Week 1 saw Leaping Girl dominate despite some hurdles, Rascal emerge victorious after a high-scoring affair with the Canine Comets, and Rare Woofs and Tailwaggerz, the two most recent champions, both fall. How will these eight teams choose to align themselves after finally getting to see their rosters in action? (Reminder: the Dog League is a custom fantasy football league run on NFL.com)
Growlers
Current Record: (0-1, 8th Place)
Both expansion teams lost in Week 1, but Growlers got the worst of it, getting thumped by Leaping Girl, losing by almost 40 points in a disappointing debut. They brought in a rising star in Ravens running back Ty'Son Williams, beginning a massive conflict for their RB2 spot, where incumbent Damien Harris attempts to fend off both Javonte and Ty'Son Williams. For now, Harris keeps the job, as he has a soft matchup this week against the Jets, but the issue may be revisited before games begin this week. The rest of the Growlers roster remains unchanged.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Rare Woofs)
RB Austin Ekeler
RB Damien Harris
WR Calvin Ridley
WR A.J. Brown
TE Tyler Higbee
WR Allen Robinson
K Rodrigo Blankenship
DEF New England Patriots
Rare Woofs
Current Record: (0-1, 7th Place)
Rare Woofs, who won the Dog League in both 2019 and 2020, can't be happy with this start, as underwhelming afternoons from Julio Jones and the Packers defense cost them a winnable game against Bark Force. The Packers defense keep their starting job for this week, as they have a better matchup against the Lions than the Dolphins defense have against the Bills, but Jones heads to the bench, replaced by Tyler Lockett. Rare Woofs are stacked in their receiving corps, with the 30+ point game from Deebo Samuel in Week 1 not enough to earn a starting job, though he would be the next man up in the event of an injury between now and Sunday. Rare Woofs also made a change at kicker, dropping Jason Sanders to add Greg Zuerlein.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Growlers)
RB Christian McCaffrey
RB David Montgomery
WR Stefon Diggs
WR Justin Jefferson
TE Mark Andrews
WR Tyler Lockett
K Greg Zuerlein
DEF Green Bay Packers
Tailwaggerz
Current Record: (0-1, 6th Place)
Tailwaggerz came up a bit short in a hard-fought loss to Tug of War in Week 1, which they were determined to not overreact to, as their roster still looks capable. They brought in the Cardinals defense this week, hoping their performance against the Titans will be sustainable throughout the year, but start the Colts defense for Week 2, to see if they can solve the explosive Rams offense. Najee Harris hangs onto his starting spot, for now, as despite backups Antonio Gibson and Melvin Gordon offering appealing upside, Harris has too much volume in the Steelers offense for Tailwaggerz to bench him. Terry McLaurin had no such luck, heading to the pine and being replaced by Adam Thielen.
UPDATE: Tailwaggerz has elected to go with a surer option this week, starting Antonio Gibson over Najee Harris.
UPDATE (x2): Tailwaggerz has switched defenses, starting the Cardinals over the Colts.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Ridiculous Rascals)
RB Dalvin Cook
RB Antonio Gibson
WR Keenan Allen
WR Adam Thielen
TE Kyle Pitts
WR Cooper Kupp
K Harrison Butker
DEF Arizona Cardinals
Canine Comets
Current Record: (0-1, 5th Place)
Week 1 was promising for the Canine Comets, who scored over 150 points in defeat to Rascal, becoming the second-highest scoring team in the league and only watching victory escape their grasp on Monday night. They pile on more talent for Week 2, picking up Antonio Brown (and dropping Kenyan Drake) last Friday, and acquiring Corey Davis last night, after Jerry Jeudy departed for their reserves. Neither receiver will start, although the Comets were tempted to go with Brown in the flex over Diontae Johnson, though two changes were made to the starting lineup. Chris Carson, who has a greater workload in his offense, goes in over Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and the Buccaneers defense start over the Bills, who could have trouble traveling to Miami this week.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Bark Force)
RB Nick Chubb
RB Chris Carson
WR DK Metcalf
WR Chris Godwin
TE Travis Kelce
WR Diontae Johnson
K Younghoe Koo
DEF Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bark Force
Current Record: (1-0, 4th Place)
It may not have been pretty (they only scored 121 points, the lowest for any winning team by 15 points), but Bark Force got the job done against Rare Woofs in Week 1, establishing some momentum. They activated Will Fuller off their reserve this week, dropping Dallas Goedert to open up space, and while the ballsy play to start DeVonta Smith in his first game worked out well last week, they bench him for Jarvis Landry this week, as Landry remains Cleveland's top receiver going against the porous Texans secondary. James Robinson was under some threat for his starting job, as he failed to do much in Week 1, but he's talented enough that Bark Force will stick with him, retaining his position over Myles Gaskin and Darrell Henderson. They also stick with the Bronocs defense, who should be decent against the Jaguars, and the final decision was between Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Both guys had their difficulties in Week 1, and while Rodgers does have his softest matchup of the year, hosting the Lions, they remain with Jackson for now. I'm sure that's a spot they will continue to deliberate over for the rest of the week.
UPDATE: With news that Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark will both likely play tonight, Bark Force has benched Lamar Jackson for Aaron Rodgers.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Canine Comets)
RB Derrick Henry
RB James Robinson
WR Davante Adams
WR CeeDee Lamb
TE Logan Thomas
WR Jarvis Landry
K Daniel Carlson
DEF Denver Broncos
Tug of War
Current Record: (1-0, 3rd Place)
Tug of War, despite winning their first game, are under the pressure right now, besieged by injuries as Saquon Barkley is banged up, on a short week, and Odell Beckham is set to miss Week 2. With that, Barkley remains on the bench, while Chase Claypool will get the start in the flex. Claypool may come under threat as the week progresses, as new addition Marquise Brown (added for Michael Carter), could give him a challenge.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Leaping Girl)
RB Aaron Jones
RB Miles Sanders
WR Amari Cooper
WR Tee Higgins
TE George Kittle
WR Chase Claypool
K Tyler Bass
DEF Washington Football Team
Leaping Girl
Current Record: (1-0, 2nd Place)
Despite poor games from Ezekiel Elliott and Mike Evans, and an early injury to Raheem Mostert, Leaping Girl still dominated in Week 1, taking out the lowly Growlers with relative ease behind strong performances from Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, and T.J. Hockenson. After losing Mostert for the year, she activated Option C this week, allowing her to bring in Eli Mitchell without allowing the rest of the league a chance to claim him. She now has both Mitchell and Trey Sermon, and leaves both 49ers running backs on her bench, allowing D'Andre Swift to claim a starting spot instead. Elliott retains his starting spot for now, as does Evans, though she has options to start over Evans if she wishes, as Courtland Sutton gets healthier, and Tyler Boyd provides a capable backup, brought in to replace Michael Pittman. Her most intriguing battle comes on defense, where the Steelers continue to start, although the Browns defense could be a potential breakout pick against the weak Texans offense.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Tug of War)
QB Kyler Murray
RB Alvin Kamara
RB Ezekiel Elliott
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR Mike Evans
TE T.J. Hockenson
RB D'Andre Swift
K Ryan Succop
DEF Pittsburgh Steelers
Ridiculous Rascals
Current Record: (1-0, 1st Place)
Once again, Ridiculous Rascals are hot to start the year, lighting up for 174 points in Week 1, with a huge night from Darren Waller powering them to a Week 1 win and the top spot in the league. Rascal is the only team to avoid the waiver wire completely this week, only making a single move in his starting lineup, benching Mike Davis for Brandin Cooks.
UPDATE: Rascal has elected to start Ja'Marr Chase over Brandin Cooks.
Week 2 Starting Lineup(vs Tailwaggerz)
RB Joe Mixon
RB Jonathan Taylor
WR Tyreek Hill
WR Robert Woods
TE Darren Waller
WR Ja'Marr Chase
K Justin Tucker
DEF Los Angeles Rams
- Henry
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