We talked about the best starts in league history, so now let’s go with the league’s worst starts in league history. Oddly enough, despite being the team in the league with the most wins, my name appears often on this list, along with Eric.
Griff and I have been to over half the title games, yet he and I have had the two worst starts in league history, along with Pattini, who went 0-7 in 2017. The only name to not appear on this list, except in this sentence? Rob Masterson. Yep, 14 years in Robioland and Rob has never started a season 0-3. Impressive.
Last year, no team began the year 0-3. The only other time that has happened was 2008.
Anyhow, 37 times in this league’s history a team has started a season 0-3 or worse. 18 of them started 0-3 and then one their first game. Nine times a team started 0-4. Four times a team went 0-5. Three times it was 0-6. Two times it was 0-7 and I’m the only person who started a season 0-8.
Of all these bad starts, only nine of them managed to flip the script and earn a postseason invite. No team that has started 0-5 or worse has made it to the show. Seven of those nine started 0-3. Only Eric and I have started a year 0-4 and made it to the postseason. My 0-4 start featured the only team on this list that ended up earning the top seed and winning the scoring crown. However, I was upset in the quarterfinals.
Of those nine who did make the playoffs, they have gone just 3-9 in the postseason. None managed to win a title. In fact, none of reached the title game.
0-8
ROBIO, 2009 Finished: 2-11, missed the playoffs Three years after Matt began the “worst start” record book after a 0-6 start in 2006 and two years after Griff broke that record by dropping seven straight, I took the record (because let’s be honest, I should have ALL the records, good or bad) in 2009 by failing to get a win until week nine…0ne of only two wins on the season.
0-7
MARC, 2017 Finished: 3-10, missed the playoffs To say Pattini struggled during his rookie campaign would be an understatement. It took him a full eight weeks to pull out his fist victory of the season (over Jeff). Five times he failed to crack 1,000, producing four weekly low scores. From there, he had a success month of football, winning three of four and found himself tied for 11th, just one game out of a playoff spot, but a 13-point defeat to last place Don in week 12 ended that dream. Marc would finish in last place, as the league’s lowest scoring team.
GRIFF, 2007 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs Mr. Coomer became the first person to drop his first seven games. He somehow managed to win three in a row in weeks 8-10 to give him a little hope, but he would earn just one more win in the final three, ending his season when the regular season ended.
0-6
COLBY, 2016 Finished: 5-8, missed the playoffs Almost. Yep, Colby almost pulled off the greatest turnaround in league history. Nothing went right for Mr. Hall during the first six weeks. He scored over 1,500 twice and lost both times. In week six, he hit rock bottom, scoring just 690 points to fall to 0-6. Even when he beat Griff by 33 points in week seven, it felt like a fluke, especially after he dropped his next two to Jeff and Eric. At 1-8, Colby’s season was done. Or was it? In the final month of the season, he went on a tear, ripping through four straight playoff teams (including the eventual champ), breaking 1,500 in three of those wins. Yet, to get into the postseason with just five wins, he needed help and the help didn’t come. Colby came up one game short.
ROBIO, 2015 Finished: 3-10, missed the playoffs For the second time in my career, I started a year 0-6, the only person to achieve this feat twice. I managed to win two straight to break my losing ways and ended up winning three of five to get me to 3-8, but I had no shot to win my last two and finished 3-10 for the second straight year.
MATT, 2006 Finished: 3-10, missed the playoffs By failing to earn a victory in his first six, Matt became the first person to start a season 0-6. He found a way to win just three wins down the stretch, finishing last in the league.
0-5
MOLLY, 2015 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs This was the second time in Molly’s career she has started a season 0-5. She did earn that first win in week six against Eric, but that would be it for a while. She sat at 1-8 at one point, before pulling out three wins in her last four, including a stunner over the top seed/scoring champ, Bob, in the final week.
BOB, 2005 Finished: 3-10, missed the playoffs The first defending champ to start the next season 0-5. Bob never got it going, sitting at 1-9 at one point, before winning two of his final three. He finished last in the league.
MOLLY, 2004 Finished: 6-7, missed the playoffs After 10 weeks, Molly was just 2-8, but somehow she turned things around and won her final five games, nearly pulling off a miracle run, but just missed out on the playoffs due to total points tiebreaker. To this day, the only person to start a season 0-5 and end a season 5-0.
TIM, 1999 Finished: 3-11, would have missed the playoffs In reality, Tim made the playoffs despite finishing last because we were an 8-team league and we let everyone go to the playoffs. In hindsight, we should have had a 6-team playoff format. So even though he made the playoffs, he should never be considered a playoff team. Ever.
0-4
ERIC, 2016 Finished: 6-7, lost in the quarterfinals For the third time since 2009, Eric struggle through the season’s first month. He dropped all four and didn’t really impress in points, averaging only 1,224 points per game. It looked like another lost season for the young Vozzola. Yet, this year would be different. In week five, he crushed Bob, 1,792-897 and that sparked his team. He would win four of his next five and finish the year winning six of nine. He became the first person not named Robio Murray and the first person since 2003 to start a season 0-4 and still make the playoffs.
ERIC, 2011 Finished: 1-12, missed the playoffs Eric became the first person in league history to start back-to-back seasons 0-4. He managed just one win, going 3-23 in those two seasons, the worst record over a two-year span, becoming just the second team to finish a season with just one win.
ERIC, 2010 Finished: 2-11, missed the playoffs Eric would earn his first win in week five, but ended up with just one more the rest of the way, finishing last in the league.
RICH B, 2009 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs After starting 0-4, Burrier sort of made history as he and I became the first and only 0-4 vs 0-4 match up ever. Rich ended up winning that one and his next three, becoming just the second person to start a season 0-4 and then win his next four. However, he would end up dropping his final five and he missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
COLBY, 2007 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs Colby struggled hard in the first half of the season, sitting at 1-7 at one point. He managed to win three of his final five to avoid finishing last, but not enough to get a postseason invite.
JEFF, 2003 Finished: 6-8, missed the playoffs In his first season in Robioland, it took Jeff five weeks to earn his first victory, a record for an expansion team. He did turn things around, winning five of his next seven games, but after dropping two of his final three, his 6-8 record was not enough to get him into the post-season.
ROBIO, 2003 Finished: 9-5, lost in quarterfinals For the second time in three years, I turned an 0-4 start into a winning season, winning nine of my last ten, earning the top-seed and scoring title. However, I became the first 1-seed to lose in the quarters, when Calderon pulled off the upset.
ROBIO, 2001 Finished: 9-5, lost in semifinals Became first 0-4 team to finish with a winning record. I won six straight after the 0-4 start and won my division. Despite being the hottest team, earning the 3-seed, I was upset in the semis by 6-seed David.
JOHN, 2000 Finished: 3-11, missed playoffs Managed to win two in a row after 0-4 start, but just one more after that. Oddly, he actually didn’t finish last, as someone else wound up 2-12. Both left the league when Robio moved to NYC after this season.
0-3
GRIFF, 2017 Finished: 6-7, lost in the quarterfinals For the second straight year, Griff stumbled out of the fate, losing his first three, failing to hit 1,000 twice, including a week three weekly low score. Over the next five weeks, he continued to struggle to piece together wins and after a second weekly low score in week eight, Griff was just 2-6 and it appeared he would miss the postseason for the second straight year. However, a lucky low scoring win over last place Marc helped lunch some winning ways. Despite breaking 1,500 just once all year, Griff won four out of his final five; the final win securing him a playoff spot and seven seed. Unfortunately, in the quarterfinals, he would run into the league’s top team and Matt crushed him, 2,128-1,444.
GRIFF, 2016 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs Griff became the third defending champ to begin his title defense with an 0-3 start. Despite big name keepers like David Johnson, Odell Beckham and Adrian Peterson, plus Cam Newton, Griff would sit at 1-4 through five weeks, topping out at 1,315 points in week three.
Despite a season-ending injury by Peterson, it appeared Coomer might have turned things around with a 2,052-point effort in a win over Molly. Yet, that would be the only time his team would crack 1,500 on the season. Anyhow, he would split his next four and sat 4-6 with three games remaining. However, he dropped all three and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
RICH B, 2014 Finished: 8-5, lost in the quarterfinals Burrier’s three game losing streak to start the 2014 season was actually the tail end of a tragic nine-game losing streak, but man did he turn it around. Burrier became the first 0-3 team to earn a winning record since Calderon 2009. He became just the fourth league member to win at least eight games since I did it in 2003. Sadly, he was upset in the quarterfinals.
MATT, 2013 Finished: 6-7, missed the playoffs After a rough 2-6 start to the season, Matt caught fire and dominated the league, winning his next four games. One win away from clinching a playoff spot though, he ended up dropping a week-13 match up against me and missed the postseason.
RICH B, 2013 Finished: 2-11, missed the playoffs It was a rough start that never got better. Rich would win just two games all season, failing to break 1,000 in his final six games (a record), as he finished in last place for the first time ever.
COLBY, 2012 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs For the second straight year, Colby failed to deliver a win in his first three, but unlike last year, he couldn’t right the ship, as he won just four games the remainder of the way.
COLBY, 2011 Finished: 6-7, lost in semifinals He sat at just 2-6 and it appeared that his season was over, yet Colby managed to win his final five, become the first team to start 2-6 and finish with a winning record in the 13-game era. Like Don above, he was able to reach the semis before falling to 7-seed and eventual champ Bob.
DON, 2011 Finished: 6-7, lost in the semis Don sat at 2-5 after seven weeks, but then went on a roll, winning his next four. He dropped his final two, failing to get above .500, but still managed to become the sixth team to start 0-3 or worse and make the post-season. He, along with Colby, became just the third and fourth teams to reach the semis, before falling to #3 Burrier.
JEFF, 2010 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs After struggling out of the gate by dropping his first three, Jeff managed to win four straight to get above .500, but that would be it. He ended up dropping his last seven games, missing the post-season.
RICH C, 2009 Finished: 7-6, lost in semifinals Calderon suffered his only 0-3 start in his career, yet it didn’t faze him, as he went on to win seven of his final 10, becoming just the third team and first since 2003 to end up with a winning record after a rough start. He made the playoffs, falling in the semis, becoming just the second team to start 0-3 or worse and get within one game of the finals.
GRIFF, 2007 Finished: 4-9, missed the playoffs A year after starting a season 0-7, Griff struggled out of the gate again in 2007, failing to find a win until week four. He would actually win three of four and sit a 3-4 midway through the season. Yet, he would drop four of his last five and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
ERIC, 2006 Finished: 3-10, missed the playoffs Despite having little success in this league, up to this point, Eric avoided the bad starts and truly bad seasons…until 2006. He would never win two in a row and finished with just three wins, earning the top pick in 2007.
DAVID, 2006 Finished: 1-12, missed the playoffs In week four, David would end a three-game losing streak with a simple 1,128 – 843 win over Calderon. It would be the only win on the season.
DON, 2003 Finished: 4-10, missed the playoffs Now there are bad 0-3 starts and then there was Don in 2003. He became the only person in league history to start a season with three straight weekly low scores, averaging 457 points per game. Somehow he managed to win in week four, but he would enjoy just four victories all season long.
RICK, 2002 Finished: 8-6, lost in quarterfinals After a rough first month, Rick went on a roll, winning seven of his next eight. Despite losing in the final week of the regular season, he still became the second person to start 0-3 and still finish with a winning record. However, what would be his final game in Robioland, Rick fell to 3-seed and eventual champ Robio in the quarterfinals.
BRIAN, 2002 Finished: 3-11, missed the playoffs One of the more successful league members in the early years, things fell apart for Brian in 2001. He never could produce a winning streak and finished last in the league in his final year in Robioland.
GRIFF, 2001 Finished: 5-9, missed the playoffs He shook off the 0-3 start by winning a pair in weeks four and five, but a five-game losing streak would end his playoff hopes. Not even winning three out of his final four was enough, as he missed the playoffs for the first time in his career.
JIMMY, 2000 Finished: 6-8, lost in quarterfinals He went on to win six of his next nine to get to .500, before dropping his final two. Managed to squeeze into the postseason as the #8 seed, but lost to 1-seed Rick in the quarterfinals
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