If the Bengals go 15-0....

[Baby Hawk]

You might rest a someone who has been playing hurt and could really use a longer break.

Other than that, do your players a favor and give them a chance at lasting fame. Play them.

[OrlandoBengal]

(11-11-2015, 11:30 AM)Au165 Wrote: You play them. We would already have a bye week to rest, no reason to let them start getting rusty. All those times the Colts did it worked so well for them....

I was thinking this same thing.  The Colts would rest their players, come out flat, and lose in the Divisional round.

[Tiger Teeth]

Considering the last game is the Ravens, at home, I say rest the majority of them. We'll still have a chance of winning anyway.

[OrlandoBengal]

(11-11-2015, 11:40 AM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Considering the last game is the Ravens, at home, I say rest the majority of them.  We'll still have a chance of winning anyway.

Even further reason that you play them.  After everything this fan base has been through, you really take away their chance to witness a perfect season?

[Tiger Teeth]

(11-11-2015, 11:46 AM)OrlandoBengal Wrote: Even further reason that you play them.  After everything this fan base has been through, you really take away their chance to witness a perfect season?

If we've already locked up home field advantage, I would rather see us totally healthy in the playoffs, than going 16 - 0.  Besides, like I said, we can beat the Ravens at home without all our starters.  My opinion.  Undefeated season is great, but not at the expense of players like Eifert, Green, Burfict, Dalton....etc, getting hurt.

[Utts]

(11-11-2015, 05:48 AM)psychdoctor Wrote: If the Bengals are fortunate and go 15-0, do you rest starters in game 16 or play to win for an undefeated season?

Only way I play my starters is if we have to win to get home field advantage. Otherwise screw the undefeated thing. The undefeated thing is a distraction once it gets that far. It would be great, but the Super Bowl is what matters - not your record. Ask the Patriots that had 1 loss or the 10-6 Ravens from a couple years back, record schmecord.

[XenoMorph]

(11-11-2015, 11:38 AM)OrlandoBengal Wrote: I was thinking this same thing.  The Colts would rest their players, come out flat, and lose in the Divisional round.

exactly the memory i have of all peytons playoff failures

[samhain]

(11-11-2015, 11:38 AM)Baby Hawk Wrote: You might rest a someone who has been playing hurt and could really use a longer break.

Other than that, do your players a favor and give them a chance at lasting fame.  Play them.

Agree.  If a player is healthy, then play them.  If they're hanging on by a thread and have been gutting it out for a few weeks, then give them the week off.

[CoCoNuT]

Who gets the tie breaker if both the Pats and Bengals go undefeated?

[*Go Cards*]

If the Bengals go 15-0 .............. will be dancing naked in the streets.

[Johnny Cupcakes]

(11-11-2015, 12:25 PM)CoCoNuT Wrote: Who gets the tie breaker if both the Pats and Bengals go undefeated?

Whoever has the better strength of schedule at the end of the season.

[Sovereign Nation]

(11-11-2015, 12:25 PM)CoCoNuT Wrote: Who gets the tie breaker if both the Pats and Bengals go undefeated?

As of now the Patriots.  Based off strength of schedule, they have beaten teams with better records.  However that could change by the end of season.

[*Go Cards*]

But it is hard to say right now without knowing all the variables, which could be many.

Think the first thought is to sit major starters and go in playoffs as healthy as possible.

But the allure of an undefeated season for a historically futile franchise would be hard to not roll the dice at.

Know the players and owners would want to go for it but believe coaches would want to rest them.

Who wins ? Not sure.

Think if it was me would treat it something like a preseason game and try and take as few risks as possible while running a vanilla game plan and get them out early. Say maybe after one series in 3rd quarter.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(11-11-2015, 05:55 AM)McC Wrote: Well, 15-0 would mean we've beaten the Broncos and have one of the byes.  If the Pats haven't lost either, that would mean home field adv. is still out there to play for.  Foxboro or The Jungle?  Not  a tough choice.

If some miracle occurs and the Pats lose two games, then you could make a case for resting starters, but
16-0 is worth chasing, right?

(11-11-2015, 07:53 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: ^This

If the home field advantage is still an option and is not secured, you play them I think. If they have already sewn that up, the you rest them. Perfect season means nothing to the Bengals at this point. Getting a playoff win > perfect regular season.

What these guys said, it depends.

[Stormborn]

2 1/2 months ago there would've been a clear consensus that an A.J. McCarron led Bengals could beat a last place Ravens team at home.

No, you don't rest. If you're up by a considerable amount at the half, sure, pull the plug and put the national championship winning qb in to finish it off. But you play for 16-0 undoubtedly.

[Benton]

(11-11-2015, 09:46 AM)Johnny Cupcakes Wrote: If they decided to rest their starters, it means that they wouldn't have played from December 28th to January 16th or 17th.  I'll pass on that.

Yup.

Home field is a big issue, but so is having a couple dozen guys who just spent a couple weeks sitting around getting tight. If the game isn't close (either way) then I might look at taking some out early, but you keep the routine in place of practice, prep and play.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

With the way the Ravens have been playing the Bengals could probably play their backups and win the game.

With that said, I want to see the Bengals go 16-0 even if the Patriots go 16-0. If that happens, where two teams go undefeated in the same season, it may be time to think about realignment to balance out the Divisions. Hell, even if one team goes undefeated, it may be time to realign the divisions since it hasn't been that long since its happened. It took over thirty years for a team to go undefeated since the last and if it happens this year, it just might be time to realign or just put the Patriots in a tougher division.

[Hammerstripes]

IF there is nothing to play for and we already have a bye, do you really want to rest your players for 2 full weeks?

[fredtoast]

(11-11-2015, 02:06 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: IF there is nothing to play for and we already have a bye, do you really want to rest your players for 2 full weeks?

Hell yes.


We have been so lucky with injuries this year that many of you forget that they happen.  No way we risk an injury to a key starter if the game means nothing in the playoff seeding.

Its not like the team would spend two weeks sitting on the couch getting fat and stiff.  They would still practice.  They would just have a lot more time to heal up.  By the end of the season pretty much every NFL player is nicked up to some extent.

[West Union KennyG]

(11-11-2015, 11:17 AM)WhoDeyWho Wrote: We've had so many imperfect seasons that I think it would be great for the franchise to be one of the few with a perfect season.

Because of the '90's - this team owes us about a half dozen perfect seasons just to balance that out.  So we need to keep this streak going through Super Bowl 56.