for 1 pick. His explanation was he was looking for Kendrys Morales who happened to have been picked a few rounds previous.

I was running that draft Joe and a lot of that was due to people timing out. Would more timeouts occur if we went to 60 seconds? That's possible. However, having moderated nearly all of our online drafts this year my initial thought is we had fewer rollbacks this year than last after reducing the time to 75 seconds. That doesn't mean the same trend would occur if we went to 60. It's possible more mistakes would happen like Dan and Steve suggest. I do know the two Fast/Slow Drafts we held where people were asked to make their picks in no more than 60 seconds seemed to go smoothly. I don't recall any issues for either one.

I do think most people are good at adapting to whatever time they are given. The key is to keep an eye on the clock and not allow it to dwindle to the last couple of seconds before making a selection. However, baseball drafts are more labor intensive than football and like Steve said there's more work to be done searching for players due to the larger rosters and more positions to fill etc. Maybe 65 seconds is a compromise to look at for next year?

[mattjb]

I spend a lot of my time between picks updating a spreadsheet by position of who has been drafted.

I'd be happy to see less time on the clock if the online tools for the draft were improved.

1. I want the option to rank my players by position - not one big overall list.
2. Wouldn't it be great then to have a pop up board (like the great draft tracker we have showing each teams picks) where you can see your rankings by position and the players that have been drafted are crossed out (or greyed out/removed etc)