DLF’s Reality Sports Online League: Nick Whalen’s Review
Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in creating your own RSO league, please use the Promo Code “DLF10” when you sign up to receive a 10% discount.
When I first heard of the DLF Reality Sports Online league, I jumped at the chance. The problem is sometimes I make errors (cat’s out of the bag) when it comes to technology. My email reply, somehow (insert excuse here), only went to myself and not to the rest of the email thread. The worst part of this embarrassing story is I didn’t realize my error and already assumed I had a spot in the league. Then when they sent out an email with the members of the league, I was confused. I looked back through my emails and realized my mistake. It sent me into a pretty big hibernation up here in Wisconsin with my favorite cheese and beer. After I came out of the deep sleep from the somber cave, I checked my email and they needed someone to fill in for the RSO league! I jumped at the chance, figured it was fate.
I wanted to join this RSO league for several reasons. One, I had not had a single experience with auction in my entire Fantasy Football career. Therefore, it would be a good personal exercise to expand my knowledge base of auction. Unfortunately, due to how far the league had progressed, someone else had already drafted my entire RSO team. I wasn’t able to get the auction experience I wanted, but I was able to familiarize myself with the RSO site and format. Next, I wanted to cross-promote The Devy Report with RSO and wanted to experience their product. Lastly, I enjoy a great challenge. Competing in a new format against some of the best FF players in the world, bring it on! Therefore, it was my job to familiarize myself with the format, roster and website.
The most important task when joining a league is to familiarize yourself with the format. This is a 16-team league with starting lineup requirements of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 2 Flex (non-QB).
The scoring is like most PPR leagues and it’s a head to head format. 14 teams is the largest league i’ve ever played in, so 16 teams will be an adjustment. It creates difficulty to field quality players at each position and I assume some backups will be forced to start. Depth will be at a premium in this format because not many teams will have it.
The other dynamic to this league is auction. $143,280,000 is the cap and we have a maximum of 25 players on a roster
| Joe Flacco | 4 years | $42 Million |
| Andy Dalton | 1 year | $8.5 Million |
| Colt McCoy | 1 year | $500,000 |
| Matt Schaub | 1 year | $500,000 |
Looking over the landscape of the league, several teams will struggle at quarterback this year. They didn’t grab a solid backup and that’s essential in a 16-team format. I feel confident at quarterback having two quality starters in Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton. Flacco is signed to the 11th largest quarterback deal, which is fair. I will need to address this position in the off-season as all three backups will be free agents.
| Melvin Gordon | 3 years | $48.5 Million |
| Gio Bernard | 2 years | $27.5 Million |
| Tevin Coleman | 4 years | $3.907637 Million |
| Darren Sproles | 1 year | $6.5 Million |
| Gus Johnson | 1 year | $500,000 |
This position could be a big luxury if these young running backs develop because they’re locked up long term. Melvin Gordon has a huge opportunity in San Diego and I have him for the next three seasons. Tevin Coleman might win the starting job in a Shanahan based running scheme and it sounds like music to my hears for the next four seasons. I did have some concerns about the overall depth when I took over this team. Gio Bernard will hopefully bounce back, but Sproles really dropped off the second half of 2014. Therefore, I went to the waiver wire and scooped up Gus Johnson. It sounds like nobody is running away with the job there and Johnson has looked impressive in spots.
| Calvin Johnson | 3 years | $75 Million |
| AJ Green | 4 years | $93 Million |
| Markus Wheaton | 3 years | $11.5 Million |
| Albert Wilson | 1 year | $4.5 Million |
| Tavon Austin | 2 years | $15 Million |
| Aaron Dobson | 1 year | $3.5 Million |
| Jamison Crowder | 4 years | $2.904677 Million |
| Justin Hunter | 1 year | $3.5 Million |
| TJ Graham | 1 year | $500,000 |
| Andre Holmes | 1 year | $500,000 |
| Philly Brown | 1 year | $500,000 |
Calvin Johnson and AJ Green on the same team can get any dynasty owner excited. But owning both for the next three years makes it euphoric. My third starting receiver has me concerned with not a lot of talent to choose from in 2015. Markus Wheaton got a boost from the Martavis Bryant suspension. Albert Wilson, Jamison Crowder and Tavon Austin all have spot start ability, but i’m not holding my breath. It left me no choice but to go back to the waiver wire and grab Philly Brown. The unfortunate injury to Kelvin Benjamin has provided an opportunity of targets in Carolina. I’ll take a cheap lotto ticket for 2015.
| Vernon Davis | 1 year | $4 Million |
| Coby Fleener | 2 years | $8.5 Milllion |
| Gavin Escobar | 2 years | $10.5 Million |
| Luke Willson | 1 year | $500,000 |
| Troy Niklas | 1 year | $4.5 Million |
Call me crazy, but I like Vernon Davis to have a good comeback year in 2015. He has a new coach, new philosophy and he’s still a great athlete. Coby Fleener isn’t consistent, but numbers are plentiful with Andrew Luck. Luke Willson and Gavin Escobar have some sleeper potential as well and provide good depth.
I didn’t get a chance to experience the Reality Sports Online auction, although I heard it was an easy process. The website is smooth and easy to navigate, especially when you consider they add in very complex dynamics such as salaries, contracts, and a salary cap. In the future, I look forward to familiarizing myself more with RSO and the auction process.
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Nick can be found on Twitter at @_NickWhalen
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