Dennis Green (1949-2016) should be known for his great run as the Minnesota Vikings' coach, reaching the NFC championship game one year after posting a 15-1 regular season record. Instead, he's probably best known for his rant at the end of a game when his Cardinals lost to the then-undefeated Bears. That was almost 13 years ago after a week 6 contest, but it still makes sense headed into week 6 of the current fantasy season.
The Cardinals blew a late lead and somehow gave away a game they had in hand. If you've played fantasy football, you know that feeling. But the important thing to remember is the fearless attitude the 1-4 Cardinals took into that game. If they were intimidated by Chicago, they didn't show it for the vast majority of the contest. (Rant can be seen here.)
At this point in the season you might be looking at the schedule, needing a couple wins to right the ship. And you might see a 5-0 team or a couple of 4-1 teams and think it's going to be a tough hill to climb. And maybe it will be. A team with Christian McCaffrey or Patrick Mahomes has an advantage over other teams. They have a low-floor, high-ceiling, mega-volume player. A "bad" game from them is still probably going to be a pretty decent one.
But there is no reason your team, regardless of record, can't beat all of them. Because they are who you think they are: A fantasy team with a collection of players not working together. Their players can have terrible games, like Mike Evans (0-0) this past weekend. A good defense can go largely missing, like the Bears did against the Raiders. Their great players can have off games. Your mediocre players can have stellar stat lines. In this game, there are no real teams, so there's no synergy. One player having a great game means nothing to another player on the other side of the country. There's no reason your list of guys can't beat their list. The records mean nothing.
That works on the other side, too. Don't be the 4-1 owner who looks at an 0-5 team and sees an easy win. Every one of their guys would have been on your team if they had fallen far enough. You just liked them a little less than they did. And if we're being honest, there were probably times someone swiped your preferred player before you were going to take them, and that move saved you a season-long headache. Meanwhile, they guy you had to "settle for" is leading your team to victories. Your records might not be the same, but your team isn't too different than theirs on any one weekend. In that case, you are who they thought you were.
There's one other advantage you have over those sad Cardinals who gave away a win over Chicago: Your team can't get nervous and blow a lead. They can't melt down on national television. Again, it's just a collection of guys unaware you have a team, much less that they're on it. So they can't be intimidated by your opponent. A lot of professional football is mental, but it has little effect on our game. So if you build a big lead, nobody is going to crack under pressure.
It's tough when you look ahead to the schedule needing some wins, and you see dominant teams. Just remember that they were dominant teams in previous weeks, and that means almost nothing when it comes to your upcoming game. You could win three in a row, and they could lose three. That doesn't mean you will (or they will), but it does mean you have a fighting chance this game and every game, regardless of record. Good luck this week.
How do you deal with facing a favored opponent? How do you keep yourself from getting too cocky when you see a struggling team on the schedule? Any unexpected upsets in your league this year? Share your stories below.