ZFL Rules - 2007

ZFL Draft

-- The draft consists of 14 rounds.

-- Order of selection is decided randomly in each odd-numbered round.

-- The selection order for each even-numbered round will be the reverse of the selection order for the preceding odd-numbered round.

-- The owner selects a team consisting of QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs, Ks and Ds.

-- Once a player has been selected by a team, no other team may select that player.

Number of Active Players on a Team

-- The number of players on a teams roster will be limited to 16.  Team owners may still add a player each week as long as the total number of players is below the limit of 16.

Acquiring Additional Players

-- Teams may trade players up to the 8th week of the ZFL season.

-- On the Tuesday following each week of the ZFL season, an owner can acquire one additional player from the group of NFL players who are not on another ZFL team's roster.  If two or more ZFL teams attempt to acquire the same NFL player, the player will be sent to the team with the lowest overall standing in the ZFL.

-- If an owner wishes to obtain and use a player at a position that is not that same as the position listed for that player on NFL.COM, a vote will be taken amongst the ZFL owners to decide if that player can be played at the requested position.

Scoring

  The Official NFL Website NFL.COM  should be used to obtain all scoring statistics.  Owners may use any website to obtain their weekly statistics but www.nfl.com will be used to resolve any scoring disputes.

Offensive Scoring

Rushing TD: 6 pts each
Receiving TD: 6 pts each
Passing TD: 4 pts each
Field Goal: 3 pts each
Extra Pt Kick: 1 pt each
2-pt Conversion: 2 pts each (For a 2-pt conversion pass, both passer & receiver will obtain 2 pts)

Yardage:
  Every 10 yds Rushing: 1 pt
  Every 10 yds Receiving: 1 pt
  Every 20 yds Passing: 1 pt
  Note: Rushing and Receiving yardage points are for each FULL ten yards.
  Note: Passing yardage points are for each FULL twenty yards.

Interception Thrown: -1 pt each

Defensive Scoring:

-- Turnover (Fumble or Interception): 2 ptss each
-- Interception Return TD: 8 pts (6 pts TD + 2 pts turnover) each
-- Fumble Return TD: 8 pts (6 pts TD + 2 ptts turnover) each
-- Kick Return TD: 6 pts each
-- Punt Return TD: 6 pts each
-- Safety: 3 pts each

Playoff Tiebreaker Scoring

If a tie game occurs during the ZFL playoffs, an alternate scoring method will be used to attempt to break the tie.   Yardage points will be assigned for each passing, rushing and receiving yard as follows:

Positive Yardage:
 Every 1 yard Passing: 0.05 pts
 Every 1 yard Rushing: 0.10 pts
 Every 1 yard Receiving: 0.10 pts

If the tie is not broken, an alternate method will be voted on to break the tie.

Weekly Starting Lineup

-- Each week the owner selects a starting lineup consisting of:
1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K and 1 Defense.

-- Only the starting lineup players can score points in that week's games.

-- Each week, each ZFL Owner should send their starting lineups to John W via email before the first NFL game for that week.  If you do not submit a roster before the first game of the week, a default starting lineup will be created consisting of the players listed as starters on the supporting ESPN website. If those players are on bye week or do not play in that week's games, the top (non-bye week) player drafted at the particular position will be substituted. Changes can be made to the default lineup, as long as the changes follow the restrictions listed below.

Listing Backup Players

Backup players may be listed for each position. If the starter does NOT play, the statistics for the backup player will be used. If any player on the starting roster does not play in that week's game, a player will be substituted from the list of backups. If no backup list was sent, the top player available at that position from that ZFL team's roster will be used. If no replacement is available, a score of zero will be assigned for that particular position for that week.

Starting Lineup Changes

After the NFL Games for the week in question have begun, changes can be made from Player 1 to Player 2 ONLY if Player 1 and Player 2 are on NFL teams that have not yet played (or started playing) that week.  This means you:
i.) CANNOT change from a player who was injured DURING a game that week.
ii.) CANNOT change from a player who had a poor game that week.
iii.) CANNOT change to a player who had a good game that week.
iv.) CANNOT change to/from a player once a game featuring that player's NFL team has started.

  So, if on Friday, you find out your QB won't be starting in the upcoming game, you can change to another QB who was not yet played.   Or, If your RB is injured in practice and is questionable to start, you can make a change to another RB who has not yet played that week.  Please do not make unnecessary changes.

  Mail any lineup changes to John W.

  Commisioner Z and John W will make final decisions on whether or not a change is allowed.

Schedule

-- 2 Conferences (ZFC-North and ZFC-South))

-- 5 teams per Conference

-- 13 regular season games per ZFL team.

-- Each team plays the other teams in their own Conference twice.

-- Each team plays the teams in the other Conference once.

ZFL Standings

Note: If 3 or more teams are involved in a tie, the following rules will be used to determine the standings. Once a team has been eliminated from those involved in the tie, the standings amongst the remaining teams will be resolved starting at step 1.

Conference Standings

Conference Standings are determined using the following:
    1.) Overall Record
    2.) Best won-lost-tied percentage in head-to-head games between the teams.
    3.) Conference Record
    4.) Power Ranking
    5.) Total Points Scored
    6.) Coin Flip.

Overall Standings

Overall Standings are determined using the following:
    1.) Overall Record
    2.) Apply conference standings rules to eliminate all but the highest ranked team in each conference prior to proceeding to step 3. The original seeding within a conference after application of the conference standing tiebreakers remains the same for all subsequent tiebreaking situations.
    3.) Best won-lost-tied percentage in head-to-head games between the teams.
    4.) Power Ranking
    5.) Total Points Scored
    6.) Coin Flip.

Power Ranking

A power ranking will be assigned to each ZFL team upon completion of each week's games. The weekly ranking is the record the team in question would have had in head-to-head competition with the nine remaining ZFL teams that week. The highest scoring team in a particular week would have a 9-0-0 ranking, the second highest scoring team would have a 8-1-0 ranking, and so on. The lowest scoring team for that week would receive a power ranking of 0-9-0. The "Power Ranking" is a cumulative value of a team's weekly power rankings.

Playoffs

-- The top team in each Conference gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs.  The remaining four playoff teams are determined by final overall regular season standing.  The bottom four regular season teams play in a "Best of the Worst" Championship

Round 1 (ZFL Week 14) - Wildcard Elimination Games

--  The #1 Team in each Conference receives a bye.
--  Of the remaining four playoff teams, the team with the best overall record will play the team with the fourth best overall record.  The team with the second best overall record will play the team with the third best overall record.

Round 2 (ZFL Week 15) - Championship Semi-Finals Games

-- The Conference Champion with the best overall record will play the remaining wildcard team with the worst overall record.
-- The Conference Champion with the second best overall record will play the remaining wildcard team with the best overall record.
-- The two teams that lost in the Round 1 Wildcard games will play each other for 5th and 6th place.

Round 3 (ZFL Week 16) - ZFL Championship Game

-- Conference Champions play ZFL Championhip (1st and 2nd place)
-- Losers in the Round 2 Games play for 3rd and 4th place.

"Best of the Worst" Playoffs

Round 1 (ZFL Week 14) - "Best of the Worst" Semi-Finals

-- #7 overall team plays the #10 overall team.
-- #8 overall team plays the #9 overall team.

Round 2 (ZFL Week 15) - "Best of the Worst" Championship

-- "Best of the Worst" Playoff Winners from Round 1 play for 7th and 8th place.
-- "Best of the Worst" Playoff Losers from Round 1 play for 9th and 10th place.

Fees / Winnings

  Entry fee per team: $20

Regular Season Ranking:

1)  $45
2)  $30
3)  $20
4)  $12
5)  $8
6)  $5
7)  $3
8)  $2
9)  $1
10)  $0

Playoff Finish:

1)  $35
2)  $15
3)  $10
4)  $5
5)  $2
6)  $0
7)  $4
8)  $2
9)  $1
10)  $0