Resting Players

Football players play football. If they get hurt they get hurt, please stop this. A player can get hurt in practice, in the weight room, in the shower.

No way can you play football scared.

The team needs the work, certainly the entire offense needs to get back to where they were about a month ago.

Maybe not all four quarters, but certainly at least three of them and I am talking the entire team. The only players I would hold back are those that are already injured that might make their issue worse (arringtons hammy for example).

I just don't like the idea of resting them Sunday, then the bye which would mean three weeks of nothing.

As it is were getting off to slow starts, let's not add in a huge rust factor going into a divisional playoff game.

I DO like the idea of two weeks off though - that can be used to simulate what is hopefully coming up, right after we win the AFC Championship game!!

Look we're all scared of injury to key players --'suck it up, do your praying and let's get after it no holds barred,

Mack Herron said:

Bill will do whatever he wants. If he thinks they should sit one out, they will sit. He can pay them anyway.

Click to expand...

I believe that Belichick has paid someone before in this situation.

Joker said:

He gets that rest next week as the wild card games get played. Your rationale has been broached to BB in the past and always dismissed with a smirk.

Click to expand...

Since 2001, Belichick has never been grooming his QB of the future until now.

From Brady's standpoint, what could he possibly gain from extra snaps in a meaningless game? A defense he hasn't seen? A few more scrambles?

I don't see how it helps the team to have Brady play meaningless snaps.

I play the starters for a half so they aren't completely rusty. Garoppolo and 2nd string/practic squad players should play the rest of the game.

I would say rest everybody, but with the bye week, that would make everyone a little too rusty imo. We don't want to get knocked out at the divisonal playoff round level.

IMO, Brady should not be asked to take a few more sacks and knockdowns in a meaningless game. I'm not concerned about injury. I'm concerned about cumulative wear and tear of a long season for a older player. I think you try to limit the pitch count of your 37 year old ace. He's been taking a beating this year.

hwc said:

IMO, Brady should not be asked to take a few more sacks and knockdowns in a meaningless game. I'm not concerned about injury. I'm concerned about cumulative wear and tear of a long season for a older player. I think you try to limit the pitch count of your 37 year old ace. He's been taking a beating this year.

Click to expand...

And the Bills have a very good pass rush, one of the best front seven in the league if not the best.
Really nothing to gain from playing Brady. It would be a crime if he got injured in a meaningless game.

The same with Gronk. He was missed so much in the playoffs last years, it would also be a crime if he got injured in a meaningless game just before the playoffs.

And the dinged up players like C Jones, Edelman, Connolly should also be rested Really all important starters. Nothing to gain from playing them. They can practice hard every day the next few weeks if they want to avoid being rusty for the first playoff game.

They should Sit the sizable contingent of injured players as much as possible. Mostly edelmen and several defenders. The line obviously needs a lot of work.

That Patriots don't have the roster to sit everybody they want to sit until the playoffs unlike baseball. A vast majority of the A players have to start. So how do you decide which sit?

Further there is a deterioration of skills with not playing in my opinion. How many times have I seen teams with the bye rest in the final week and get blown out in the first round.

Another factor to consider: The Tommy Kelly Factor. If you rest guys, aren't you depriving them of stats, affecting their value on the market? I know it is crap to us sitting a home, but this is big bucks. Pats sit Edelperson at 96 catches... He could have had 110. That makes it a harder sell to land talent to play for the team in the future. The Tommy Kelly Factor could lead to the Kraft Cheapskate Reputation (which we have seen alluded to many times in this forum this season.)

The pats have a lot to learn about various combos in the upcoming game. I know they want to win every game. But I don't expect Bill to rest anyone that can play until the second half.

Baboon said:

How many times have I seen teams with the bye rest in the final week and get blown out in the first round.

Click to expand...

Almost never?

There is nothing more than anecdotal evidence that resting a few players the final week has any impact on how well a team plays in the playoffs. And even that barely convincing data could easily be caused by something else.

Baboon said:

That makes it a harder sell to land talent to play for the team in the future.

Click to expand...

Not sure if serious. Do you really think that a FA WR will care that Edelman caught 96 passes instead of 102? Or some DE looking for a new team will be turned off that Nink ended up with 8 sacks instead of 8.5?

Mediots and fans over react to statements by Brady & Gronk about playing the whole game.
Has there been an unreported change in Foxboro where BB is no longer the HC making these decisions?

If the Bills are truly serious about winning, they should sit their starting DL for the first quarter. Not that they'll do that.

Rest all the injured players including Hightower jones Arrington browner edelmen collins. Try new ol line combinations that they whiffed on last week. Make cannon play a full game and if he's not good rescind the contract. They can do that in the first 30 days I think.

Play Wright amendola and tyms. James white and Bolden running. If Brady gets too much pressure play garrapolo.

kennyb said:

Rest all the injured players including Hightower jones Arrington browner edelmen collins. Try new ol line combinations that they whiffed on last week. Make cannon play a full game and if he's not good rescind the contract. They can do that in the first 30 days I think.

Play Wright amendola and tyms. James white and Bolden running. If Brady gets too much pressure play garrapolo.

Click to expand...

Let's be clear. I want to rest players, lots is fine. But the offensive line must be enough to protect Brady or Garappolo.

Connolly should be inactive.

I agree that Cannon should gets lots of reps at RT.

Kline and Devey might be given a chance; it may their last.

Oswlek said:

Not sure if serious. Do you really think that a FA WR will care that Edelman caught 96 passes instead of 102? Or some DE looking for a new team will be turned off that Nink ended up with 8 sacks instead of 8.5?

Click to expand...

Marginal differences separate the best contracts and players from the above average. I argue 96 vs 102 or 110 is an enormous difference at the bargaining table.

And here we have the crap storm emanating: https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-...onus-if-patriots-rest-starters-153826559.html

While a logical fan might say it is best for the team to rest player X, there will always be morons that stir things up. Tommy Kelley stirred things up; it got a lot of play in the media. All these factors are detrimental to the team's performance and ability to attract talent in the future, in my opinion. It may be in the team's best interest to play the guys in order to avoid this garbage label.

hwc said:

Since 2001, Belichick has never been grooming his QB of the future until now.

From Brady's standpoint, what could he possibly gain from extra snaps in a meaningless game? A defense he hasn't seen? A few more scrambles?

I don't see how it helps the team to have Brady play meaningless snaps.

Click to expand...

I would bet a decent amount of money that Tom Brady will see reps on Sunday, which will be used as a glorified scrimmage in an attempt to improve on some current problems and iron out some recent issues with the OL communication, etc.

The only question seems to be--how long they keep him out there. I would guess the first half, but who knows?

Baboon said:

Marginal differences separate the best contracts and players from the above average. I argue 96 vs 102 or 110 is an enormous difference at the bargaining table.

And here we have the crap storm emanating: https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-...onus-if-patriots-rest-starters-153826559.html

While a logical fan might say it is best for the team to rest player X, there will always be morons that stir things up. Tommy Kelley stirred things up; it got a lot of play in the media. All these factors are detrimental to the team's performance and ability to attract talent in the future, in my opinion. It may be in the team's best interest to play the guys in order to avoid this garbage label.

Click to expand...

While you have a point, I would think that this aspect would be one of the last things on Belichick's mind.

He isn't going to care one bit about what's being portrayed in the media, and the truth is--he shouldn't.

They want the players who want to be here, and the winning atmosphere and positive coaching reputation likely offset any crap that is spewed in the media. As much as these reports are blown up, there is a tremendous amount of respect in the player's circles, for both Belichick and the winning environment.

kennyb said:

Make cannon play a full game and if he's not good rescind the contract. They can do that in the first 30 days I think.

Click to expand...

I'm going to assume that the egg nog was flowing like water tonight

supafly said:

While you have a point, I would think that this aspect would be one of the last things on Belichick's mind.

He isn't going to care one bit about what's being portrayed in the media, and the truth is--he shouldn't.

They want the players who want to be here, and the winning atmosphere and positive coaching reputation likely offset any crap that is spewed in the media. As much as these reports are blown up, there is a tremendous amount of respect in the player's circles, for both Belichick and the winning environment.

Click to expand...

I agree with you that this probably isn't going to be high on Belichick's thought process, but it may be somewhere else in the leadership chain. I detailed in my post more important reasons why Belichick probably won't sit healthy players such as squad size and game shape requirements. But I think if he does rest players, there will be theories that he didn't it for Kraft (to save money.) And that will not help them book new talent and renegotiate contracts. If the yahoo article is true, how is Wilfork going to feel when the Pats ask him to take a pay cut this off-season after getting the seat in the final game which harmed his pay?

The pats have used incentive based contracts very well in recent years, I'd hate to see those types of contracts denied in the future based on real or perceived matters.

Baboon said:

Marginal differences separate the best contracts and players from the above average. I argue 96 vs 102 or 110 is an enormous difference at the bargaining table.

And here we have the crap storm emanating: https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-...onus-if-patriots-rest-starters-153826559.html

While a logical fan might say it is best for the team to rest player X, there will always be morons that stir things up. Tommy Kelley stirred things up; it got a lot of play in the media. All these factors are detrimental to the team's performance and ability to attract talent in the future, in my opinion. It may be in the team's best interest to play the guys in order to avoid this garbage label.

Click to expand...

There is absolutely no evidence that resting players and keeping them from hitting arbitrary production levels lowers the team's attractiveness in FA. None. Zero. In fact, the opposite is true, if you are consistently good enough to be able to rest players, then you will be a more favorable destination.

If NE refused to pay said players who fell just short of some benchmark, that would be a big deal, but they've always doled out the cash. Tommy Kelley's situation has nothing in common with this one.

VJCPatriot said:

practic squad players should play the rest of the game.

.

Click to expand...

How would this work?