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By: Ryan Welte
The Opinion Column
TRICKY COACHING
We are in a part of the NFL season where the nearly impossible
task of being a coach is in it's prime. Coaches of great teams need to
decide whether to rest their players or not in Week 17, and while
you cannot completely control this, should coaches want a 1st
round bye?
I'll start with the debate that can be controlled by a coach. We have seen examples of each hurt teams in the postseason whether they rest their starters or not. Sometimes teams lose key pieces to their success to an unnecessary injury, and other times teams lose the rhythm hat they could have taken into the playoffs. I am a supporter of not blenching the starters and letting them do what hey are paid to do, and play football. If your team is going to be a 1st round bye, than the players should play the entire Week 17 game unless it becomes a blowout because you are going to get an extra week of rest anyway. If you are not going to be on a bye, then the topic can be debated. I would play the starters the entire game, except for any elite players. The Manning, Brady, Rodgers, Peterson, Lynch, Nelson, Cobb, and Jennings of this postseason are in that group for me. Hey should not sit down before the end of the 3rd Quarter however due to the lack of synchronization that could be lost.
Obviously, each team has their own situation as seeding and homefield advantaged are not yet official.
As for whether a coach should want a first round bye, I think they should. There is a lot of downside to missing a week of playing time while others advance and get extra momentum. But, a round less is still an advantage and if you can sit on the couch while two teams from your conference get eliminated, you do.
Recent history has shown us that the teams that have had to win their final games and take a lower seed take more.momentum into the playoffs. In the last 11 years, just two #1 seeds have gone on to win the Super Bowl (2003 Patriots, 2009 Saints). The 5th seed 2007 Giants, the 6th seed 2005 Steelers, and the 6th seed 2012 Packers all won the Super Bowl those years.
To me these statistics don't mean to attempt at getting a 5th or 6th seed, it just means making sure you can get hot and healthy in the last 3 games of the regular season and transition into the playoffs. I don't think the 5 and 6 seeds this year have a better chance than the Falcons and Broncos at making the Super Bowl.