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Beyond the Byline: Farewell, old friend

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Wyoming Area becomes Scranton Prep’s latest shutout victim, 24-0

I&#8217;d like to consider myself a good fantasy football player.Last year I won one of my leagues and finished no worse than third in all but one. Then there are weeks like the one I had last week &#8212; when you can&#8217;t buy yourself a point &#8212; that bring you right back down to earth.I&#8217;m in seven leagues this year, and had more teams score in the 80s (three) than in the 100s (one), and each team took an L in Week 2. That doesn&#8217;t even count daily fantasy, where two of my four lineups scored in the 70s and only one finished in the 100s. I placed out of the money in all four games.Yikes.But hey, everyone&#8217;s going to have one of those types of weeks. I&#8217;m just glad I got mine out of the way in Week 2 instead of in the playoffs.Don&#8217;t panic either. Just because some of your studs like LeSean McCoy, Odell Beckham Jr. or A.J. Green struggled doesn&#8217;t mean you need to hit the reset button and sell everything for pennies on the dollar. Just take a deep breath.Like the great Aaron Rodgers once said: R-E-L-A-X.Relax.QUARTERBACKMust have: Eli Manning, New York GiantsI know. Manning has been rough to watch this season. However, he&#8217;s facing a banged-up Philadelphia Eagles secondary. This might be an opportunity for Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard to get on track.Pass: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia EaglesAt the same time, I&#8217;m staying away from Wentz in this game. The Giants defense is legit. In fact, ESPN rankers have Wentz going as QB15 this week.Worth a shot: Deshone Kizer, Cleveland BrownsIf you&#8217;re looking for an opportunity to start Kizer in a deeper league or maybe in daily fantasy, this is your best bet. He&#8217;s playing in a dome against a bad Indianapolis Colts defense. While Carson Palmer struggled against the Colts last week, Jared Goff lit them up in the opener. Isaiah Crowell should get back on track as well, opening up the offense for Kizer.RUNNING BACKMust have: Ty Montgomery, Green Bay PackersMontgomery has been a monster this season, scoring 15-plus points each of the first two weeks. Now he faces a Cincinnati Bengals defense that ranks 25th against running backs. He&#8217;s an RB1 this week.Pass: Mike Gillislee, New England PatriotsThis is more of a gut feeling than anything, but I&#8217;m not big on Gillislee this week. While Houston hasn&#8217;t been the best against the run, Gillislee&#8217;s yards per carry isn&#8217;t impressive this year. He might not get in the end zone here.Worth a shot: Derrick Henry, Tennessee TitansThis is a bit of a roll of the dice because if DeMarco Murray is somehow ready to go, Henry won&#8217;t be worth much in fantasy. However, if Murray is out, Henry is an automatic RB1, and I don&#8217;t even care that its against the Seattle Seahawks.WIDE RECEIVERMust have: Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina PanthersThe Panthers are going to go absolutely off. Facing a horrid New Orleans Saints defense, Benjamin has WR1 upside this week.Pass: Zay Jones, Buffalo BillsJones was a hot commodity during the draft season. However, he&#8217;s had a very slow start. I&#8217;m staying away from both him and Jordan Matthews this week in a tough matchup against the Denver Broncos.Worth a shot: Devin Funchess, Carolina PanthersRinse and repeat. Funchess is in line for more targets now that Greg Olsen is on the IR. He&#8217;s a flex with WR2 upside.TIGHT ENDMust have: Jack Doyle, Indianapolis ColtsTight ends are a struggling quarterback&#8217;s best friend. Not only have Scott Tolzien and Jacoby Brissett struggled, but the Cleveland Browns give up the most fantasy points against tight ends. A TE1 and must-start in daily fantasy leagues.Pass: Martellus Bennett, Green Bay PackersCincinnati is the best defense among tight ends this season. It doesn&#8217;t help that Bennett is having a tought time finding himself in the Packers&#8217; offense, too.Worth a shot: Hunter Henry, Los Angeles ChargersHenry&#8217;s rising target share and red zone threat is too good to pass up. Antonio Gates will get some play, but Henry is the obvious start among Chargers tight ends. <style>
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<div class="neCaption">Flavor of the Week DJ Eberle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_DJ-Eberle-CMYK-mug-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Flavor of the Week DJ Eberle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By DJ Eberledjeberle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</shirttailMeta></div>

Flavor of the Week: It’s all about rolling with the punches