Win or lose, they will look back at what might have been.
This is why.
An excert of what I wrote some years ago.

"The fact is that the Dolphins were so packed full of winners that they could not help but become not only champions, but also the “Greatest Ever”. Since those times I don’t remember another team that had winners at every position including special teams and backups.

Now just what do I mean by “winners”? We have all seen teams that are packed with talent. We have seen talent that excels. We’ve seen talent wasted. We’ve seen teams put it all together at times. But how many times have we seen players that were borderline, low draft choices or not drafted at all, come together as a unit and excel to the point of perfection? I have only seen this once, and very possibly I will never see it again. Winners are the ones that will do anything to put themselves in a position to win and then carry through with everything they have to make it happen. Winners carry this attitude with them off the field as well. Put players and coaches like this together working towards the same goal and you have the “72” Miami Dolphins."

The Colts threw their chance away. Winners never give up.

The fact that they continue to try to justify it is just unbelievable.

I won't criticize the Colts coaches for their decision, but I would absolutely go for it.

To have a chance at a Super Bowl is rare, but a chance at perfection is historical.

I wonder if the Pat's experience in 07 had anything to do with their decision.

I really don't think the Pats going for it in 07 had anything to do with losing the SB. The Giants just beat them. The Pats were very lucky a couple of times during the season too. Remember that Ravens coach calling time out at the last second on 4th down? I remember Ray Louis going nuts. Christ they stopped them and that would have been the game.
Anyway, the Colts will regret it win or lose. This is the second time the Colts have pulled starters at the end of a season. They lost in the playoffs the first time so I don't think the Pats 07 loss has anything to do with it.

Win or lose?

"If they lose a game in the post season the fact that the sat their stars for half the 2nd to last game of the regular season will be mneaningless and never mentioned again.

The only way that story gets legs is if the win the title. Then, for some, it will be "oh, what could have been"...except for the fact that if they played manning that 2nd half and he got hurt then they never would have had a title."

They will regret it either way because if they lose they will always be questioned whether they caused momentum to be lost. If they win they will question what might have been.

If Manning got hurt where is the guarantee of losing anyway?

I think that it is moronic to think that if you lose a game in the regular season you are garunteed a superbowl win. Because that is what it boils down to. You aint promised ish! just because the colts lost now does not mean they will win it all. People say that you should lose in the regular season to releave pressure of the perfect season, they are professional players, they thrive on pressure. They are clues idiots... they do not appreciate the rarity of the moment. If manning has a perfect season he becomes immortal, he is arguably the best ever, a perfect season would eliminate any arguments and the question would become who is #2...

Phinsfan2 Wrote:
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>
> I think the point isn't that they tried to lose to
> get it out of the way and take the pressure off
> in the post season.
>
> The point is they chose to rest their stars in
> games that were as meaningful to them as the last
> preseason game is to every NFL team.


RESPONSE: This is the same point made by Bill Plaschke of the LA Times which I have reproduced fulling in a new thread.

Miami Reppa Wrote:
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> I think that it is moronic to think that if you
> lose a game in the regular season you are
> garunteed a superbowl win. Because that is what
> it boils down to. You aint promised ish! just
> because the colts lost now does not mean they will
> win it all.

RESPONSE: Losing does not guarantee you winning later but neither does winning guarantee you winning later. But you do expose your players to the possibility of injury. If your team was playing the Detroit Lions who are out of it, then your top line players can practice and sharpen their skills.

However, if you are playing the Jets who have just heard that in the morning game Miami, their biggest obstacle to a playoff berth, just lost and your star Colt players (and their health) are the only thing standing between those Jet players and THEIR ONLY CHANCE to make the playoffs,......you might want to get YOUR players the hell out of their way.

Is Manning the only thing they have going for them? If that's the case they are not a great team.

This is a a good thread leon i agree with the first post................With that been said i believe the colts are nothing without payton manning.....


Let me put it this way...our very own chad henne is 897 times better than the colts backup QB......And thats not a knock on henne.

PS.If the colts had lost payton manning lets say by the beginning of the season they would be very easilly a 1-15 team IMO. And the one win would be the only game manning played.

I really don't think they have much of a chance with Manning. Hell we should have beaten them. Give Manning the credit but with our D their third string QB could have won for them.
The Colts have won several close games. I think San Diego will beat them.

Phinsfan, this saving the starters from injury has been done in the past without success. The Colts were 12-0 saved the starters and then lost to the Broncos in the playoffs.

Saving starters? It can be debated but it's not for me. Maybe you remember a team that lost a QB or critical player to injury at the end of a season when they had it locked up but I can't.

Now as I said earlier, I have nothing against pulling starters when a game is well in hand anytime during the season. That makes sense.

If the Colts win the media will be talking about how smart it was to save Manning, but the players will be looking back at that Jets game they should have won and saying that they could have been the greatest team ever, not just another SB winner. But then again they might lose another. If that happens, so what?

Leon In Denver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If the Colts win the media will be talking about
> how smart it was to save Manning, but the players
> will be looking back at that Jets game they should
> have won and saying that they could have been the
> greatest team ever, not just another SB winner.
> But then again they might lose another. If that
> happens, so what?

RESPONSE: As has been said before, the hypothetical game can really be played all ways.

Had the Colts not pulled their starters and suffered an injury, there would have been questions about how important was the regular season undefeated.

Had the Colts not pulled their starters but won that game but then lost in the playoffs, there would be people making the 2007 Pats argument as I would.

Had the Colts pulled their starters and gone on to win the game and the SuperBowl, then almost nobody would be saying anything but you can bet that the few who did comment would be saying that that shrewd move perhaps prevented injuries in a meaningless game.

Had the Colts not pulled their starters and gone on to win the game and the SuperBowl, then there would have been no comments at all. But before you say, "Yeah, that proves my point," consider that pulling or not pulling your starters neither guarantees success in that game or in the following games. The only thing that it does is to EXPOSE (expose, not insure but merely expose) your players to injury.

To me, the last is enough to solve the question of what to do because you are playing for a Championship more than a perfect season. Again, nobody has picked up my challenge but again I ASK

Would you accept

A) a guaranteed SuperBowl win with a less than perfect regular season record

or

accept a guaranteed perfect regular season record BUT NO GUARANTEES YOU MIGHT NOT LOSE IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS.

It seems to me that some of you who have been doing MIGHTY BIG TALK about striving for perfection, giving up, the competitive spirit, and trying to make history

have been PRETTY silent about making that choice.

So put your money where your mouth is. Don't reply to this post UNLESS YOU CHOOSE AN OPTION.

Okay, to me the option has nothing to do with an undefeated regular season. That is not the goal. When you sit at 14-0 you have a chance at not only the SB championship but also making history by winning them all including the SB.
So you options to me don't make sense because I could care less about an undefeated regular season. It's the whole boat.

If they win the Superbowel, they have nothing to regret.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"