Colts coach concedes victory wasn't priority

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HSanders

HSanders

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''As much as you'd like to protect the integrity of the game, as much as you'd like to say this would be better for the league if we did this, it's not better for us,'' he said.
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He's right, the Browns have no right to complain, they should have handled their business, no doubt. I also have zero ethical problem with a coach resting players (I hate it completely being a most of the game thing as a matter of choice when a team already has a bye and if not a matter of a player being dinged up already), and I think it is still the HC's decision to make and always should be... BUT..methinks he has thrown stones while living in a glass house vis a vis all his strong prior stances on wanting always to ensure the integrity of the game.
 
Here's a thought for the stains. Win the division. Oh, gee, you can't? Too bad. As anyone knows, it takes 52 men to make a winning football team. If the coach has a safe chance to get his bench players some serious playing time, he needs to do it just to keep those players in game shape for the playoffs.

I'll bet the same people that complain about teams not playing their starters in meaningless games were the same ones complaining that New England didn't pull their starters when the game was well in hand last year.
 
amwreck said:
Here's a thought for the stains. Win the division. Oh, gee, you can't? Too bad. As anyone knows, it takes 52 men to make a winning football team. If the coach has a safe chance to get his bench players some serious playing time, he needs to do it just to keep those players in game shape for the playoffs.

I'll bet the same people that complain about teams not playing their starters in meaningless games were the same ones complaining that New England didn't pull their starters when the game was well in hand last year.
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That's not it at all, I love. Every year the Colts and Broncos do that shit, they go 1 and done. However, I'd be furious if Belichick did it, ecspecially with a BYE week the next week. One thing that just stinks about the situation is Dungy laid down for the Titans, who he is coincidently good friends with the head coach. Yeah, nothing to see here folks:rolleyes:
 
So what? It's one of the benefits of winning in the regular season. Now, as far as taking the week off, especially going into a bye week, I think there is something to what you say. I think bye weeks tend to screw with a team's rhythm. Especially when you get to the end of the year when they've played at least eight weeks straight. I think a lot of Sunday and Monday night games do the same thing to a team and is one of the reasons a team that is successful one year winds up missing the playoffs the next. With success comes more games to take you out of your rhythm. So, it might not be smart for him to rest so many players, but that's his choice.

Another side of this is the mentality of the players. No matter whether you start your starters or not, they all know when the game is meaningless. It's hard to coach a team to take a serious attitude towards a game that doesn't matter. And no matter what they try to do with the seeding (thankfully voted down), there will always be a chance that a game simply isn't going to matter to one team in a match-up.
 
Well, I'd rather the team keep playing full steam into the playoffs, but it's not my decision to make so I don't fret over it.

But what if the Colts had played the starters and won the game? How many Titans fans would be complaining that we didn't have to play full strength and we were just beating-up on them/running up the score/classless/etc., etc.?

Haters are gonna hate no matter which way you turn.
 
They should do what the Steelers did to the Bills in 2004. Play their backups and crush them! :) And to think, all the Bills had to do was win that one game against our scrubs to get into the playoffs. Again, all the stains had to do was win one more game during the season (maybe either one of the Steelers games) and they would have been the division winners and wouldn't have had to worry about what the little titties did in their final game.
 
This is totally ridiculous. The Browns had their destiny in their hands the week prior to that Colts game. It is not the Colts problem that the final game meant nothing to them. If the Browns wanted to make the playoffs, they would have taken care of their own business the week prior in week 16 when they lost that pivotal game.
 
If there is an unwritten code amongst all coaches that you should play your strongest team where playoffs are at stake, then fine. Otherwise, Dungy should do what's in the best interests of HIS team, not Cleveland. I agree with amwreck that the Browns only have themselves to blame for not qualifying for the playoffs.
 
Going back to the original poster's point, I guess it becomes a question of how much you really think it affects the "integrity" of the game.

For me, resting guys at the end of the season to get ready for the playoffs is a no-brainer. All teams do it.

Sure, we have seen unique occasions like the Giants vs. Pats last year where everyone played. The whole thing with NFL network and the simulcast may have played a factor in Coughlin's decision but the bottom line for me is I would have had no problem if the Giants had sat everyone.....and I believe I would feel that way even if I was not a Pats fan.

So as much as I dislike Dungy, I can't berate the guy for doing what he felt was best for his team. The fact that there were playoff implications involved....oh well, you have to take care of your own house first before you worry about others. The Browns didn't make the playoffs because they didn't win enough games....not because the Colts rested some players in week 17.
 
I hate Dungy with the fire of 10,000 burning suns, but every coach has the right to do what he thinks is best for his team's playoff chances.

Cleveland has no legitimate beef with how Indy chose to prepare for the playoffs.
 
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