ZFL Rules - 2011


ZFL Draft

-- The draft consists of 12 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 14.

-- Two supplemental roster positions are available. If a team's player at K or D is on bye for the upcoming week, the owner can add a corresponding K or D player to the team's roster ONLY for that week. The players in these supplemental positions will be released once that weeks games have completed.

-- An owner can have more than one K or D on their roster only if the total number of players on the roster is 14 or less OR if the additional K or D players are occupying the supplemental positions.

-- Teams can add more than one player in a given week only if the latter picks are at the K and D positions and are making use of the supplemental roster spots.

-- Team owners may still add a player each week as long as the total number of players is within the limit of 14.

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. Players that have already begun play for the following week cannot be acquired.

-- In order for a team to acquire a player, the team owner should send a note to the Assistant Commissioner (John Wolfe) and include the list of players (ranked highest to lowest) that the owner would like to acquire. The ESPN site only allows one pick to be submitted, and if that pick is gone, no player is assigned. Sending the note to the Asst Commisioner increases the chance that an owner will obtain a player they value highly. If the owner's team is already at the roster limit before submitting the pick, also list the player(s) that should be released to open roster space.

-- 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 from the teams roster at K or D, a player will be added to the team's roster using the supplemental positions (see rules above). If no players are available at a given position 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

-- The ZFL consists of 12 teams separated into 4 divisions of 3 teams.

-- 13 regular season games per ZFL team.

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

-- Each team plays the teams in the other divisions 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.

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.) Power Ranking
    4.) Total Points Scored
    5.) 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 eleven remaining ZFL teams that week. The highest scoring team in a particular week would have a 11-0-0 ranking, the second highest scoring team would have a 10-1-0 ranking, and so on. The lowest scoring team for that week would receive a power ranking of 0-11-0. The "Power Ranking" is a cumulative value of a team's weekly power rankings.

Playoffs

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

Round 1 (ZFL Week 14) - Wildcard Elimination Games

--  The #1 and #2 overall teams receive a bye.
--  Of the remaining four playoff teams, the team with the #3 overall record will play the team with the #6 overall record.  The team with the #4 overall record will play the team with the #5 overall record.

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

-- The team with the #1 overall record will play the remaining playoff team with the worst overall record
-- The team with the #2 overall record will play the remaining playoff team with the second-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

-- Winners of the Championship Semi-Finals Games play for 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" Wildcard Elimination Games

--  The #7 and #8 overall teams receive a bye.
--  Of the remaining four playoff teams, the team with the #9 overall record will play the team with the #12 overall record.  The team with the #10 overall record will play the team with the #11 overall record.

Round 2 (ZFL Week 15) - "Best of the Worst" Semi-Finals Games

-- The team with the #7 overall record will play the remaining "Best of the Worst" playoff team with the worst overall record
-- The team with the #8 overall record will play the remaining "Best of the Worst" playoff team with the second-best overall record.
-- The two teams that lost in the "Best of the Worst" Round 1 Wildcard games will play each other for 11th and 12th place.

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

-- "Best of the Worst" Semi-Finals Winners play for 7th and 8th place.
-- "Best of the Worst" Playoff Losers play for 9th and 10th place.


Fees / Winnings

  Entry fee per team: $20

Regular Season Ranking:

1)  $50
2)  $35
3)  $25
4)  $15
5)  $12
6)  $8
7)  $5
8)  $4
9)  $3
10)  $2
11)  $1
12)  $0

Playoff Finish:

1)  $30
2)  $15
3)  $10
4)  $5
5)  $5
6)  $0
7)  $5
8)  $4
9)  $3
10)  $2
11)  $1
12)  $0


Resolving Disputes

All disputes will be handled by John W.