billsfaninnyc Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 The Colts coach said that the decision on who plays might depend on the early games...can someone explain why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richjk21 Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 The Colts coach said that the decision on who plays might depend on the early games...can someone explain why? 186584[/snapback] I thought he said it depends on what happens "early in the game" As in how the starters are clicking will decide how long he leaves them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfaninnyc Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 "As for how extensively the Colts’ starters will play Sunday, Dungy said he can’t yet specify. He said some of his decisions on the matter may not be made until Sunday, when the outcome of earlier games involving playoff teams are known. " No, there is something about the early games they are looking at.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfladave Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 It could also mean picking who you want to play in the playoffs. If your Dungy and Buffalo wins, who would you rather face in the playoffs Denver, NYJ or BUF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Sounds like they want to avoid the Bills If Bills win & Jets lose, it would be in Colts interest to beat Broncos to make Jets the last seed. If Bills lose, Colts don't get to play them and Dungy can rest his starters after the first series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Frig! All I can say is, go Rams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 based upon the results of the early games, indy could "control their own destiny" with respect to which team they will play in the wild card round. this could certainly impact how long dungy stays with his starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 No, it has to do with WHEN they will play next weekend. There is a chance they could have a Saturday playoff game depending on the Jets/Rams game. If thats the case then don't expect Manning and Co. for very long at all (since it would be a short week). If they play on Sunday, then Manning would play longer. That's the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 From what we've read this week, Dungy would much prefer to have Indy's playoff game be on Sunday, and he would be willing to play his starters longer if they can avoid the short rest that comes with playing on Saturday. Right now, there's a pretty good chance that Indy WILL be the Sunday game since the AFC game on Sunday will start at 1:00pm Eastern, and it would make more sense to have that game be in Indy than San Diego because of the start time. Dungy believes that the outcome of the Jets game has an impact on what day Indy will play because supposedly the NFL prefers their large market teams to receive the Sunday game. So, let's say the Jets lose against the Rams, the Bills win against Pitt, and Indy beats Denver -- the large market Jets will then have the #6 seed and will be locked into playing the #3 seed Indy, which, when you take into consideration the start time of 1:00 pm for the Sunday game, means it'd be virtually guaranteed that Indy plays on Sunday. What does this mean? If the Jets lose against the Rams, and the Bills win, Dungy will be more inclined to play his starters longer to get the win so they can play on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfaninnyc Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 No, it has to do with WHEN they will play next weekend. There is a chance they could have a Saturday playoff game depending on the Jets/Rams game. If thats the case then don't expect Manning and Co. for very long at all (since it would be a short week). If they play on Sunday, then Manning would play longer. That's the issue. 186598[/snapback] how would the colts play on sat or sunday depending on the early games? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 No, it has to do with WHEN they will play next weekend. There is a chance they could have a Saturday playoff game depending on the Jets/Rams game. If thats the case then don't expect Manning and Co. for very long at all (since it would be a short week). If they play on Sunday, then Manning would play longer. That's the issue. 186598[/snapback] New York may be the #1 TV market, but I don't understand why CBS wouldn't want the Colts, I think their ratings would be higher nationwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 It's highly doubtful that who plays when is based on ratings. The past 2 years (since they went to an 8 division NFL), the #3 seed has played on Sunday, and the marquee markets haven't been on exclusively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Basically what it comes down to is the Jets game. If they lose, that means Dungy will play his starters longer...but it won't matter since the Bills will have clinched by then. If the Jets win, then Dungy won't play his starters for long which means the Bills are screwed. This blows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman's Helmet Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I would think timewise, CBS would put the Colts first and the Chargers second simply due to the time zone difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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