How my terrible team can win -- time to dream

[moishetreats]

A buddy of mine and I were laughing about his terrible team. For fun, we imagined what would have to happen for his team to win THIS year. I thought I'd post his imagined scenario and give everyone who has a terrible team (for any reason; maybe you're intentionally rebuilding) the chance to dream just for a moment about your path to a 2017 championship.

HIS TEAM (12 team league, typical scoring):
QB: Winston, Taylor
RB: Rawls, Thompson, Ivory, Jennings, Langford, Charles
WR: Britt, Hawkins, Royal
TE: Fleener, Doyle, Gates, Barnidge
Draft: No 1st-round pick

So, here's the dream...

Winston lights it up this year, emerging as a difference-maker at QB. Rawls gets and keeps the starting job and returns to rookie form, while Charles returns to his studly self and has a monster PPR year.

Britt surprises, building on his success with the Rams and replacing Pryor, and a couple of savvy rookie picks and free agent acquisitions (like Pryor and Tyrell Williams last year) solidify the WR core. Doyle lights it up.

Of course, Taylor takes a huge step forward, Thompson emerges as a Woodhead/Riddick monster PPR back, Fleener meets expectations, and Gates has a fountain-of-youth season, giving some surprising trade bait throughout the roster to bolster the WR corps. And 2018 picks (still considered by most to be early) will net a core player or two for the stretch run.

In the playoffs, anything can happen.

...That's my friend's dream. While owners with stacked teams are making their plans for championships, it's time for anyone with a team with low expectations to dream big, even if it's just for a single thread... Let's have some fun!

[skip]

Well, they say all you need is a dollar and a dream. In this case, an entirely new team...

Well, not entirely. He has two good QBs. The rest of the team not so much.

[Valhalla]

Woah. Does he own 12 firsts next year?

[Goddard]

Maybe OJ and Calvin come back and your friend picks them up and they lead him to a championship.

[BuckeyeNation]

How in the world does a team get in that bad of shape to begin with? I've played in leagues where one owner would have no idea how to play dynasty and would make terrible moves seemingly every time. ...and their rosters never got that bad.

[Tsunami]

I took over this team last year in a 16 team PPR Superflex and after a lot of trading I somehow limped into the playoffs and was about 19 points away from winning.

QB - Bridgewater, McCown, Keenum, Savage
RB - Forte, McFadden, Langford, Hightower
WR - Kelvin Benjamin, DeSean Jackson, Decker, Torrey Smith, Garcon, Terrence Williams, Hardy, Smelter
TE - Ben Watson, Clive Walford
Draft picks: 2.15, 3.15

This year it looks a bit better?

QB - Tyrod Taylor, McCown, McCarron, Foles, Geno Smith, EJ Manuel
RB - Stewart, Woodhead, Thompson, Dixon, McKinnon, Mathews, Peyton Barber
WR - Baldwin, Keenan Allen, Decker, Josh Gordon, DGB, Jaron Brown
TE - O.J. Howard, Dwayne Allen

To win I need McCown to start all season, Josh Gordon to be reinstated, Gronk to get injured, McCaffrey to suck, and the Eagles to not cut Ryan Mathews. Or some good trades!

[Valhalla]

I took over this team last year in a 16 team PPR Superflex and after a lot of trading I somehow limped into the playoffs and was about 19 points away from winning.

QB - Bridgewater, McCown, Keenum, Savage
RB - Forte, McFadden, Langford, Hightower
WR - Kelvin Benjamin, DeSean Jackson, Decker, Torrey Smith, Garcon, Terrence Williams, Hardy, Smelter
TE - Ben Watson, Clive Walford
Draft picks: 2.15, 3.15

This year it looks a bit better?

QB - Tyrod Taylor, McCown, McCarron, Foles, Geno Smith, EJ Manuel
RB - Stewart, Woodhead, Thompson, Dixon, McKinnon, Mathews, Peyton Barber
WR - Baldwin, Keenan Allen, Decker, Josh Gordon, DGB, Jaron Brown
TE - O.J. Howard, Dwayne Allen

To win I need McCown to start all season, Josh Gordon to be reinstated, Gronk to get injured, McCaffrey to suck, and the Eagles to not cut Ryan Mathews. Or some good trades!

Best of luck to you

[Goirish374]

HIS TEAM (12 team league, typical scoring):
QB: Winston, Taylor
RB: Rawls, Thompson, Ivory, Jennings, Langford, Charles
WR: Britt, Hawkins, Royal
TE: Fleener, Doyle, Gates, Barnidge

well. since we are dreaming...i don't know if it's that far from dream-cheavable.

a) as you mentioned, Winston pwning at QB is not really much of a reach given the expectations of the fantasy community. he is expected to be dominant this year.

b) the seattle backfield is an open question. the tea leaves certainly indicate seattle isn't sold on rawls but...its not preposterous that he could win the starting job and score well for 2017. if there's one player that has proven to me never to underestimate him--it's jamaal charles. it is absolutely possible for him to be a top RB1 this year. thompson's production doesn't have to change much for that to be a solid RB corp. if Fournette and/or Howard go down or dissapoint--ivory or langford could drop a high scoring replacement week on short notice, making for an easy pick/player flip.

c) Britt has been talent his whole career, held back mostly by injury and Jeff Fisher. its entirely possible he feasts this year. obviously, the glaring whole is WR2/3, which don't exist.

d) all gates has to do is...what gates has done every year i've tried to write him off. that will get you through. it isn't unreasonable for someone to sign Barnidge and him have a big first/second week...a strong flip candidate.

so, if we are dreaming, there is the possibility of flipping an overperforming ivory/langford/barnidge for WR help...that can make you close to whole.

i won't make any statements about probability but there is certainly a path. stranger things have happened.

[moishetreats]

QB - Tyrod Taylor, McCown, McCarron, Foles, Geno Smith, EJ Manuel
RB - Stewart, Woodhead, Thompson, Dixon, McKinnon, Mathews, Peyton Barber
WR - Baldwin, Keenan Allen, Decker, Josh Gordon, DGB, Jaron Brown
TE - O.J. Howard, Dwayne Allen

To win I need McCown to start all season, Josh Gordon to be reinstated, Gronk to get injured, McCaffrey to suck, and the Eagles to not cut Ryan Mathews. Or some good trades!

Love it!!!

[pokerface40]

I did a 12 team superflex this year with the intent of going super young and building for the future as a sort of experiment. I'm not gonna lie I find myself daydreaming of making a playoff push if the stars align. Relevant roster:

Bradford/Savage/Mahomes/Garoppolo
Fournette/Mixon/Beast Mode/Dixon/Duke
C Davis/Landry/Moncrief/Zay/MWilliams/Kupp
Derby/McDonald/Rico

I scooped Beast Mode off waivers and will look to move him. My TE spot needs serious work especially considering it's TE premium. I have 4 1sts next year that I plan to hold onto, but who knows what can happen!

Rico Gathers for President!

[Tsunami]

I did a 12 team superflex this year with the intent of going super young and building for the future as a sort of experiment. I'm not gonna lie I find myself daydreaming of making a playoff push if the stars align. Relevant roster:

Bradford/Savage/Mahomes/Garoppolo
Fournette/Mixon/Beast Mode/Dixon/Duke
C Davis/Landry/Moncrief/Zay/MWilliams/Kupp
Derby/McDonald/Rico

I scooped Beast Mode off waivers and will look to move him. My TE spot needs serious work especially considering it's TE premium. I have 4 1sts next year that I plan to hold onto, but who knows what can happen!

Rico Gathers for President!

Wow, four 1sts + Fournette/Mixon/Davis/Landry/Moncrief is an amazing start to a league.

[seahawks506]

How in the world does a team get in that bad of shape to begin with? I've played in leagues where one owner would have no idea how to play dynasty and would make terrible moves seemingly every time. ...and their rosters never got that bad.

Back in 09 I took over a team that within its first year or two had somehow managed to not only have this roster but no 1st round pick. I couldn't even field a full lineup of NFL starters:


QB: Jay Cutler, Joe Webb, Vince Young, Derek Anderson
RB: Fred Jackson, Marion Barber, Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams, Chester Taylor, John Kuhn, Kareem Huggins
WR: Johnny Knox, Anthony Armstrong, Nate Washington, Jordan Shipley, Mark Clayton, Josh Morgan, Chaz Schilens, Jerricho Cotchery, Donte Stallworth
TE: Brent Celek, Todd Heap, Bo Scaife

Love posting this team just to remind people it could always be worse. Rebuilding this thing was a total b*tch too- T-Rich, Spiller, Harvin all were busts and I traded Gurley for Allen and Hill after Hill's monster rookie season. Took me until 2015 to even make the playoffs, went 9-4. Now the team is:

Eli
Fournette, K. Hunt, Prosise, J. Hill, J. White
Green, Hopkins, Allen, Moncrief, Britt, Garcon, Hurns, Henderson
Barnidge, ASJ, Kittle, Higbee, Hodges

Stunk last year bc of injuries and ineffective play. If Eli can find his 2015 form, rookie RB's flash, WR's stay healthy and Barnidge signs somewhere good or one of the young TE's hit I'll be fine.

[maxhyde]

Hawkins retired

[Goirish374]

Hawkins retired

that's kind of perfect.

[moishetreats]

Hawkins retired

that's kind of perfect.

lol