GridIronPro FAQ
August 08, 2004
Q - Is the draft software free?
A - It is free to download, but I do ask for a small donation if you enjoy the program. You also get the trade analyzing feature for free. I put alot of work into this program, and it is a very powerful tool. I am trying to share the love, but without a little reward there is no incentive to make this product public. Send donations to paypal via xeifrank@yahoo.com
Q - How do I select which team I will draft for?
A - After you load both your league configuration and player database files, you will see a list of football player pictures near the top of the form. Each picture denotes a team in the draft, simply right click on one of these teams and that will become the team you draft for.
Q - How do I view the rosters of each team?
A - From the drop down menu, select Tools->Draft Log/Rosters and this will toggle you between viewing the draft log and the rosters. When viewing rosters, simply run the cursor over the picture of the football man near the top of the form to view the roster denoted for that team.
Q - How do I filter the sorted list of remaining players by position?
A - To see quarterbacks only hit the 'Q' key on your keyboard, 'R' for runningbacks, 'W' for wide receivers, 'T' for tight ends, 'K' for kickers, 'D' for team defenses, 'A' for All players.
Q - How do I modify the player projections?
A - Before loading your draft files, select Tools->Edit Player Database from the drop down menu. A new form will appear, you can select the database file you would like to modify. Please make sure you save your file before you are done. You may save to the same file, or save to a new file.
Q - How does the computer draft?
A - Obviously, it tries to draft the best player possible. But to keep each simulation from drafting in the exact same sequence each time, I have included some randomness to it's picks. Depending on which intelligence level you set for the computer it will draft with less or more randomness.
Q - Why do the player rankings differ from what I see in the fantasy football magazines I bought?
A - The computer is just using the player projections provided and the scoring rules you selected. If you feel that any of the player projections are off, there is a tool in the program for you to modify the player projections.
Q - How do I create a new league configuration file?
A - Before loading your draft files, select Tools->Create New Leage from the drop down menu. A new form will appear. You can select the number of teams, team names, number of starters at each position, bench size, and scoring rules.
Q - How are player rankings calculated?
A - The simples answer is by using the Replacement Value (RPV) method. The RPV method determines the size of the draftable starting player pool at each position. If it is determined that there will be 10 starting quarterbacks in your configuration, then the value of each quarterback is his value minus the value of the 10th (or replacement level) quarterback.
Calculate how many starters drafted at each position. In yahoo public leagues this is:
QBs: 10
RBs: 20
WRs: 30
TEs: 10
K: 10
DEF: 10
Now take your 2004 player projections and use your scoring method to come up with projected fantasy points for each player. Take this number and subtract from it the value of the nth ranked person at that position, where n is the pool size shown above. Running backs are so valuable because there is a larger spread between the most valuable ones and the 20th ranked one. QBs are less valuable because the 10th ranked QB isn't that bad. Now we come to team defenses and there are three team defenses that are head and shoulders above the rest, the top one being Baltimore, as they rack up alot more fantasy points than other team defenses, especially the 10th ranked team defense.
Q - How do I run the trade analyzer.
A - Open a league configuration file, and a player database file, then from the drop down menu select, Tools->Trade Analyzer, a new form will appear. Type in what your complete roster would look like before and after the trade, then hit the Trade button and how many total replacement level fantasy points you will gain or lose will appear on the form. If you have a unique league configuration, you will need to create and save and new league configuration file.
Q - The player database is missing some player(s), what do I do?
A - The first thing I'd like you to do is to email me (xeifrank@yahoo.com) and let me know which player it is. I included alot of players, but of course you can't include all of them. The second thing you could do, is to use the edit player database feature and add the new player and his projections yourself.
Q - How can I change the time interval between picks?
A - From the drop down menu select, Tools->Time Interval, then enter a number between 1 and 60 seconds.
Q - How do I get a text summary rating of how good my team is?
A - After you finish your mock/draft, from the drop down menu select, Tools->Post Draft Summary. A summary of your team has now been copied to your clipboard, simply cut and paste it into any text editor to view it. You can get a summary of any other team by right clicking on their team icon then making the same menu selection.
Q - What do the Function Keys do?
A - Glad you asked.
F1 Key: Copies current standings to your clipboard.
F2 Key: Copies best remaining players and their value to clipboard (Advice List Box must be selected).
F3 Key: Copies roster of team selected to clipboard.
F4 Key: Copies draft history log to clipboard.
F5 Key: Copies ranking of all players to clipboard
Q - My dog doesn't love me.
A - You're on your own on this one. :)
Links of interest
2004 Player Projections
