DaGimp Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 isn't this what the Bills did all season long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Nice to hear the commish opine. How does Goodell feel about Wes Welker? Â No doubt. A team earns the right to rest players if they've locked up their playoff position. Sorry if the commish doesn't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRM33064 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Nice to hear the commish opine. How does Goodell feel about Wes Welker? Â Hmmm ... what if there was some kind of value (a few extra late round picks?) available to be awarded based on winning % over the last 4 games of the regular season. It's a little bit back-asswards awarding draft picks as prizes for winning games, but "meaningless" games are the worst - and using subjective standards (playing "starters", etc.) seems totally unworkable. Â The prospect of a getting a 5th rounder wouldn't put Peyton on the field for the whole game yesterday, but I do think some incentive might matter in different circumstances. Â Extremely tricky, but fun to kick around ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 No doubt. A team earns the right to rest players if they've locked up their playoff position. Sorry if the commish doesn't like it. Â I used to think that way. But the Jets drawing a "go straight to the playoffs" card this year has changed my mind. I think that teams that lay down at the end of the season should be docked 2nd or 3rd rd draft picks. These crucial "gimmie" games have made the league look like a total sham and these games are a lottery ticket to teams like the Jets who don't deserve to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRM33064 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I used to think that way. But the Jets drawing a "go straight to the playoffs" card this year has changed my mind. I think that teams that lay down at the end of the season should be docked 2nd or 3rd rd draft picks. These crucial "gimmie" games have made the league look like a total sham and these games are a lottery ticket to teams like the Jets who don't deserve to be there. Â I like this kind of "penalty" philosophy more than the incentive approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I like this kind of "penalty" philosophy more than the incentive approach. Â It has to be a penalty thing. That way it hurts if they decide to go that route. Some teams may say that resting their players even at that cost is worth the peace of mind of having your players healthy for the playoffs. But the commish needs to make the decision painful. Heck, make it a 1st rounder. That is the most painful, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
49er Fan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 "teams that lay down" Â There's no way to police this. It would be ludicrous for Goodell to say to the Colts, "You MUST play Manning for 4 quarters or lose draft picks..." Â Week 17 has been and will always be the gimme week for a lot of the playoff teams - just this year Indy was able to do it in Week 16 and several of the division winners happened to have great records with no seeding ramifications in the Week 17 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananathumb Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Goodell is upset because it reveals a huge flaw in the league's competitive fabric. (Polian has been deeply involved in the competitive committee for years) Â This year it unfairly ousted Houston and Pittsburgh from the playoffs. If it was the Bills, this board would be boiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 "teams that lay down"Â There's no way to police this. It would be ludicrous for Goodell to say to the Colts, "You MUST play Manning for 4 quarters or lose draft picks..." Â Week 17 has been and will always be the gimme week for a lot of the playoff teams - just this year Indy was able to do it in Week 16 and several of the division winners happened to have great records with no seeding ramifications in the Week 17 games. Â Â Yes there is and that policeman's name is Roger Goodell. He is the judge and jury on all things NFL. Â As for your second point, what's more ludicrous is the Jets being given a "free pass" to the playoffs after week 15. The NFL looks foolish this year and docking draft picks is the only way to deter teams from sitting their starters. Â So if they want to rest their starters go ahead, but there has to be a price to pay for the sham games we saw these last couple of weeks. It seriously is starting to hurt the image of the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Maybe the penalty should be that such teams will make an early exit from the playoffs. Â Oh, wait, that hasn't been a deterrent to Polian the past THREE times he has done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 i'm not for or against any of these.....but a couple of ideas floating around that do not involve draft pick incentives or financial penalties are: Â #1- SCHEDULING.....the league could go heavy with "division" games in last two weeks of season, thereby theorectically making them more important. Â #2- SEEDING.....a committee, like NCAA basketball, could "seed" teams. Where in this current season a team like San Diego might get the #1 seed based on the fact they have won their last 11 games and Indy who is coming in on two losses would not. Â as it currently stands, Indy had no incentive to win or lose in the last two weeks, because it had no effect on them keeping home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog69 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 The system has worked for 50+ years. No need to screw it up to please the B word and whiners. The goal of every team should be to win the Superbowl. The teams that win enough games early in the season have earned the right to rest players. The Bills used to do it back when they were good and I have no problem with it. Whatever they need to do to give themselves the best chance at the Superbowl is what they should do. If Caldwell feels that resting Manning in week 16 and 17 is the best move, then he should be able to do it. We don't the NFL office trying to dictate playing time and such. If you cannot rest players late in the year, what about a guy who is nursing a minor injury and sits out a game early in the year? What about when you are wining by 40 pts in the 4th quarter and you pull the QB or kneel down, don't they owe it to the paying fans to play all starters all the time and go balls to the wall until the final whistle? Obviously not. This whole uproar is comical. Keep the league office out of it. They've already legislated any indviduality and fun out of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 i'm not for or against any of these.....but a couple of ideas floating around that do not involve draft pick incentives or financial penalties are:Â #1- SCHEDULING.....the league could go heavy with "division" games in last two weeks of season, thereby theorectically making them more important. Â #2- SEEDING.....a committee, like NCAA basketball, could "seed" teams. Where in this current season a team like San Diego might get the #1 seed based on the fact they have won their last 11 games and Indy is coming in on two losses would not. Â as it currently stands, Indy had no incentive to win or lose in the last two weeks, because it had no effect on them keeping home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Â Â The first one is ridiculously unfair to warm weather teams heading north in December. Â The second one is just plain silly. It's like someone using a sledgehammer to push a tack into a wall. Â The NFL isn't a democracy, it a dictatorship. Goodell's got all the power he needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 How the league office can compel a team to play its starters is difficult to see in execution. Â Â Absolutely agree ..... would it mean more to the league if a guy like Manning plays a meaningless game and is then hurt and out of the post season? Teams play to win championships, at some point that might mean not caring about an individual game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 The first one is ridiculously unfair to warm weather teams heading north in December. The second one is just plain silly. It's like someone using a sledgehammer to push a tack into a wall.  The NFL isn't a democracy, it a dictatorship. Goodell's got all the power he needs. Ridiculously unfair??? Why shouldn't a warm weather playoff contender have to play a meaningful game in the cold ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 The system has worked for 50+ years. No need to screw it up to please the B word and whiners.The goal of every team should be to win the Superbowl. The teams that win enough games early in the season have earned the right to rest players. The Bills used to do it back when they were good and I have no problem with it. Whatever they need to do to give themselves the best chance at the Superbowl is what they should do. If Caldwell feels that resting Manning in week 16 and 17 is the best move, then he should be able to do it. We don't the NFL office trying to dictate playing time and such. If you cannot rest players late in the year, what about a guy who is nursing a minor injury and sits out a game early in the year? What about when you are wining by 40 pts in the 4th quarter and you pull the QB or kneel down, don't they owe it to the paying fans to play all starters all the time and go balls to the wall until the final whistle? Obviously not. This whole uproar is comical. Keep the league office out of it. They've already legislated any indviduality and fun out of the game. Â Worked? Saying that the system worked this year is like Napalitano saying the system worked. The Jets making the playoffs has made the league look like a total joke. There is no way around that. Â Docking teams draft picks is not screwing anything up. It creates an incentive to play for real so that teams like the Jets don't get a free pass to the NFL playoffs. This is not the same league it was 20-50 years ago. It's time that something is done. You will no doubt side with me if the 2010 Bills are next years Houston Texans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinii Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...using-starters/Â Goodell looking for "incentives" to get teams to play their starters. possible extra draft pick. Play their starters for how long? and where is the pick? so the rich get richer? great idea. If a team earns the right to rest players then that is their business. Didn't the Yankees rest pitchers heading into October? Did anyone get all bent up about that? IMO it boils down to the overall lack of competitiveness league wide, but that is just a microcosm of life. If Indy wins it all then that will be the blueprint going forward, they lose and end of discussion unless you are a Colts' fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Play their starters for how long? and where is the pick? so the rich get richer? great idea. If a team earns the right to rest players then that is their business. Didn't the Yankees rest pitchers heading into October? Did anyone get all bent up about that? IMO it boils down to the overall lack of competitiveness league wide, but that is just a microcosm of life.If Indy wins it all then that will be the blueprint going forward, they lose and end of discussion unless you are a Colts' fan. Â I really don't get all of the hoopla surrounding this issue. If you accomplish your regular season goal of locking down a playoff spot and can't advance your position in the final week or two, then you deserve to play the schedule out the way you see fit. Should you also penalize teams that finish with 0-6 wins because they are playing meaningless games at the end of the season as well? To the victor go the spoils. So what if there are a handful of meaningless games in week 17? Wait a week. So what if certain teams gain an advantage by playing teams who are packing it in? Handle your own business and secure your own invitation. Â I can't stand the crying about this anymore. What's next? Are we going to start handing out ninth place ribbons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timba Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 So they want to ban the long term strategy of keeping their players healthy for the playoffs? Absurd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 More stupidity from the NFL/Commish. Awarding an extra draft pick if you play your starters in meaningless games? Please. And Welker's injury should kill any further talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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