Will Indy rest their starters in week 17 vs Texans?

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Bruce Arians said they likely will not rest starters:
Pagano Returns, Colts Seem Unlikely To Rest Starters Against Texans - Stampede Blue

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Oh man how I hope this is correct and Arians is being genuine here. However I won't get my hopes up too high just yet obviously they're not going to come out and say we're tanking this game. If they really do play to win they could knock off Houston with how poorly Houston's been playing.

 

[BananaRepublican]

Beating the Texans will be good for the Colts organisation. The belief that will instil in their player group heading into the playoffs will be enormous. Every team loves beating a divisional rival.

I'm with you on this. They can't start off their New Age by letting their chief rival stomp them twice. They may rest some banged up guys but the rest will be sky high with Pagano's return and a division rival trying to munch them again.

 

[BananaRepublican]

Fans on a message board think sitting idle and having your team abused on the field is a good way to prepare for the playoffs. Coaches do not.

Roger that. Nobody is going to embarrass themselves and lose their timing and confidence.

 

[JasonStan]

Sorry but it looks like the colts will rest at least some of their starters or will simply lose by 10+.

The point spread for the game started at -4 for the texans favoring them but now it has jumped all the way up to texans being favored by -7.5 in some places.

Las Vegas Odds, Sportsbook Lines and Sports Betting Trends at ScoresAndOdds.com for NFL Football, NCAA College Football, NBA Basketball, NCAA College Basketball

NE will have a hard road to the Super Bowl playing on the road, going to be a tough post season BUT they can do it. Just need to pray for a windy/snowy day in Denver. Remember manning has played in the dome for his entire career and he does struggle in bad conditions.

COLD WINDY SNOW LETS GO!!

 

[RhodyPatriot]

The Colts are who we thought they were. Cowardly, lying down dogs. Let Tennessee in the playoffs one year. Let the Jets in 09. Tanked a season to get Luck. You know damn well they're going to lose. My only hope is that Cincy wins against Baltimore. Baltimore doesn't have anything to play for. We get to end Indy's season.

Different GM, different coach, different QB. These are not Bill PoliON's Colts.

 

[Jackson 2]

Sorry but it looks like the colts will rest at least some of their starters or will simply lose by 10+.

The point spread for the game started at -4 for the texans favoring them but now it has jumped all the way up to texans being favored by -7.5 in some places.

Las Vegas Odds, Sportsbook Lines and Sports Betting Trends at ScoresAndOdds.com for NFL Football, NCAA College Football, NBA Basketball, NCAA College Basketball

NE will have a hard road to the Super Bowl playing on the road, going to be a tough post season BUT they can do it. Just need to pray for a windy/snowy day in Denver. Remember manning has played in the dome for his entire career and he does struggle in bad conditions.

COLD WINDY SNOW LETS GO!!

Actually all that means is that bettors are loading up on Houston. The question is "why?". It could be a lot of things besides Indy resting their starters. In fact, if it becomes known that Luck, Wayne, etc. won't play the spread will go up far more than that.

 

[RIpats88]

reggie wayne said they will be playing to win as well.

this is a young team that wants to build momentum going into the playoffs with their coach just coming back from cancer...what does "lyeing down and getting beaten by your division rival" do to instill confidence in their team?

they are going to have to go into someones house and try and upset them on wild-card weekend...so you want to build some momentum

 

[JasonStan]

Point spreads NEVER increase by 3+ points due to bettors. 1 point to 1.5 is 95% of the time it will decrease or increase due to bettors. Something else is contributing to the increase, just not sure yet, something fishy going on about this game. Guess we will find out Sunday, and I have a bad feeling that Houston will win easily.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Maybe some of the early betting lines assumed Arian Foster would not play, and now it looks like he will play.

That would affect me if I were a gambler. The Colts gave up over 350 yards rushing to Kansas City.

 

[Jackson 2]

Point spreads NEVER increase by 3+ points due to bettors. 1 point to 1.5 is 95% of the time it will decrease or increase due to bettors. Something else is contributing to the increase, just not sure yet, something fishy going on about this game. Guess we will find out Sunday, and I have a bad feeling that Houston will win easily.

Then load up on 'em. And point spreads DO sometimes increase by 3 or more due to bettors. In fact, the original 4 point spread was set before the games all ended Sunday night. The Sporting News "
The Linesmakers" site confirms that the increased spread is due to bettors loading up on Houston because "the game means more to the Texans." No mention of Indy resting starters.

 

[JasonStan]

Whatever the reason is, I think Houston wins handily. Damn Arizona loss earlier in the year really came back to bite us in the ass.

 

[Jackson 2]

Whatever the reason is, I think Houston wins handily. Damn Arizona loss earlier in the year really came back to bite us in the ass.

Yeah, and to quote Bryan Cox, "if would haves and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas." Oh yeah, today IS Christmas.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Whatever the reason is, I think Houston wins handily.

Excellent analysis.

 

[Ring 6]

Point spreads NEVER increase by 3+ points due to bettors. 1 point to 1.5 is 95% of the time it will decrease or increase due to bettors. Something else is contributing to the increase, just not sure yet, something fishy going on about this game. Guess we will find out Sunday, and I have a bad feeling that Houston will win easily.

Of course they do, money drives the spread.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Looks like Indy will play to win, as many suspected.

Andrew Luck - Indianapolis Colts - 2012 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

Makes sense to me....Indy hasn't really played well for several weeks and beating a rival (and the division champ) would give them a big confidence boost going into the playoffs.

 

[bostonia3333]

I think Indy plays their starters for a half and gets a couple nice TD drives in while the crowd is riding a nice crescendo....Once order is restored and Indy's offense sputters a bit and Luck takes a couple Watt hits, I think Indy goes back to their usual tactics and everyone rests the final 2 quarters and Houston ekes out a 24-17 type of win

 

[Haterproof]

What happens if Indy jumps out to a 21-3 lead in the 1st half? Do Kubiak pull his starters & just settles for the number 3 seed? I really hope Indy wins with who ever they put in.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

The Colts players and coaches are saying all the right things so far but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[dannydyn]

What happens if Indy jumps out to a 21-3 lead in the 1st half? Do Kubiak pull his starters & just settles for the number 3 seed? I really hope Indy wins with who ever they put in.

Situational football... but I'd guess Kubiak will not rest them this time in hope to close the gap and get themselves a first rounder...