This is my favorite time of the fantasy season. We’re a good part of the way through the year, so managers are either riding high, treading water or behind the eight ball. We’re not all in the same boat anymore, so everyone has a different perspective on the season.

Now, finally, the teams get to really play each other. And the next few weeks will probably determine your ability to make the playoffs.

I know that teams have been playing for six weeks. But previously, when we said “teams” were playing each other, we really meant “starters” were playing each other. Unless you had an injury, or couldn’t determine who to put in the lineup, it was your starters against their starters. Week after week, you both played your best guys and the bench just sat there. You usually knew who your quarterback was going to be, and probably your backs and receivers and so on. Unless something unusual happened, you had the majority of your lineup set before the week even started.

Well, things have changed. Bye weeks are finally here, and that means juggernaut teams might be missing a player or two. It might not be this week, or even next week. But it will catch up with them eventually.

(I actually prefer to have most bye weeks on the same week, so I can get them out of the way and play at full strength for most of the season. But injuries and changes to the lineup don’t always cooperate).

Now, throw in the injuries we’re seeing and bye weeks, and it’s not starters vs. starters anymore. Your full roster will be needed, and the same goes for your opponent. The next six weeks will reveal who has the best teams; not just the best guys who get started every week.

You’ll either get good news or bad news, depending on how you drafted. There are plenty of top-heavy fantasy teams that have great starters but a thin bench. There are also balanced teams that have talent throughout their roster, but not enough stars to dominate the standings. The records might balance out a bit, and teams might go on a winning or losing streak, depending on who they have available when their best players are resting.

You’ll also find out which teams have the best managers. Do you see opponents with starting players on a bye? Hopefully, it’s just a costly oversight and it only happens once. In a worst-case scenario, you have an apathetic owner or an abandoned team. Either way, the next few weeks will reveal a lot about whether a manager is helping or hurting their own team.

You might wish you could find out these things earlier, but I think it’s good timing the way it is. You had a few weeks to see how the starters performed, and now you get to see how much the bench can contribute. And then you have a little time at the end of the regular season to see what kind of adjustments you want to make when you have all your players available. Do you go with the expected starters, make a change or play matchups? It’s up to you, but you’ll make the decision based on what you saw in the beginning and middle of the regular season.

Sometimes we have to fight to overcome judging our teams too harshly after just a week or two. But after six weeks, we feel like we know what we have. But I think now is the time we’ll start finding out what kind of team we have. Can we compete on the weeks we’re not at full strength? Can we win even if our opponent has everyone they want to start but we’re going deep into our bench? Will we improve our records because our opponent wasn’t prepared, or will we fall back because we weren’t prepared?

You’ll fnd out over the next few weeks. And if you start guys like Josh Allen, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams or Najee Harris, you’ll find out on Sunday. Good luck this week.

Do you draft with bye weeks in mind, and are you prepared for them? Do you prefer to spread them out or have them all at once? How do you feel about your bench? Share your thoughts below.