Bold Predictions for 2014: Part One

Scott Fish Posted On August 2, 2014

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Editor’s Note: Some of you may not know Scott Fish is now part of Team DLF. Scott is one of the best people in the entire fantasy industry. He has been a great addition to the team as our Senior Developer and has been working behind the scenes to make vast improvements to the site. We thank Scott for all his contributions and look forward to more great stuff in the future.

For a few years now I have “written” a perennial article on bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season and beyond. I added the quotation marks in the previous sentence because what I really do is ask other people to write these predictions, collect their responses and then publish them taking most of the glory by having my name in the byline.

Just so you, the reader, has an idea of what is about to titillate your mind and make you happy or angry… I will tell you what I asked the DLF team members to give me. I first asked for three bold, but very possible, statements beginning with the words “I wouldn’t be shocked if.” Then I asked for one super bold statement with little chance of happening. Finally, I asked everyone to give me one statement reminiscent of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber enthusiastically declaring, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” This final statement has virtually no shot of actually coming to fruition, but it’s likely going to be funny and you never know, it might just come true.

As with just about everything I do, I’m going to make this a contest. At the very bottom of this article you will find a form. In that form, I want you to make a bold prediction for the 2014 NFL Season. It has to be something that can be proven true or false by the end of the season like “The Broncos will not make the playoffs” or Julio Jones will score more fantasy points than Calvin Johnson and Jamaal Charles combined.” I cannot accept statements like “Josh Gordon will once again be a top five dynasty buy next season.”

So, why do I want you to make predictions?

At the end of the season, I will go through your predictions like a junior high teacher grading papers. I will determine which predictions came true. Once I have my list of correct bold predictions, I will have the DLF team vote on which prediction was the boldest of the ones THAT ACTUALLY CAME TRUE. Basically, you don’t want to play it too safe and you don’t want to go too crazy. The winner will receive a free one-year subscription to DLF Premium and a DLF shirt.

Here are the DLF team’s bold predictions in an order chosen by me:

Ken Moody (first, because he has the power to take down this whole site if we don’t keep him happy)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Trent Richardson finishes as a top 5 player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if next offseason Michael Floyd is a top 5 ranked dynasty player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Hakeem Nicks has a better season than Victor Cruz.
Super bold prediction: Julio Jones will finish the year as the #1 PPR wide receiver.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Johnny Manziel will run into legal trouble as a result of an incident with a drugs and a selfie at a local strip club, be released from the Browns and banned from the NFL. He’ll then be replaced at starting quarterback by a resurgent Tim Tebow.

[inlinead]Jarrett Behar (second, because otherwise he will badmouth me on the podcast)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Heath Miller finishes as a Top 6 option at tight end.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Nick Foles did not finish as a Top 12 quarterback.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Trent Richardson has a better season Zac Stacy.
Super bold prediction: Jonathan Stewart will run for 1,000 yards this season.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Marshawn Lynch will get hurt and Christine Michael will flop in his opportunity as a starter, leading to RB1 value for Spencer Ware going into the 2015 offseason.

Jeff Miller (third, because I think he works in gambling in Las Vegas and fear he might be connected, or maybe even made)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Jordy Nelson, Victor Cruz, and Roddy White all finish 2014 as a top-10 receivers.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Ben Tate defies recent conventional wisdom to finish as a top-10 running back.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Toby Gerhart totals over 350 touches and finishes as a top-10 running back.
Super bold prediction: Norv Turner has a huge impact on the Vikings offense, but the biggest beneficiary isn’t Cordarrelle Patterson or Adrian Peterson – it’s Greg Jennings, who finishes the season as a top-12 wide receiver.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: After getting off to a poor start to the season, Jay Cutler begins smoking Lucky Strikes on the sideline and in the huddle during the Bears’ Week four game against the Packers. With smoke plumes emanating from his facemask, Smokin’ Jay throws for 450 yards and five touchdowns. By Week eight he leads the NFL in all major passing categories. Following their week nine bye, Jay shows up to the Packers rematch with a flowing mane of hair and t-shirt that reads, “Long Hair Don’t Care.” Somewhere on a golf course in Florida, Jim McMahon smiles.

Brian Bulmer (fourth, because he worked with me at FFOasis)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Doug Martin finishes as a top 5 player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if next offseason Austin-Seferian Jenkins is a top 5 ranked dynasty player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Robert Griffin III has a better fantasy season than Andrew Luck.
Super bold prediction: Bishop Sankey has a better fantasy PPR season than Andre Ellington, Zac Stacy, Gio Bernard, Montee Ball, Le’Veon Bell and Eddie Lacy.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Justin Blackmon is traded to the Cleveland Browns and returns to action in Week nine with Cleveland hosting the Oakland Raiders. On the same night, Josh Gordon returns from his eight game suspension. Roger Goodell steals the town of Cleveland back from LeBron and the NBA and Johnny football goes on to win OROY. Blackmon, Gordon and Johnny Football spend the entire off-season in the film room.

James Simpson (fifth, because he knows how to correctly use the word “penultimate”)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Russell Wilson finishes as a top 5 player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if next offseason Jace Amaro is a top 5 ranked dynasty player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Bishop Sankey has a better season than Doug Martin.
Super bold prediction: Aaron Rodgers joins the 50+ TD Club (and then starts his own 60+ Club)
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Geno Smith struggles early and Michael Vick steps in. Rex Ryan decides it’s “time go Madden 09 on this league,” so he trades for Andre Johnson and Wes Welker. That group, along with CJ2K lead the Jets to go on a unstoppable run with fantasy studs at every position. In a stunning twist of fate, they fall at the penultimate hurdle to the Brian Hoyer and Isaiah Crowell-led Browns.

Scott Peak (sixth, because it’s always good to have a doctor on your side)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Dwayne Allen finishes as a top 5 tight end.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Jamaal Charles finishes outside the top 10 running backs (PPR and standard).
I wouldn’t be shocked if Calvin Johnson has his worst statistical season since his rookie year.
Super bold prediction: Garrett Graham will score more fantasy points than Rob Gronkowski.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: The Cowboys start 0-6, Jason Garrett gets fired, Jerry Jones hires Norv Turner mid-season as head coach, Tony Romo gets benched for Brandon Weeden, the Cowboys win nine games in a row, then lose 45-0 to the Redskins week 17, miss the playoffs and Jones gives Norv Turner a 10-year contract extension.

Ken Kelly (seventh, because he is editing this article… hmm… maybe I should bump him higher)

I wouldn’t be shocked if Percy Harvin finishes as a top 5 player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if next offseason Cordarrelle Patterson is a top 5 ranked dynasty player at his position.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Emmanuel Sanders has a better season than Eric Decker.
Super bold prediction: The Seahawks defense struggles with the new emphasis on pass interference and holding calls, forcing Russell Wilson to throw much more than he has before. He responds with a top 5 fantasy season.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Johnny Manziel gets supplanted as the Browns’ quarterback of the future by Brian Hoyer. Not being able to handle the media scrutiny, he goes down a bad path and gets addicted to illegal pain medication provided to him in Texas by Ryan Leaf. After spending time in a jail cell next to Josh Gordon, he decides to change his life and wants a second chance.Manziel pens a long essay to the Cleveland fans and tells them he has a special relationship with them that goes beyond football. He says he wants to provide new found hope for the area and bring them their first championship in 50 years.The Browns respond by saying, “You’re not coming home.” In addition, Christine Michael (2,650 yards and 25 touchdowns) and Cordarrelle Patterson (2,300 receiving yards, 30 touchdowns) break out in a big way, but their dynasty owners are disappointed because they feel they didn’t live up to the hype.

Karl Safchick (eighth, because Alfred Morris is his co-pilot and that dude is big)

I would not be shocked if Justin Hunter is considered a top ten dynasty wide receiver by the end of the season.
I would not be shocked if Trent Richardson loses his starting job before season’s end.
I would not be shocked if Teddy Bridgewater wins rookie of the year and finishes as a low-end QB1.
Super bold prediction: Eric Decker will put up numbers similar to those he did with Peyton Manning.
Ridiculously, almost hilariously bold prediction: Matt Ryan records one of the ten greatest fantasy quarterback seasons of all time.

Submit your own bold prediction:

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Scott Fish

Honorary Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Scott started playing dynasty in 1992 and loves to regale people with how in his 1995 rookie draft he called J.J. Stokes the next Jerry Rice. In 1999, with a friend, he created what was then called College Farm System Dynasty Leagues. They are now widely called Developmental Dynasty leagues. Scott has been in the fantasy football industry since 2003 and in 2008 created his own successful site, FFOasis.com. In April of 2014 after 6 amazing years, Scott closed FFOasis and joined DLF. Scott is a member of FSWA. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, he is married to the most amazing woman that has ever existed in the history of everything. They have been together since 2001 and in 2013 welcomed a son into their family.