Herm Edwards said it best when he yelled emphatically in a press conference several years ago that ìyou play to win the game.” Teams need to play their stars regardless of the fear of injury or the relative significance of late-season games.
Injuries are a part of every sport and they can happen at any time. The logic of resting your starters tampers with the integrity of fair competition. History is made when teams are willing to take the chances and achieve greatness.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins had the perfect season not only because they worked hard every week, but also because resting star players had yet to become part of the school of thought at the time. The í72 Dolphins are still recognized as one of the greatest teams in the history of professional football because of their willingness to compete.
The great players and teams of history all struggled with injuries and overcame adversity in pursuit of a Super Bowl victory, not for just a first round bye in the playoffs and home field advantage. That is what made them great.
The Indianapolis Colts chose to rest their starters and ended up losing to the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills to finish the season. If they end up winning the Super Bowl, they will look back on those two games with remorse and wonder of what could have been. No matter what, 17-2 with a Super Bowl Victory simply cannot measure up with the í72 Dolphins (17-0) or, the í07 Patriots for that matter, (18-1).
The president of the Colts, Bill Polian, said that the team was not worried about going undefeated. He claimed that the teamís goals going into the season were breaking the New England Patriotsí record for most consecutive regular season wins and to achieve the title of most wins in the decade.
Frankly, these goals are not only irrelevant but offensive to sports fans, teams fighting to make the playoffs and the history of the sport. The only way to be remembered as the greatest team ever would be to pursue perfection, go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl.
The í72 Dolphins remain relevant today because not only did they win every regular season game, they sought perfection and executed, winning the Super Bowl. History can only be made if teams adhere to standards of competition.
Even if the Colts had clinched home field advantage by Week 16 of the season, they are obligated to do everything they can to beat the Jets and Bills and keep the playing field level.† The Jets have no business being in the playoffs and they can thank the Colts and Cincinnati Bengals for resting their starters in the last weeks of the season.
Resting star players and surrendering seemingly meaningless games may have some benefit in terms of playoff success and will surely prevent injury, but there is no logic claiming that Peyton Manning is less likely to be hurt in the AFC Championship Game than he is against Buffalo in Week 17.
Wes Welker of the Patriots tore his ACL and MCL, but not on a play in which he was even touched; that is the fluke nature of injury that is an incalculable and unexpected part of sports on any level.