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Should you rest your players for the playoffs?


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Kinda funny how all the teams that did the "smart thing" and rested their players are now watching the games at home. I remember everyone giving the Pats and the Giants Hell for playing the last game of the season to the extent of their abilities, yet it appears it is a smart move as both are still in the playoffs.

 

Discussion?

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Prior to this season I had a suspicion that resting players did more harm than good, especially after the Colts imploded a couple of years back. All this talk of undefeated and best team ever could have been theirs if Dungy hadn't pulled the plug starting week 16. After this year, I'm more convinced of it than ever. While I believe that if a player is banged up it is an excellent time to get them some healing, I don't think that a wholesale benching of the starters is good for the team.

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Indy did the same thing last year and won the Super Bowl.

 

Next.

 

Ok, my memory is a touch faulty at times, did Dungy shut it down as early as he did the year previously?

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I don't see an issue in week 17 of starting your regular players for the 1st quarter or something like that but resting players for a few weeks completely just seems like a bad plan. How long was Tampa Bay resting players this year?

They rested them for like 2 weeks. That is why everyone thought they would beat the Giants because they were well rested.

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I dont remember who the first person to post this was this past weekend but they were dead on. Tampa, Dallas , Colts go home..GB, Giants SD play on. Next year unless a guy is inhjured I would want to see them in the game as far as possible into the season

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I hate that strategy. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Never rest guys. NEVER. I hate the BYE week. Hate it. No more bye weeks for the Colts!

 

I agree with you. During the 2004 season, the Steelers went 15-1. In their last game, they rested all starters against a Bills team that needed a win to get to the playoffs. The Steelers backups played a phenomenal game and the Steelers won. At the time, I was excited. I thought the game showed the Steelers depth, and allowed the starters to rest.

 

The result was first, their ugliest playoff win in history over the Jets. The Jets kicker missed field goals in regulation and overtime that would have sent the Steelers packing. Then, another awful home AFC Championship performance against the Pats.

 

The following year, the Steelers are sitting at 3-5, need to win every game to make the playoffs, they run off 8 straight....head into the playoffs as the 6th seed, beat the Bengals on the road, beat a "well rested" Colts team on the road, and, well, you know the rest.... :D

 

Suffice it say, that I feel the only valid reason to rest a starter is if he has an injury that needs time to heal. Otherwise, play it like you would any other game and keep the momentum going. If my team had the bye week, I would be careful about giving them too much rest for that as well. There have been too many instances of teams coming out of the blocks slowly following their bye weeks.

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I hate that strategy. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Never rest guys. NEVER. I hate the BYE week. Hate it. No more bye weeks for the Colts!

 

My wife is a Colts fan and she says this every year. She absolutely hates having the bye. As soon as the Colts locked up the #2 seed she said "I hope they at least play everyone through the end of the regular season because if they rest guys they'll lose the first game."

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Hmmm... Seems kind of coincidental that the Chargers knocked off the two teams that participated in the controversial week 17 "we won't use our timeouts to get the ball back" game. In football, the kind of tinkering with fate that the Colts did in basically handing a playoff spot to Tennessee more often that not seems to backfire.

 

In other words, karma is a beeyotch! It seems so clear now that San Diego's destiny was to right the wrong that the Colts created. First, they dispatched of the team the Indy handed the free pass to. Then they took care of Indy themselves. :D

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:D

 

barely...

 

so thats 1 out of 3 times resting worked? :wacko:

next? :D

Green Bay rested a BUNCH of dinged up guys in week 17, and pulled most other notable starters early in the 2nd after going up 21-3.

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Green Bay rested a BUNCH of dinged up guys in week 17, and pulled most other notable starters early in the 2nd after going up 21-3.

 

Dude, they were playing the Lions, and the Lions had been mailing them in for two months at that point. 21-3 was a done deal.

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If resting your starters is bad why do almost all teams have a good record in games played after their bye? Doesn't everybody get to rest during a bye week?

 

The secret to winning a playoff game is the same as winning a regular season game, you need to outplay your opponent.

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Kinda funny how all the teams that did the "smart thing" and rested their players are now watching the games at home. I remember everyone giving the Pats and the Giants Hell for playing the last game of the season to the extent of their abilities, yet it appears it is a smart move as both are still in the playoffs.

 

Discussion?

:D I said I thought it was a good thing for the GMen to do...i specifically stated that they could gain valuable momentum going into the playoffs

Edited by keggerz
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If resting your starters is bad why do almost all teams have a good record in games played after their bye? Doesn't everybody get to rest during a bye week?

 

The secret to winning a playoff game is the same as winning a regular season game, you need to outplay your opponent.

 

I think there may be a difference between a scheduled bye, where you have a specific bye week schedule, and practicing all week for game day then sitting around. It seems that it may throw off your rhythm at least when you take into consideration all the evidence the last few years. :D

nono.gif I said I thought it was a good thing for the GMen to do...i specifically stated that they could gain valuable momentum going into the playoffs

 

Sorry I meant a lot of people not everyone, and it looks like their may be one thing when can agree on :D

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I think there may be a difference between a scheduled bye, where you have a specific bye week schedule, and practicing all week for game day then sitting around. It seems that it may throw off your rhythm at least when you take into consideration all the evidence the last few years. :D

Sorry I meant a lot of people not everyone, and it looks like their may be one thing when can agree on :wacko:

:D

 

 

 

 

 

 

:D

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The never ending argument. Roughly half the teams that rest their players will win and roughly half that played their guys will lose.

 

I've seen it go both ways in Seattle. The logical for me would be to rest a veteran team and keep a young team with a high mojo on the field.

 

If I had Brady, Manning, Tolimson, Moss, Merriman, B. Sanders or someone of that caliber, and I was the coach, that player would not be playing football in week 17. You can't win without that guy, rested or not.

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