re: I got hammered by a few of you for suggesting that a loss isn't

Yes, he is my alter. So yall need to show blitzed some respect around here.

The Saints are not the first time an NFL team almost went undefeated for regular season and dropped a game late. And a couple of times, the team that did it went on to win the Superbowl (as in my specific example of 1998).

So what is the deal about going back and forth...ad infinitum? There is no debate.

That's the "psycho" part I don't get. This isn't a discussion. It's a mental hopscotch.

always thought you were.... with that being answered... GFY!

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That may be in the cards again versus carolina. we may want to rest up now since we will have homefield locked up with a win over the bucs. plus no perfect season so the regular season record does not have the attention now that we are not undefeated. payton may want 3 weeks rest for some guys. we will see.

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Did you see Caroline friggin PUNISH Minn on both side of the ball. If I'm Payton the following people play 1 gtr vs Carolina:

Drew Brees
Reggie
Schocky
Ellis
Porter
Thomas
Fujita
Greer
Sharper

If you have been dinged up recently then you only play them one quarter. PROVIDED WE BEAT TAMPA BAY

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i think that homefield is a big part of the playoffs.

When you had originally said this, what was the Vikings record? You are a fool if you don't think that matters.

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Wow. You people are completely devoid of logic and reason. I didn't say that Home Field was not important, I said the winning in the PO's is ALL THAT MATTERS. And if you have to rest players (i.e. lose a game or two and losing HF advantage in the process) in order to WIN in the playoffs, you had better fricking do it. We NEED to rest players b/c our Defense is beat to shite. Are you going to print up Home Field Advantage T-shirts if we lose our first PO game because we are beat to shite?

Nice.

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At this point, the better debate should probably be with regard to this question: If we beat the Bucs and lock up Home Field Adv, do we rest all the starters all game against the Panthers?

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ETA: I didn't see where you said ALL game.

Not really. That's an obvious question. Of course we rest, but I don't think you rest everyone the whole game. You rest anyone who is even a LITTLE bit tired/hurt all game, especially on D. But the primary players get 1, maybe 2 quarters of play, regardless of the score. If they look particularly sharp, take them out even earlier.


My original debate circled around us NOT losing, Minn losing and us locking up HFA while still undefeated. Then the question is, do you sit people, or go for 16-0. There is no right or wrong answer. Some people want to win at all costs, some are focused on the big picture and ALL discussion is completely subjective.

The secondary topic is as of right now. 16-0 is past us. HFA is NOT locked up but we are beat to shite and need time for our injured to heal. So question is rest everyone who's hurt and ONLY play our primarys for a couple quarters in ech game and take a chance on losing 2 in a row, OR play everyone who's healthy all 8 quarters and lock HFA but put them in jeopardy of getting hurt?

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The secondary topic is as of right now. 16-0 is past us. HFA is NOT locked up but we are beat to shite and need time for our injured to heal. So question is rest everyone who's hurt and ONLY play our primarys for a couple quarters in ech game and take a chance on losing 2 in a row, OR play everyone who's healthy all 8 quarters and lock HFA but put them in jeopardy of getting hurt?

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In your opinion, we should play everyone hard to beat the Bucs and lock up HFA, and THEN just play the back-ups against the Panthers. Right?

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In your opinion, we should play everyone hard to beat the Bucs and lock up HFA, and THEN just play the back-ups against the Panthers. Right?

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No. I think you tell your starters before the Bucs game that if THEY want HFA, they have 2 quarters to get it done. Play 1st team O for the 1st and 3rd, and the 1st team D for the 2nd and 4th. But also rest anyone on 1st team who is even a little banged up.


Short answer is that when this team plays healthy and well, I am not scared of a single team in this entire league (DAMN that feels good to say) nor am I afraid to go to ANY STADIUM IN THE COUNTRY and win, so, that being said, I want to be healthy and focused FIRST, than I'll worry about HFA, 1st round bye, easy route, etc.

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Your premise is flawed, because, there's no guarantee that following your plan would ensure that the team is healthy, rested and focused.

You propose to start resting starters before HFA is locked up because, you say, by doing so, we ensure that the whole team is rested, healthy and focused for the playoffs.

I disagree with your premise and your logic. I disagree with your plan to rest starters before HFA is locked up.

Has any NFL coach that was successful in the playoffs ever followed your plan of resting starters when there was something yet to achieve during the regular season? I can't think of a single one.

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Agree. There is no logic to support any of the claims to rest or not rest. It's subjective to say the least. I'm simply suggesting that it is better to rest when you are as banged up as we are. shite, half the Defense is fricked up. Get them back healthy first, then worry about winning in the playoffs because with a healthy team, we can beat anyone, anywhere. Period.

I don't know if NFL coaches agree or disagree with my logic. I'm not going to search through the last 10 years of NFL results to "prove" or "disprove" it either.

If we were only hurting in a couple of spots, I'd have no problems with playing our #1's longer in the next 2 games. We are in more injury trouble than most PO teams at this point, that concerns me.