... he probably would rest many of his starters or limit their playing time significantly for the final regular season game on Saturday night.
How do I know? Because Belichick has already been in this situation. And that's what he did.
In the 2005 regular season finale against Miami, Belichick knew he had a first-round playoff game to play. Just like the Giants, the Patriots were 10-5 heading into the final week.
So what did Belichick do? He had Tom Brady play a shade over a quarter, and he took him out. Matt Cassel went the rest of the way. Running back Corey Dillon didn't dress. Patrick Pass, a seldom used fullback, was the team's leading rusher that game.
Here's a link to the stat sheet. Take a look.
The Patriots wound up beating Jacksonville at home in the wild card round and lost in Denver the following week. The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl.
Comments (6)
Thanks for the pointing out what Belichick did, it further vindicates the point that Coughlin needs to sit the injured and rest the other imp. players like Strahan, Toomer etc...
If BeliCheat were Coughlin the Pat's wouldn't be 15-0 :-)
Now if Coughlin was BeliCheat - That's a different story. :-)
Let's get this straight, if the Giants were to beat the Pat's this weekend, does anyone think it wouldn't give them a huge boost going into the playoffs?
Having said that, it ain't gonna happen.
Quick question for everyone. One of these games this weekend is going to be a huge surprise upset. Which one is it?
Pat's - Giants
Raiders - Chargers
Falcons - Seahawks
Lions - Packers
Cowboys - Redskins
Titans - Colts
Ravens - Steelers
My vote goes to Ravens - Steelers. The Ravens really hate the Steelers and this game will mean nothing to the Steelers since S.D. is sure to beat Jokeland .
Black
We all see through your tactic...falsely predicting your team loses and San Diego wins...This way, you can prepare yourself early for a disappointing weekend...and if you are correct, you can say you brilliantly picked it...in writing no less...I used to do that too...like when the Knicks played the Washington Bullets in the early 70s...when I was ELEVEN.
If your logic is accurate, and Pittsburgh has nothing to play for, then would it really be considered that big of a "huge surprise upset"
A big upset would be if 5000 people are in the stands at the Meadowlands for the start of the fourth quarter of the Jets-KC game.
Hook, nice try.
As a WVU fan and after the massacre in Morgantown this past month, I don't think anything could be more disappointing.
As a Steelers fan I'm already delighted by the performance of my team under a first year head coach. What a wonderful year to be rebuilding. Not like anyone besides patriots fans had a hope their team would win the Super Bowl this year anyway.
I must say, it is nice sitting back and watching my people go at it! Well done, ladies and gentlemen!
The Flutie dropkick game, no?