Before we look ahead to this weekend's NFL conference
championship games, let's take a look backward. What was all the
talk in the NFL over the last month? Should the Colts sit their
starters to have them rested for the playoffs or not? There were
many people that split on the answer, but I think we'd all agree
what the correct answer is: Play 'em! Or at least, rest any
injured players, but don't bench the majority of starters the
last two weeks of the regular season, even if everything is
sewed up.
That was the position the Colts found themselves in after that
13-0 start. They had clinched everything: The division title,
the bye week, home field for the postseason, the No. 1 spot.
However, anyone who watched Sunday's loss to the Steelers saw an
Indy team that was rusty for most of the game. Very rusty. The
Colts were out of sync most of the way in their 21-18 loss to
the Steelers. Overall, having a bye week gives a team enough
time, two weeks, to rest and prepare. It takes time and practice
to get a team in sync because there are so many players that
need to work together in unison: Blocking patterns, running
backs hitting the proper holes, lineman pulling, receivers
running patterns, quarterbacks getting the football to them on
timing routes, etc.
Think back to the final regular season game for the Denver
Broncos. Denver was a 12-point dog at San Diego in a meaningless
game for the Broncos. They had everything sewed up and needed
only to stay healthy. Instead, Mike Shanahan had several
starters play significant first half minutes. They also played
inspired football, dominating the Chargers in an impressive
performance. I think back to the regular season finale a year
ago when the Patriots hosted the terrible 49ers at home in a
meaningless game, yet Bill Belichick played the starters for
three quarters. The reason was a little different, as the
Patriots played a sluggish first half, tied 3-3, as a big
favorite. Belichick didn't like the performance and sent the
starters back out for the second half, injuries be damned! They
followed the next few weeks with dominating performances on the
way to winning another Super Bowl title.
With the four remaining teams, does anything stand out? Yes,
defense! Carolina and Pittsburgh are ranked No. 3 and 4 in the
NFL in total defense, with the Broncos and Seahawks at No. 15
and 16. More important is run defense, and notice that all the
remaining teams are in the Top 5 in the NFL at stopping the run!
It goes Denver (2nd), Pittsburgh (3rd), Carolina (4th) and
Seattle (5th). One of those will win the Super Bowl, so again,
stuffing the run is a huge key to building a championship
defense.
That hasn't translated into a significant amount of unders for
those teams, but keep in mind that 6 of the 8 playoff games thus
far have gone under the total. Yes, it should come as no shock
that defense wins championships in all sports, once again!
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