Updating your roster

So you've pushed and pulled and done some hard drinking thinking sessions, but no matter what, your active players and benched players just don't add up: the time has come for different players.

There are two ways you can replace your current duds with some new studs: trade with another player and free agency.

Trade

See someone sitting on someone else's bench who is better than your starter? Offer a trade.

Let's use Doof's Playinator's as an example as their Running Back stocks are thin, and that is putting it nicely (poor drafting if you ask me)!

The Head Coach can look around the VP3 league and see if there are any decent RB's on other teams. Ahuh: Marceline the Vampire Queen is sitting on Steven Jackson. But does Doof have something that Marcy might accept in return? Marcy's team is tight, possible studs in every position. The only question mark is her QB: Cam Newton. Cam might be awesome this year, or he might suck. The analysts are not sure and at Week 1 there is no way to know. But Doof is sitting on Russell Wilson, maybe Marcy would trade Steven Jackson for Wilson? WTF? There is no way that Doof is going to offer that trade - Wilson's value to Doof, on the bench, is higher than Jackson's points potential. As long as Doof has both Rodgers and Wilson as QBs he is going to be of two-minds every week, not knowing which QB stud to start. The QB competition will drive him crazy, but he won't give it up. Not yet.

Doof can keep looking at the other teams and try to find a suitable trade partner. Maybe Endless would trade Darren Sproles for Michael Bennett? Maybe not.

Or Doof can move to Free Agency.

Free Agency

All the players that are not currently on a roster are still available. Head Coaches can swap their drafted players for undrafted players at pretty much any time they like, with a few exceptions.

Clicking on the Players tab will show the list of available players. The list can be filtered to show All Players (including those on teams) or just Available. The list can be filtered to show each position. You can see the Players stats and their projections. Before Week 1 there are no stats, only projections.

Doof needs a new Running Back - but before Week 1 there is really no one in Free Agency that Doof is willing to select. The draft assigned all the top RBs to teams, and the second stringers, and some of the third stringers. The RBs that are left are no better than the one's Doof has.

However, RBs are not Doof's only problem. The draft allocated Doof the Buffalo Bills defence. According to the projections the Bills have a good change to score some good points. But Doof does not trust Skynet with its pro-Bills projection. Instead, having read plenty of Fantasy news, Doof is eyeing off the New Orleans Saints. They are not projected as highly, but when has convention stopped Doof in 2014?

Doof makes the trade, adding the NO Saints and dropping the Buffalo Bills. A strange message appears, something about a waiver wire. Clicking back on his team Doof sees that the Bills are still there. WTF? Skynet?! And this stupid message just under that adorable portrait:

Team Notes

• Pending Waiver Claim: New Orleans Saints for Buffalo Bills pending until the morning of Wednesday, September 3, 2014 [ Delete Waiver Request ]

Waivers

For the first 1-2 days after the Week finishes (and in this case after the Draft finished) Free Agency Players are effectively in purgatory. They are just floating around not doing anything and can not be immediately selected and added to a team. When Doof adds the Saints to his team he tells the Gatekeeper of Purgatory that he wants the Saints. The Gatekeeper makes a note of the request and sits tight. He doesn't respond to Doof's glares, stomping around, shaking of fists, pouting, threats and eventual tears. 

Another Coach, Agent P, approaches the Gatekeeper. Not happy with the Rams she also looks to add the Saints and gives the request to the Gatekeeper. There are now two requests for one Defence, but it can only go to one team. Doof v Agent P: locked in their perpetual struggle. 

After 1-2 days the Gatekeeper opens the gates and releases the Free Agency players to the world. He checks the notes, Doof's note says he has Waiver 9, Agent P has Waiver 6. 

Because Agent P is higher up the Waiver list than Doof the NO Saints are assigned to her and Doof goes home with the Bills (and a furrowed brow).

Why is Agent P higher? Because when the draft allocated the picking order Doof received Pick 2 and Agent P received Pick 5. To make it fairer, because Doof did well in the Draft order he lucks out in the Waiver wire. Swings and roundabouts.

The Waiver system is designed to make things fairer. Every Head Coach has the chance to select a player after the Week has finished. The Head Coach with the highest Waiver will go home with the goods. After the Waiver period is over it is a free for all and the Free Agency Players will be added immediately. 

Identifying players on Waiver

When you look at the Players list you will see who owns the player. It may say Doof's Playinator's, Agent P or W (Sep 3). A W indicates that the player is in Waiver Purgatory and the date indicates the date he will be released. You can select the player, but you have to wait for the Waiver period to end before you know whether you get him or not.

The date is ET time, New York so the real time (AEST) is a little unknown.

In my example, Agent P swaps the Rams for the Saints. The Rams are now available to be selected in Free Agency. Doof swoops down on them greedily, Agent P's cast-offs are still better than the Bills!

But again Doof is thwarted: the Rams are now in Waiver Purgatory. A cast-off player will sit in Waivers for 24 hours, allowing all Head Coaches to express an interest. No one else wants the Rams because everyone else is already stocked. 24 hours later Doof goes home with the Rams and the Bills head to Waiver Purgatory.

Next week we'll look at reading the stats sheets.