I’m sure that Mercury Morris and the rest of the remaining ’72 Dolphins enjoyed popping another champagne bottle as the Colts fell to the Jets this week.  I have a problem with that because the Colts had no business losing that game.  Jim Caldwell shouldn’t have pulled Manning and other key starters early in the 3^rd quarter with only a small lead.  Although the pursuit of a perfect season is secondary to winning a NFL championship, it’s still something to rally for when you are so close.  I always felt they had a better chance at it than the Saints during this run, but the Saints were trying to win ever game.  They got beat by Dallas, and subsequently by Tampa Bay because those two teams were also playing to win.

Jim Caldwell wasn’t playing to win the game.  He was playing to try and be smart.  The Colts don’t have a good history of winning in the playoffs when they rest their starters.  Usually it’s the San Diego Chargers who send them home early in the playoffs after Manning and other starters are rested.  I believe football is a game where momentum matters.  Winning the week before gives you confidence that you can win the game your current game.  Your body is ready for the next week because it’s in a rhythm.  Winning late in the season also helps.  The Colts could have blown out the Jets had they chosen to through the 3^rd quarter and then inserted the 2^nd string for the final quarter of the game.

One other problem I have is that the ’72 Dolphins won’t shut up, EVER, until someone else does what they did.  In my mind, they’ve been eclipsed by the 2007 Patriots because they won 18 games straight, not just 16.  They fell short in the title game, but they were playing to win.  They played to win every game, no matter the opposition and they didn’t rest anyone till all the games were over.  They carried that momentum and that attitude through the playoffs, and into the Superbowl.  The Giants got the better of them, but they were playing to win every game.  Jim Caldwell is trying to be a strategist.  He’s trying to outsmart everyone and convince the fans (or himself) that pursuing perfection is not as important as winning the title.  I say why not go for both?  You’re in the playoffs already,   and you’ve locked up home field advantage.  Why not play to win the last two games?  At least why not convince us you want to win the last two games by building up a sizable lead before pulling out your starters to “protect” them.

I’m glad my fantasy league ended in week 15.  I wonder how many fantasy owners were robbed of their championship because of this decision.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that fantasy sports aren’t important in the grand scheme of things.  I myself would rather my favorite team win at the expense of my fantasy team if they are playing a team that I have players on.  But most of those people in championship games this past weekend and had a lot of money riding on the line.  And for anyone who thinks I may be bitter because of that, I’m not, I won my fantasy championship (again, it was over in week 15) and thankfully Dallas Clark put up monster numbers for me in our playoffs.  But anyway, back to the main point.  Every season, each franchise starts out wanting to win every game they play.  The Colts had a very strong chance to do that, and the coach and GM chose to ignore trying to make history.  Like Herm Edwards said, “You play to win the game”.  You don’t look ahead in football.  Jim Caldwell has been caught looking ahead to the playoffs.

Football players are a different bunch than most athletes.  They feed off each other, and they feed off their coach.  If they don’t feel you are playing to win, I don’t think the entire roster will play their hearts out.  Most will, but it only takes a few to cost you the game.  It only takes one or two plays, one receiver with alligator arms, or a half-assed tackle attempt to cost you a game.  And why not?  If the coach isn’t going for every win, then why should the players?  Why put their body on the line if the coach isn’t showing the desire to win each and every single game?  If I were a coach, I’d want my team to mow down every opponent in every facet of the game.  Barring injury, my team should play at the top of their game every time they take the field.  There’s no excuse for not pursuing a perfect season.  Winning is why you play?  Winning a championship is the ultimate goal, but trying to win every game is also important.

“The perfect season has never been one of our goals,” said Caldwell after the game. “It’s never been anything we focused on or anything we talked about.”    I wonder if the players co-sign that statement.  Going back to my fantasy football reference, I didn’t pay to join the league, spend time drafting players and paying attention to everything happening to every team just to not want to win every single game.  I had a 1^st round bye in our playoffs and still wanted to know how my team would have stacked up to the rest of the teams that made the playoffs.  Yes, I ended up winning my league, but I was mad every time I lost a game on the way there.  I wanted to go 12-0 in the regular season and finish 14-0.  Yes, it didn’t matter since I won my league.  But if I hadn’t won the whole thing, I’d be thinking about not having started this person or that person in a game I believe I should have won.

In much the same way, this decision may come back and haunt the Colts.  Coaches spend hours upon hours planning for an opponent.  The team practices hard during the week so they can win, not just to play.  Manning didn’t look too thrilled watching his understudy suck it up out there.  The Jets saw an opportunity to abuse the Colts backups and they did.  The Jets are still alive in the playoff hunt because of this win.  If I were Jim Caldwell I’d be doing everything to crush anyone who may be a threat in the post-season.  Not giving them a life-line of hope to make it to the big dance.  Now, worst of all, we’ll have to hear Mercury Morris and his band of merry men brag about being the only team in history to win every game in their season.  If you can name a player who is okay with handing a victory to their opponent, I’ll be shocked.