There's an important phenomenon at work that I don't recall hearing anyone put their finger on: the value of an injury sponge.
Exhibit A: Junior Seau 2006. Sure he got IRed and missed the second half of the season, but he took a lot of hits, absorbed a lot of blows, threw himself into a lot of tackles THAT OUR OTHER LBs DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE, THUS PRESERVING THE HEALTH OF OUR OTHER LBs FOR THE PLAYOFFS. If there never was a Seau 2006, there was a greater chance Bruschi, Vrabel, etc. would've gotten injured in September.
Exhibit B: Corey Dillon 2006. Even though he appeared to play most of the season, he was banged up at best. He had many unspectacular runs. But every time he got tackled, jammed his neck, felt a leg whip from a lineman, etc., that was one piece of contact Maroney didn't have to absorb. Vice versa for every contact Maroney took taking wear off Dillon. With Dillon gone, we REALLY need more RBs, and probably more than the one more we got already.
Summary: Platooning has an extra value beyond the one usually stated. We know about keeping the starters fresh. Let's also pay attention to the phenomenon of taking injury bullets in place of the starter! In a way, it's best if none of our starters play until Week 6.
Exhibit A: Junior Seau 2006. Sure he got IRed and missed the second half of the season, but he took a lot of hits, absorbed a lot of blows, threw himself into a lot of tackles THAT OUR OTHER LBs DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE, THUS PRESERVING THE HEALTH OF OUR OTHER LBs FOR THE PLAYOFFS. If there never was a Seau 2006, there was a greater chance Bruschi, Vrabel, etc. would've gotten injured in September.
Exhibit B: Corey Dillon 2006. Even though he appeared to play most of the season, he was banged up at best. He had many unspectacular runs. But every time he got tackled, jammed his neck, felt a leg whip from a lineman, etc., that was one piece of contact Maroney didn't have to absorb. Vice versa for every contact Maroney took taking wear off Dillon. With Dillon gone, we REALLY need more RBs, and probably more than the one more we got already.
Summary: Platooning has an extra value beyond the one usually stated. We know about keeping the starters fresh. Let's also pay attention to the phenomenon of taking injury bullets in place of the starter! In a way, it's best if none of our starters play until Week 6.