Week 17 scenario: Would you start Cutler?
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:36 pm
This is a "what if".
*If* we win this Sunday versus the Eagles and both Green Bay and Detroit lose, is it best to start Cutler week 17 or sit him? Our seed would be cemented in the playoffs no matter what happens in week 17 since we would clinch the division and we'd have the head-to-head tie breaker over both Dallas and Philadelphia regardless of what they do in the final week.
Conventional wisdom says you rest your star players to avoid injuries. In this case though, we have a backup who doesn't give you much of a dropoff and a starter who just came back from injury and may benefit rhythm-wise from extra reps. Also, we're trying to get as much of a feel for him as possible so we'd make the most informed decision regarding whether we should resign him and how much he's worth.
For the record, I'd probably still play it safe and play McCown. But this would be pretty unique.
*If* we win this Sunday versus the Eagles and both Green Bay and Detroit lose, is it best to start Cutler week 17 or sit him? Our seed would be cemented in the playoffs no matter what happens in week 17 since we would clinch the division and we'd have the head-to-head tie breaker over both Dallas and Philadelphia regardless of what they do in the final week.
Conventional wisdom says you rest your star players to avoid injuries. In this case though, we have a backup who doesn't give you much of a dropoff and a starter who just came back from injury and may benefit rhythm-wise from extra reps. Also, we're trying to get as much of a feel for him as possible so we'd make the most informed decision regarding whether we should resign him and how much he's worth.
For the record, I'd probably still play it safe and play McCown. But this would be pretty unique.