N.F.L. Roundup Committee Could Rule on Resting of Starters
The NFL Competition Committee could take up the question of whether teams should be allowed to rest their starters once they have secured a playoff berth.
The committee, which decides on rules changes, discussed the issue in 2005, and decided that a team that has clinched its division title earned the right to rest starters in preparation for the postseason and “that preparing for the postseason is just as important as protecting some other team’s playoff opportunity,” according to the N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello.
But the issue flared again this week after the previously undefeated INDIANAPOLIS COLTS pulled their starters in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game against THE JETS, and subsequently lost the game. The move has drawn criticism from fans and the news media, although the Colts had made clear for weeks that an undefeated season was never their goal.
That ran counter to how the PATRIOTS played in 2007, when they continued to play their starters as they went through an undefeated regular season. In the regular-season finale of 2007, the Patriots and the GIANTS both used their starters throughout.
“We are aware of the fan reaction and that is a factor to be considered,” Aiello said. “Some teams that have everything clinched, like the Giants and Patriots two years ago, choose to play all out to continue or gain momentum for the playoffs. We expect to continue to review this issue.”
The committee, which decides on rules changes, discussed the issue in 2005, and decided that a team that has clinched its division title earned the right to rest starters in preparation for the postseason and “that preparing for the postseason is just as important as protecting some other team’s playoff opportunity,” according to the N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello.
But the issue flared again this week after the previously undefeated INDIANAPOLIS COLTS pulled their starters in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game against THE JETS, and subsequently lost the game. The move has drawn criticism from fans and the news media, although the Colts had made clear for weeks that an undefeated season was never their goal.
That ran counter to how the PATRIOTS played in 2007, when they continued to play their starters as they went through an undefeated regular season. In the regular-season finale of 2007, the Patriots and the GIANTS both used their starters throughout.
“We are aware of the fan reaction and that is a factor to be considered,” Aiello said. “Some teams that have everything clinched, like the Giants and Patriots two years ago, choose to play all out to continue or gain momentum for the playoffs. We expect to continue to review this issue.”
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