Katie Flower checks in with a state of the union report on one of her dynasty orphan teams, one year post-takeover. Follow her on twitter @FF_Skyler399.
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It is the one year birthday of one of my orphan dynasty teams and I figured the best way to celebrate would be to assess my progress so far. From the moment I took the team over I have applied the UTH principles into the rebuild.
Basic League Overview
12 team ppr, super-flex, IDP, 4pt passing TD, big play IDP scoring 40 roster spots, 2 IR, 5 taxi, taxi squad stealing, 5 round rookie draft
18 starters: 1-2 QB, 2-3 RB, 3-4 WR, 1-2 TE, 1 PK, 1 DT, 2 DE, 3 LB, 2 CB, 1 S
The Original Team
QB Roethlesberger, Eli Manning, Vick, Garoppolo
RB Peterson, Bush, Sproles, Ryan Williams
WR C Johnson, Sanders, S Smith, D Jackson, Wayne, Hartline, D Rogers, Abberderis
TE Graham, Lyerla, H Miller
IDP was weak and aging
Rocky Start
The team was 0-7 when I took it over. Peterson was suspended and I had no idea if he would return or when, I had to hold onto him until there was a possibility he would be back. As for the others, I saw an under-performing and aging group of players. This dynasty team did not have a good future outlook.
There was some good news and a glimmer of hope. This team did have players with name cachet. I wanted to leverage the vet players to infuse not just youth, but targeted key core players that I could build around.
Three key trades occurred in the first few days:
To a win now team (7-0)….
- Give Calvin Johnson, Darren Sproles
- Get Jerick McKinnon, Davante Adams, 2015 1st, 3rd
To a different win now team (6-1)….
- Give Jimmy Graham, Desean Jackson
- Get Allen Robinson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, 2015 1st, 2nd, 5th
To a struggling team (2-5)….
- Give Reggie Bush, 2015 1st (from 7-0 team)
- Get 2015 1st
These trades sparked a veto call from several league mates who said I sold too low. It got to be a ruckus. The commissioner even opened a thread on the DLF forum asking whether he should step in and veto the trades and kick me out as a new owner. The crux of the uproar was I sold studs for nothing but unproven players and crap picks.
I wrote to the commissioner and assured him I was in it for the long haul and that I had a plan. He told me he had faith in me and the responses from the DLF forum were mostly in support of not allowing a veto.
I finished last season 3-11, in second to last place. The 1st round pick I would have had from the 7-0 team was the 1.11, but it was the pick I traded with Bush to get what ended up as the 1.05. The two sure thing win now teams whom I had traded Calvin and Graham to? They both made the playoffs but a completely different team won the championship.
I made several more trades during the off-season including selling Sanders and Peterson. I built my draft pick stash up to three 1st round picks and 10 total rookie picks in five rounds. My first round picks to add to my core were Cooper, Winston, and Yeldon.
Taxi Squad Stealing
This league allows taxi squad (TS) stealing. Once the 5 taxi spots are locked to start the season, players can be stolen from another teams TS any time until the end of week 8. Choosing who to place on your taxi squad is as important as choosing who and when to steal from another.
In a steal attempt you must offer a 1 round increase on the draft round the player was drafted in. For example, I made a steal attempt on Chris Conley in week 2. I chose to do it then BEFORE he flashed, because I didn’t want the owner to activate him, I wanted him to take the pick.
Conley had been drafted in the 4th round, so I had to offer my 2016 3rd for him. It worked and I successfully stole him from a strong team. He would have had to cut someone of who he deemed higher value.
Birthday Squad Look-In
QB Eli Manning, Jameis Winston, Geno Smith
RB Yeldon, L Murray, D Lewis, McKinnon, Morris, Hayne, Michael, Zenner
WR Cooper, Robinson, Adams, Watkins, Perriman, Conley, Quick, Smelter, Waller, McBride
TE ASJ, Watson
As a birthday present to this team I traded Big Ben today and received Sammy Watkins and Morris. My team is 2-5 including a loss by .15 in week 2. The losses are a lot closer than last years and I can see the improvement.
One would think losing Calvin Johnson, Jimmy Graham, and all the other veterans I would take a big hit in production.
In 2014 before I took over the team they were averaging 106 PPG on offense and 52 PPG on IDP. In 2015 with my revamped squad I am averaging 117 PPG on offense and 91 PPG on IDP. Not only am I getting production from my younger squad, they are exceeding what the team of vets were!
IDP is just a matter of working the waiver wire and finding the right combination of players, I have not made any IDP trades. I did draft Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, but for the most part my IDP improved because of free agency.
I didn’t expect this team to make the playoffs this season and I probably won’t as only the top-4 get in. I do expect with some fine tuning here and there, this squad will turn the corner and be competitive and vying for the title in 2016 and beyond. UTH practices do pay off with a plan and some patience.
