Colts are folding it in. No help from them

[StingerNLG]

I'm not against sitting players in the right situation. Like if they were playing the Lions or Raiders who are not going anywhere, and you can be up 28-0.

This was a playoff-potential team only down by 5 points. And basically Caldwell made the decision he no only cared if his players wanted to go 16-0, but handed a team they may have to face again, a setup to the playoffs. And basically let the Jets leapfrog a bunch of teams including us BTW since they take the 5th seed if they win next week.

[Beerracuda]

Not that there's any plain and fair solution to this, but I hate to see teams pull this kind of crap at the end of the season. I certainly understand why they do it, so their players won't get hurt in a meaningless game. But take a look at how that impacts everyone:

The Fans - they paid good money (too much money, in fact) to be able to attend the game. For some people, it might be the only game they get to see in person during the season. How dare a team not try to win a game with their best players! I would be highly pissed if I paid that much money just to see my team lay down for the opponent.

Other teams - It's no secret that other teams and their fans look ahead on the schedule to see who their opponents play during the season. There's no fairness in the Ravens having to play arguably the best team in the AFC against their best players, yet the Jets get to play the same team, against only their backups. Especially if it comes down to common opponents tiebreakers to determine playoff seeding, or playoff qualifications at all. How are the Jets a better team than the Ravens, for example, just because they beat Curtis Painter while we lost to Peyton Manning?

The Players - Finally, it's unfair to the players of the team to have their schedules disrupted for fear of injury. Every player in this league is like a fine tuned instrument, adjusted completely to schedules and routines, only to have to sit for 3 weeks, then suddenly have to get right back into it with everything on the line.

Like I said, I don't know what the NFL could possibly do to rectify this situation. They certainly can't force players to play, and certainly not force them to play at 100% effort.

Perhaps if teams that do this shit get routinely blasted out of the playoffs during their first post-season game (like 44-3 or something like that), then maybe teams will realize the importance of maintaining team stability and team momentum.

Here's to the Colts' 44-3 defeat in whomever they play in the 2nd round!

[Purpleguy]

I agree that it sucks for the fans, but the last thing a coach should worry about is other teams. If we had won just one of the 5 or 6 games that we gave away then we wouldn't have been leapfrogged. It is obvious that the Colts would never win a game if it wasn't for Manning. If that guy goes down then their season is over. I think 3 weeks rest may be too much, but it's the coaches call.

[myfavoriteboxer]

The Fans - they paid good money (too much money, in fact) to be able to attend the game. For some people, it might be the only game they get to see in person during the season. How dare a team not try to win a game with their best players! I would be highly pissed if I paid that much money just to see my team lay down for the opponent.

This was one of the worst parts of it. Maybe they can just send the second stringers next week on the road to Buffalo. But basically playing a preseason game in front of your home fans when they've paid to see you try your best, is a real Fuck You to them.

[Paintballguy]

The Fans - they paid good money (too much money, in fact) to be able to attend the game. For some people, it might be the only game they get to see in person during the season. How dare a team not try to win a game with their best players! I would be highly pissed if I paid that much money just to see my team lay down for the opponent.
!

This is my biggest issue with it. If I paid several hundred dollars for a ticket, I expect to see the best players playing their hearts out. I don't pay all this money to see the backups come in. Plus, you add in the dimension of a possible perfect regular season. If I were a Colts fan, I would be royally pissed.