Week 18 is upon us, and it comes a meaningless game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. Green Bay has wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NFC while Detroit is playing for pride and evaluation of their young players. Even though they won’t, the Packers should be resting their starters in the finale.
Matt LaFleur, Aaron Rodgers, and Davante Adams got way out in front of the questions about playing in the finale. All three addressed it right after stomping the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday night.
“Right now the mindset is going into this is we’re going to play our guys and we’re going to approach it like every other game,” LaFleur said. “And I just think the reason behind that is I’m not comfortable having essentially a three-week layoff for our guys.”
“I know that you can look at it a million different ways and there’s never a right answer unless it works out,” LaFleur said. “So, if somebody goes in there and gets injured then, ‘Well, why’d you play your guys?’ But if you go out there in that first playoff game and you lay an egg, ‘Well, why’d you rest your guys?’ So there’s not a right answer. Bottom line is whatever we do we’ve got to go out and perform and we know that and that’s just the way we’re going to go about it.”
While LaFleur supports his reasoning for playing the starters against the Lions, the risk outweighs the reward.
Green Bay will have the bye week to rest up and then another full week of practices before they get back into live game action. Will playing Rodgers, Adams, and other premier starters a quarter or a half keep them from being rusty in the playoffs? Do those few reps matter that much when the time off is still going to be substantial? The reward is keeping the rhythm and getting value out of the series that the starters will see. The risk is injury, though, and for a team that’s been battered all year, it’s too great.
Imagine what the backlash would be if Rodgers were to get hurt or Adams went down against Detroit. It would be never-ending. Of course, sitting them would bring out the critics who believe too much time off will be a detriment to Green Bay. But sign me up for a team that could come out a tad slow early in the divisional round rather than a team playing starters in a meaningless game Sunday and having everyone walk on eggshells. It’s isn’t coaching scared; it’s playing your hand wisely.
Understandably, Green Bay wants to play its starters. As LaFleur said, there’s never a correct answer, and he’s right about that. If you have the chance to limit the possibility for injuries with a playoff push coming, though, err in that direction. LaFleur isn’t in the minority, though; Rodgers and Adams are both in full support of going out and playing.
“I’m going to play next week and I expect Davante (Adams) to play and our guys to play,” Rodgers said. “So, we’re looking forward to finishing off the season on a high note and then getting the bye.”
“I think there’s a lot of good in playing,” Adams said. “Having two weeks off is, to each his own but, I wouldn’t want to do that. So I want to play next week at least some.”
Players want to play. There isn’t any statistical evidence that leans one way or another on the rest vs. rust debate. It’s all subjective. The Packers, specifically Rodgers, have dealt with this in 2011.
That year, Rodgers didn’t play in the finale as Green Bay went 15-1 and had the No. 1 seed secured before the last game. Rodgers sat, other starters saw minimal action, and the Packers fell flat against the New York Giants coming out of the bye and lost. That may have had a lingering effect on Rodgers and his thoughts about sitting out this time around in Week 18, but it shouldn’t.
Sunday’s game won’t be enjoyable for any Packers fans to watch. Most will pace back and forth, waiting for the main starters to get pulled. It’s not an easy decision to make. Different teams will approach it in different manners. Green Bay will play their starters and hope there aren’t any significant injuries — which wouldn’t be a concern if they sat them out Sunday and rested up for the playoffs.
