DISCORD Channel link: International League on DISCORD - chat room
Alas not many people took the chat rooms option up for my leagues but there still there should anyone want to lead the way - encourage other GM’s to join you in chat - each of my leagues has its own dedicated room to discuss things about that particular league but there is a general chat area for anyone who partakes in any BLM fantasy games I run here: BLM Fantasy Games general chat room on DISCORD
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE
Keeper Deadline Date: Saturday, Aug 29, 2020
Live Draft Date: Sunday, Aug 30, 2019 1:00pm EDT / 6:00pm BST
(Snake style draft)
Bold & Boxed text always means new for this season (to aide returning GM’s to quickly find internal rule changes or new rules).
Rules
In the International League each GM manages their real country. Your team name in the league must be your country spelt in (English and in) CAPITAL LETTERS (to bring some uniformity to the league). Also your team logo/picture must be your countries current official flag as used by said countries national sports teams. Also no fake names please or 1 letter initial - first name must be used - failure to comply will see you replaced. This is to make the league owners list have some uniformity.
Qualification
I wish for serious players that won’t quit during the season as it’s national pride at stake. I am ENGLAND and going nowhere so pointless going on the list for. All other current countries in the league can be seen above. If you qualify and are interested to go on the reserve/waiting list post here telling me which country or countries you qualify for (and wish to manage). To qualify you must be born in or have at least one parent from that country.
You will then go on the waiting list. As and when people are removed from the league due to the *strikes rule (*see later) or opt to leave then the next person that meets the criteria on the waiting list will be invited to take over that place/team. It can and may be renamed to a completely new country depending on the new incoming owner.
Keepers
Each team is able to keep 1 player from their previous seasons finishing team. If a keeper is kept he will fill his draft round spot from the preceding season. If he was an undrafted player then he will fill the last round spot on your roster (Round 15). You do not have to keep a player in which case you will draft as normal each round in your designated position.
Further more, a keeper will count against your original pick in the applicable round (should you have more picks due to draft pick trading). If you no longer have your original pick for the round your keeper is due to be allocated to then he will take your next highest pick going upwards - so could be the same round (if you have traded for more draft picks in that round) or the next round(s) going upwards. If you don’t have any higher draft picks then you can not keep that particular player and I will override your keeper choice to ‘no keeper selected’ after the keeper lock deadline before the live draft takes place. Long term keepers (that being a player or team defense that is kept by the same owner for multiple seasons consecutively) will increase their drafted round by 1 round each season until they reach round 1. This rule only applies to a keeper being kept by the same owner/team in successive seasons. Otherwise all other keepers just count as your rounds pick for the round they were drafted or kept in the previous season.
Please be aware to facilitate having to manually adjust the draft board (i.e. entering in the keepers at the correct positions before we live draft) their will be a deadline to choose your keeper by - you can change your keeper choice as often as you wish up until the deadline but once the deadline is reached it will lock and then you will be stuck with your choice or if you have not selected a player you will not have a keeper for the forthcoming season. It is each owners responsibility to find out when the keeper deadline locks and once it is reached no more changes can be made.
Draft
For those teams that make the playoffs proper (teams finishing 1st-8th) draft order will be a reverse of the previous years finishing positions as decided by NFL.com - so the previous years champion will draft last in round 1 (*20th) and the team finishing 8th (*13th). [*excluding draft pick trading]
However if you’re not in the running for the title (i.e. in the playoffs proper), there used to be nothing to play for except next years draft position - and the way it was the worse you did in the dead games, the better your draft pick position the next year. This encouraged GM’s who were out of the playoffs not to try and win, actually often hoping to lose by starting their worst players (just to avoid falling foul of the strike rule, as there’s nothing else riding on those results).
So to address this some seasons ago I amended the internal rules to make the dead games worth winning because from then onward this part of the draft order involving the 12 non-championship contending playoff teams is inverted - to reward post season wins, however pointless they may seem at the time. The 8 proper playoff teams will still keep their draft positions (20th - 13th).
However the rest will now go like this…
The team finishing 9th (i.e. best of the non-qualifiers) will have pick #1
The team finishing 10th (2nd best non-qualifier) will have pick #2
And so on, down to the team finishing 20th (worst non-qualifier) will have pick #12
I think this has proved good for the league as now tanking for a better draft spot will not fly as the dead rubber games have something riding on them. This has also helped with the also ran GM’s trading away their better players with late round draft picks to the playoff bound GM’s who are willing to sell their next seasons chances on winning this year by agreeing to trades involving their bad players but with higher round draft picks from the following season - which was skewing the integrity of the league imho.
Default Rule Changes
I have changed the default scoring from 4 points for a thrown TD to 3 points - half what the scorer of a TD (6pts) gets.
All other current league settings including Scoring Settings can be viewed here: IL Settings
New from this season (2020) strikes will also be issued for not being seen to vote in an official poll posted within the league on NFL.com. It’s been the hardest thing for me as a commissioner to get people to engage with me on rules and proposals to do with the league like having a trade deadline, or changing a flex spot etc, so now it’s mandatory to partake in polls and to be seen to have voted.
I am not sure how you do this on the phone app but to do this via the standard internet using a browser - which can also be done on a smart phone - you scroll down the leagues home page to the message board and to the right of this you will see the latest poll. To the bottom right of this poll box you will see a link that says ‘More Polls >’ click this and it will open the poll with its message board below it. Here (you may need to scroll down) you sometimes will find more information about the poll and is also the place you type “Voted” to show you have voted after you have done so in that particular poll. To the top right of the poll you will see an arrow < and that will let you navigate back to see older polls and where you should check you have voted in each one and posted below each one to say you have Voted as if you have not voted or forgotten to post you have and not everyone has voted then anyone I can’t be sure did vote will pick up a Strike after 28 days of the Poll being posted. I hate having to do this but for many many seasons people have just not been engaging enough to help me shape the league by voting in polls so felt I had to do this so I can weed out and replace non committed GM’s with ones who buy into the ethos behind this custom International keeper league.
LC RULINGS & ADDITIONAL INTERNAL LEAGUE RULES
Sometimes as we go along things come up and I as the LC (League Commissioner) have to make a ruling. So this is where I clarify and make the rulings on things that crop up over time so people can look up the answers going forward at any time just by coming here to see if its already happened before and what the ruling is. It is also a reference point for me to see what I did previously so as to be consistent in actions I do.
1) The LC has the right to reorganise the Divisions each season prior to the draft. This is only done when new teams / nations have joined the IL. I do this trying to make divisions firstly regional as best I can and secondly put natural rivals in the same Divisions.
2) Draft pick trading - draft pick trades can only be swapped for the very next draft (not multiple seasons in advance). I know the real life teams can but I have made this ruling for two reasons. One it will be very hard for me to keep track off and two a GM could pile up trouble for years down the line and then just leave and I’d find it almost impossible to get a replacement as they would have no chance due to so many early picks being traded away for possibly seasons to come. Also by making this ruling it means most of the season the system does it all and records it for me to find the following year - the only time it doesn’t is now prior to our leagues draft when I allow it and do it via the leagues wall and by using a poll when a vote is necessary.
As I need to manually adjust the draft board to reflect swapped draft picks before our draft room goes live (and this takes time) out of season (pre-draft) draft pick trades must be agreed before the keeper deadline.
3) If during a season a GM trades away his same draft pick to 2 different teams whether by accident or deliberate planning then instead I will take away their next highest pick instead to cover the trade. If we are talking about a round 1 double deal where there is no higher pick I can take away to cover the trade I will then swap there next 2 picks going down to whoever they traded with for a further round down pick from the cheated party. Basically being detrimental to the owner who made this error as punishment so be careful (as yes the system does stupidly allow this as I discovered in the past when someone did it).
Example: Team A trades his next years Round 1 pick with 2 different teams - only one team can get it so the other team has been screwed. In this case I will take team A’s 2nd and 3rd Round picks and give them to the cheated team in return team A will still get whatever pick(s) was part of the trade plus the cheated teams 4th round pick. What ever happens the cheated team will be compensated at the expense of the guilty team regardless of the offending teams mistake being genuine error or deliberate malpractice.
4) In season 5 (2014) I ran the following poll and had all 20 GM’s vote:
Should we add in a Reserve (RES) spot from next season (2015) onward?
So this meant from the 2015 season onward each team would have 1 RES spot added to their rosters. Furthermore during the 2017 season I ran a poll to ask if we should keep the RES spot. The poll was left open for the whole of the regular season and the following screenshot is the poll result which now applies from the 2018 season forever more:
Extra Special Rules just for 2020 (Season 11)
Due to Covid-19.
1. In line with what NFL.com has done to its standard leagues for this season I have expanded the Reserve slot by 1 from 1 to 2. This is temporary for the 2020 season only and plan is to revert back to 1 reserve slot in 2021.
WEEKLY STRIKE COUNT 2020
WK1 - no strikes issued
WK2 - no strikes issued
WK3 - no strikes issued
WK4 - 2 strikes (New Zealand & Brazil)
WK5 - 3 strikes (Brazil x2 & Canada)
WK6 - no strikes issued
WK7 - 3 strikes (Brazil x3)
WK8 - 1 strike (Switzerland)
WK9 - 2 strikes (New Zealand & Austria)
WK10 - 2 strikes (USA & Mexico)
WK11 - 1 strike (Scotland)
WK12 - 1 strike (Mexico)
WK13 - no strikes issued
WK14 - no strikes issued
WK15 - no strikes issued
WK16 - 3 strikes (Scotland x2 & Spain)
WK17 - 6 strikes (New Zealand, Spain x3 & Wales x2)
Link to previous years table: IL 2019 Strikes
Noel,
I am back and have voted in the first poll.
Drew
1 Like
You need to post ‘Voted’ under the poll in the League on NFL.com - it’s best you learn how to find the polls to be able to do this consistently but here’s a link to this one:
https://fantasy.nfl.com/league/109921/poll
As that’s where after 28 days I’ll be looking and if a poll has not had a full 16 votes then anyone that ain’t posted there they voted will be getting a strike as I can’t be sure who it was that didn’t vote.
I know it might sound pedantic but it’s about everyone doing the same and making it easy for me to police.
So the NFL Fantasy client despite grading me a B does not think I’ll do better than 12th (out of 20 teams) so sharing this here… be interesting to compare come end of season how right or wrong the algorithm is.
Any other GM’s in the IL feel free to share your ‘Who Won Your Draft?’ here if you dare…
Noel,
For what its worth. All hogwash in my opinion.
Drew
A quality draft-day performance by the GM of CANADA turned the 14th overall pick into an expected fifth-place finish. They secured one of the most prolific quartets of wide receivers in the league.
- CANADA might be interested in shopping a WR to upgrade in other areas. Their fourth-ranked WR, Darius Slayton, is projected to be better than the league average at his position.
- In the 2nd round, caution was thrown to the wind, as Jonathan Taylor was selected at pick number 27 versus an ADP of 83.4 across all NFL.com leagues.
- The other league managers may have passed over a diamond in the rough, as Noah Fant dropped to the 134th overall pick versus an ADP of 95.1.
CANADA used their only keeper position to hold on to Chris Godwin (18.6 ADP). From an ADP perspective, he is as valuable as a draft pick in the bottom half of the first round.
MY TEAM STRENGTHS
STRENGTHS The Packers Defense is projected to be the second-best DEF in the league. 
Green Bay Packers DEF - GB
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Week 4 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 4:
Adam - NEW ZEALAND x1
x1 WR1 - --empty– - did not start one.
Matheus - BRAZIL x1
x1 Started WR - JJ Smith-Schuster - (PIT) - on a BYE
Week 5 Strikes (x3)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 5:
Matheus - BRAZIL x2
x1 Started RB - James White - (NE) - on a BYE
x1 Started K - Matt Prater - (DET) - on a BYE
Andrew Johnstone - CANADA x1
x1 Started QB - Jarrett Stidham - (NE) - on a BYE
That puts Matheus on 3 strikes now so he loses his right of return in 2021.
Week 7 Strikes (x3)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 7:
Matheus - BRAZIL x3
x1 Started TE - Zach Ertz - (PHI) - OUT, was ruled out before his teams actual game day:
Published: Mon, Oct 19 at 1:38pm by Rotowire.com
Set to miss 3-to-4 weeks
Ertz suffered a high left ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens and is expected miss 3-to-4 weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Analysis: Ertz left Sunday’s game multiple times and was ultimately ruled out in the fourth quarter. The veteran tight end underwent an MRI on Monday that revealed he’ll need extended rest before returning to the lineup. The Eagles play the Giants on Thursday and the Cowboys in Week 8 before a Week 9 bye, so there’s a good chance that Ertz lands on short-term injured reserve, which would keep him out for a minimum of three weeks. Dallas Goedert (ankle) may return from IR soon, but until then Richard Rodgers will operate as the top tight end. DeSean Jackson (hamstring), Alshon Jeffery (foot) and Jalen Reagor (thumb) could all return to the lineup this Thursday as well and help manage the targets Ertz leaves behind.
x1 Started RB - Gus Edwards - (BAL) - on a BYE
x1 Started DEF - Ravens - (BAL) - on a BYE
That puts Matheus on 6 strikes now so I will look to replace him forthwith!
Week 8 Strikes (x1)
Sad to report the following strike is awarded for NFL Week 8:
Andy - SWITZERLAND x1
x1 Started RB - Aaron Jones - (GB) - OUT, was ruled out before his teams actual game day:
Published: Fri, Oct 30 at 2:47pm by Rotowire.com
Ruled out again
Jones (calf) has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Minnesota, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: Jones will miss a second straight game, and his continued absence from practice suggests he may not be ready for a Thursday matchup with the 49ers four days later. Jamaal Williams got 19 carries and five targets on 89 percent snap share in last week’s win over Houston, while AJ Dillon was limited to five carries on 23 percent of snaps. It’s possible the Packers look to get Dillon more involved, but Williams is still the safe bet to pile up touches and yards while Jones is unavailable.
A bit of house keeping, for NFL Week 9
I was contacted by both GRANADA (Marlon) and SPAIN (David) to ask why a trade didn’t go through this morning as expected. It seems over night GRANADA had a player in one of their RES slots that was no longer eligible for the Reserve slot so this until corrected prevented any adding or dropping of players and thus prevented the trade going through. Seeing as both players had waited the required 2 days and no one objected and not enough players voted it down I have manually pushed it through.
This is the trade:
1 Like
Just some of those quirks of this system, nice job on Noel part being so quick to solve the issue.
Also guys join the discord channel it helps a lot
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Week 9 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 9:
Adam - NEW ZEALAND x1
x1 Started TE - Austin Hooper - (CLE) - on a BYE
Hannes - AUSTRIA x1
x1 Started RB - Kareem Hunt - (CLE) - on a BYE
Week 10 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 10:
Brian - USA x1
x1 Started RB - A.J. Dillon - (GB) - on COV RESERVE
Published: Mon, Nov 2 at 11:28am by Rotowire.com
Tests positive for COVID-19
Dillon was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday after testing positive for the virus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Analysis: Dillon won’t be able to play Thursday against the 49ers. Aaron Jones (calf) may be available, but Jamaal Williams is the only running back that’s currently healthy for Week 9. Dillon will have to clear the league’s COVID-19 protocols before returning to team activities.
(LC note) Clearly he still has not come off the COV RESERVE list as of 19 November (when checking today) so has been continuously unavailable for team activities since Nov 2nd and was there for unavailable to play in NFL Week 10.
Alberto - MEXICO x1
x1 Started WR - Adam Humphries - (TEN) - OUT, was ruled out before his teams actual game day:
Published: Wed, Nov 11 at 4:15pm by Rotowire.com
Won’t play Thursday
Humphries (concussion) has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Colts.
Analysis: With Humphries still sidelined and now targeting a return to action Week 11 in Baltimore, Kalif Raymond and Cameron Batson are in line to see added work Thursday behind the team’s top two wide receiver options, A.J. Brown and Corey Davis.
Week 11 Strikes (x1)
Sad to report the following strike is awarded for NFL Week 11:
Ross - SCOTLAND x1
x1 Started QB - Nick Mullens - (SF) - on a BYE