You know, for someone who admits that this game is meaningless and that you can't see a benefit to playing starters in it, you sure are trying to make a case otherwise...
No I'm not, you are trying to make it seem that way though. I have 2 very simple points. First is that fans get their panties in a bunch in what they consider meaningless games over an improbable event occurring because it is "possible". Second is just because game 4 is used a certain way in the vast majority of cases does not mean that there is never a reason to use it in another way.
How didn't I answer your questions? Let's take a look...
What are the odds that a player gets injured in any single series in the NFL? What is the change in probability of injury over the ENTIRE course of the season through the playoffs and superbowl when a player plays a part of game 4 in the preseason?
Well, needless to say, this is a loaded question. There isn't data to examine the probability that a player gets injured in a single series in the NFL. If you can find it, let me know. All you can go on with this is the eye test. Have you ever watched a game where a player doesn't get injured? If so, let me know.
You didn't even attempt to address is or understand the point of me even asking it, instead you took an example of quantifying injury risk (the car) literally.
The best I could have done to answer that loaded question in response to something else you said in the thread, which is the probability of injury while driving. What's greater? When was the last time a major player of our's was injured while driving a car as compared to playing during a game?
Again, it has NOTHING to do with the car or driving. It was used as an example that "injury risk" needs to be quantified. There IS risk in driving, just so small that no one will argue it shouldn't be done. This is all on the basis that I believe the injury risk in any 1 series is small enough not to be paranoid about playing football players.
Also, if you're going to complain about not answering questions, you should probably look in the mirror. I asked you to provide a number of teams that played their franchise starters in the last preseason game from last year. I also said I'd settle for just one. You conveniently ignored that. At least I made an attempt to answer an absolutely loaded question without any raw data to go on.
And I will not go back through every team's preseason game 4 because it is meaningless to this debate. I never argued that teams DO play their franchise starters, nor do I care. I have acknowledged how MOST coaches in TODAY's NFL use the 4th preseason game. Once again, that does NOT mean that is the only way to use it forever. There exist unique circumstances for each team, each year. Rarely do these circumstances exist in such a way that playing your franchise starters in game 4 of the preseason is the better idea. But to pass it off as "no one should ever play their starters in game 4" is simply wrong. Honestly, Kontra you don't really seem to have much issues with what I am actually saying. I think the issue is I am either stating things wrong or you are reading them wrong, but my point was a very simple general point, not meant to stir off this much debate. (I suppose you weren't lying in your post in the jmt thread
)
How else would you define "meaning" in a football game? The standings, especially in the NFL, are the epitome of meaning. Every game is pretty important.
Is this serious? Practice is meaningless to the standings yet you wouldn't argue to stop practicing.
As for practice, you're more than welcome to make a case that the hitting and intensity in a practice is just as intense as a game against an opponent. As it stands, practice is needed to implement game plans because, if you haven't noticed, opponents and their offenses and defenses change week to week. So one can reasonably make a point that practice for a regular season opponent is more important than playing your starters against hungry back-ups looking to make a name for themselves in a meaningless preseason game.
Practice leading up to a meaningless game is then meaningless, so they should all just get a vacation and not have to work. Technically, since the practice leading up to the game and the game don't effect the standings then by your strict definitions, they are needlessly risking injury.
You're also welcome to make a case that the fourth preseason game, one which you admitted yourself was meaningless, is just as meaningful as a regular season game.
Why would I do that when it is not?
Terrible and irrelevant point to the argument at hand. I really shouldn't even do it the courtesy of responding to it, but I will. With a flight of stairs, you have no choice but to walk down them. You're certainly not going to risk breaking your ankle by just jumping from one floor to another. It's absolutely necessary to use them. It's not necessary to subject your star players to possible injury just to work on timing during a meaningless game that has no effect on your spot in the standings.
There's usually an elevator nearby.
But it didn't occur in practice. It occurred in the game which he shouldn't have been playing. We've been over this many times before. To say that it was a "freak injury" doesn't excuse the fact that the starters shouldn't have even been in there from jump street.
I disagree 100%, and I am glad that BB is not paranoid like Dungy and the fans.
On top of this, what do you possibly believe we could have gained from that game? Our position in the standings wasn't going to change. It was pretty apparent that the Jets were going to go all out and play their starters while the Bengals were going to rest at that point. But we played them anyway. And what did we gain? Nothing. What did we lose? A lot.
So what have the Colts ever gained from resting players in 'meaningless' games? Seriously, the goal is to win the superbowl. You want to be playing your best going into the playoffs, not needlessly resting and getting rusty.
Electing to play the starters in that game was just one of quite a few brain farts from the coaching staff last year.
It wasn't a brain fart, it's just that they know wtf they are doing. They aren't paranoid fans who use their emotions to decide that it's just obviously stupid to play football players in a game at the end of the season.
And why is it that you often take very simple points that I make and explode it into some hugely unnecessary debate?
