To Play or Not to Play

In the past two weeks the very foundation of the NFL playoff system may have been shaken. The Colts decided not to go for "The Perfect Season" and rested their starters in Weeks 16, giving the 7-7 Jets the chance to stay in the playoff hunt. In Week 17 the Bengals utilized a vanilla game plan and spent much of the second half with backup players playing. In a two week span the New York Jets went from 7-7 and in the back of the pack in the run for a wildcard spot to 9-7 and the fifth seed in the AFC and teams like the Steelers and Texans lost out due to the Colts' and Bengals' treating these games like exhibition games.. Now there are rumblings that these teams should have played there starters and something must be done to uphold the integrity of the league.

A team that does well enough throughout the season has the right to rest players to avoid injuries. That is the luxury of performing well throughout the season, the Colts were 14-0 with nothing to gain from playing their starters down the stretch. The Bengals were 10-5 and guaranteed a home playoff game, they had nothing to gain by risking injury. This is done every season, a team has a great season and knows they will be in the playoffs and have the opportunity to give other players playing time and avoid injury to their stars.

The other side of the argument is the competitive balance that is affected by these teams. Pittsburgh and Houston may have a legitimate argument, but, had Pittsburgh defeated Kansas City or Cleveland or Oakland, teams that combined to go 14-34, they would not have to worry about the tie-breaking procedures or depend on the Jets to lose. Houston on the other hand, could have defeated the Jets when they played in Week One, and they would be in the playoffs rather than readying for free agency.

There are still teams that decide to play to win the game down the stretch, risking injury and fatigue to maintain the team's timing and consistency. The Patriots experienced the ultimate downside to this theory, the loss of the league leader in receptions for the playoffs, Wes Welker.

Resting the starters is no guarantee of a successful postseason, teams seem to be negatively affected by the time off, only one time in the past decade has a team been a top seed and won the Super Bowl (04 Patriots). Over this span teams have been forced to play themselves into the playoffs and ride that momentum to a successful postseason run.

So who is right?

Who knows, the NFL does not like resting starters because hard working fans do not want to pay money to see backups and practice squad players in Week 17. But, what would happen if Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees were forced to play, only to be injured and miss the playoffs? Would the average fan rather see backups in the regular season and starters in the playoffs or vice-versa? The right answer is...

Whatever the coach decides to do, after all he has positioned his team to have that luxury.