Lineup Advice & Team Tracking: Week 2

Jeff Haverlack Posted On September 16, 2023

PLEASE READ ALL OF EACH WEEK’S POST

Firstly, thank you all for the notes about what DLF has meant to you over the years. Some of you have supported us for 10 years or more, many of you I’ve known for almost that long, or longer. Sure, I exist behind this veiled electronic curtain within a fantasy football arena, but friendships these days are often digital in nature. We’re on this rock for such a short time, and I believe with all my heart it’s important to have connections with people. It’s always good to have someone in your court, be in others’ courts, and understand that it’s people who make life interesting, more dynamic and rewarding.

Your well wishes mean a lot to me and I’ve enjoyed our connection. I hope it continues and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I’m still available on The Athletic, Discord, Twitter/X (@DLF_Jeff), Threads (@DLF_Jeff), DLF Forum and, who knows, maybe some other venue if the mood strikes and I have the energy/commitment to make it happen.

When DLF was sold early in 2021, it wasn’t without a lot of conversation, planning, and with the expectation and commitment that we would, largely, remain who we were following the sale. Continuing our legacy was, and still is, very important to us. I’m happy to say that we’ve never wavered in that thought. Whenever you sell your company, there’s the understanding that some control will be lost.

Sometimes you choose the horse and sometimes the horse is chosen and brought to you.

Truth be told, I don’t think I’d ever be completely ready to ride into the sunset. How do you ride off, leaving your baby behind? The only way I can get my arms around it is in the understanding that it is left in good hands. Happy to say my DLF brothers will remain and are on the job!

Let’s move on.

Week 2

In short, I’m glad week one is done, finished, history! The first week of the NFL season always represents the most difficult of lineup predictions. Preseason games are notoriously “vanilla” and we just don’t know how teams will utilize their players, especially at running back. To be honest, I’m not sure that I feel much better about week two, which further exemplifies why I prioritize receivers now. There’s no second guessing the role of a WR1. Sure, they may disappoint in the productivity department, but you can have confidence about their snaps and their placement in the progression from the quarterback.

I could give you a laundry list of head-scratching running back usage but I’m guessing you felt the pain already and can come up with the list yourself. For me, it’s headlined by D’Andre Swift. Two touches.

Two!

My guess is that the Eagles are playing the long game with full expectation that they will be in the playoffs and, noting Swift’s fragility, are playing it safe. But I don’t think anyone expected that disappearing act. I mean, really, that act could be a Vegas headliner.

Of course, the big story of the week is the Aaron Rodgers news and I’m feeling something sandwiched in-between sadness for the Jets organization and fanbase, hope for Zach Wilson that he gets another chance and a poetic feeling about the entire situation. The master watching his student getting a chance to shine. Throughout the offseason, I was watching how Aaron Rodgers was acting toward Wilson. Was it going to be pure competition with no mentorship or was it going to be the master, with new wisdom and advancing age, taking the youngster under his wing? Thankfully, it was the latter. Now, Rodgers can give freely from his deep pool of wisdom. What does 2024 hold? It’s going to be another circus.

I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole on week one. It’s a tough week, it’s not a time to start considering an overhaul of your roster, and you need to sit on your hands for the first three or four games unless you suffered a major injury. Insert pictures of Aaron Rodgers and J.K. Dobbins here with a lesser note about Diontae Johnson and, maybe, Aaron Jones.

Team Tracking

In week one, I simply try to come out with a .500 record . There’s just so many variables.

My teams did relatively well, producing a 9-5 record with a couple of close victories. In fact, I should have been 10-4. In one league, a championship team from 2022, I scored the second most points but lost to the team scoring the most points. It was a narrow loss which would have easily been a win if not for losing Aaron Rodgers after four snaps. But, that’s how the ball bounces sometimes. Bigger issue now is I need Deshaun Watson to be an upside producer and Ryan Tannehill to resemble anything other than what he did in week one. I do have a fair number of D’Andre Swift shares which are making me nervous and could be a material variable into the future.

Let’s get to the lineup advice!

Lineup Advice Rules & Format

DLF continues to see growth in our membership and each year I continue to wonder how I’m going to keep up with all of your questions while also holding to a level of service and quality you’ve all come to expect from me. I’ve been VERY happy with my level of accuracy but, for that to occur, I need your help. Each question can take up to 10 minutes for me to research as I research up to a dozen different variables and trends. I do everything I can to get my answers correct. For that reason, I need you to read the following rules and guidelines to help me maintain efficiency:

Please don’t ask me to set your entire lineup
Put “TNF” as the top line for any question involving Thursday Night Football games
Please also make sure to tell me who YOU would be starting if not for my advice. It helps me to understand your gut feeling(s).
Include your scoring format (PPR, Non-PPR, etc.)
Keep your questions as brief as possible – Story questions add a lot of time
I prioritize questions involving the earliest (Thursday, etc.) games first. If I skip over your question, don’t worry, I’ll be back to it.
It’s easy to miss responses to my responses in thread. When in doubt, always post a separate new question

Lastly, I work very hard to get my advice correct and I do not mail it in. When I’m wrong, I feel every incorrect answer so, go easy on me! That said, the DLF community has been absolutely fantastic to work with which is why I’m still doing this after so many years.

Have a great week! Have an even better season!

Author
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Jeff Haverlack

Co-Founder at Dynasty League Football

Appreciative husband and proud father who poorly attempts to balance family life with his passion for creating the largest, most helpful and most impactful fantasy community on the planet! DLF was created for the community and we're committed to each member within it! Hope anyone playing this great game will call DLF home in some way!

You can find Jeff on Twitter at @dlf_jeff

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