SportsPants

Anyone who watched Week 17 of NFL football probably wondered when he or she stepped into a wormhole that brought him or her back to the pre-season. Half of the teams didn’t bother to put out the starters and basically forfeited a regular season game.

This is, of course, nothing new in the NFL; it’s a long season and just one game off can help players who are beat to hell after a gazillion collisions.

Now the playoffs start and the intensity is ratcheted up tenfold. Meanwhile, top teams Indianapolis and New Orleans have multiple game losing streaks heading in. Both teams have a bye week, so rest wasn’t going to be a problem. Momentum, however, could now be a problem for both teams.

The Colts should be aware of this. A few years back the Colts rolled through the AFC during the regular season, then took the final games off after they captured home field advantage. As you may recall, the wild card Pittsburgh Steelers came into Indy and rolled right over the Colts. Peyton and company looked rusty and lost while the Steelers looked cohesive and ready.

If the Colts and Saints spend a half trying to up the intensity to a playoff level after screwing around for the past few weeks, they might be out of the game and the playoffs.

So I’m saying teams should stop resting their players before the playoffs, right?

That’d be an easy decision if I didn’t watch Wes Welker of the Patriots tear up his knee right in front of my eyes on Sunday. Welker is a killer slot receiver for the Pats and he’s playoff tested. Now he’s gone even though New England already had a playoff spot sewn up. Now they look very beatable with a questionable defense and only Randy Moss to scare anyone when Tom Brady drops back to pass.

The decision ultimately has to end up in the head coach’s hands since he should know his players better than anyone. If they’re beat up, maybe they need to rest, but beware making injury worries your decision maker; it just might come back to haunt you in the playoffs.