Injuries and Defense

Before we look ahead to this weekend’s NFL conference championship games, let’s take a look back. What has been talked about in the NFL in the last month? Should the Colts sit their starters out for the playoffs or not? There were many people who were divided on the answer, but I think we would all agree on the correct answer: Play with them! Or at least, rest injured players, but don’t bench most starters the last two weeks of the regular season, even if everything is fixed.

That was the position the Colts found themselves in after that 13-0 start. They had clinched it all: the division title, the bye week, playing at home for the playoffs, the No. 1 seed. Yet anyone who watched Sunday’s loss to the Steelers saw an Indy team that was rusty for a long time. most of the game. Very rusty.

The Colts were out of sync most of the way in their 21-18 loss to the Steelers. In general, having a bye week gives the team enough time, two weeks, to rest and prepare. It takes time and practice to get a team in sync because there are so many players who need to work together in unison: blocking patterns, running backs hitting the right holes, linemen shooting, receiver execution patterns, quarterbacks getting them through. the ball at the right time. roads etc

Think back to the Denver Broncos’ last regular season game. Denver was a 12-point dog in San Diego in a pointless game for the Broncos. They had everything sewn up and just needed to stay healthy. Instead, Mike Shanahan had several starters play significant minutes in the first half. They also played inspired football, dominating the Chargers in an impressive performance. I think back to the regular season finale a year ago when the Patriots hosted the terrible 49ers at home in a pointless game, but Bill Belichick started three quarters. The reason was a bit different, as the Patriots played a slow first half, tied 3-3, as the heavy favorite. Belichick didn’t like the performance and he sent the starters back into the second half, injuries be damned! They followed the next few weeks with dominating performances en route to winning another Super Bowl title.

Of the four remaining teams, does anything stand out? Yes, defense! Carolina and Pittsburgh rank 3rd and 4th in the NFL in total defense, with the Broncos and Seahawks 15th and 16th. More important is run defense, and note that every other team is in the Top 5 in the NFL. nfl. to stop the race! It goes Denver (2nd), Pittsburgh (3rd), Carolina (4th) and Seattle (5th). One of them is going to win the Super Bowl, so again, containing the run is a big key to building a championship defense.

That hasn’t translated to a significant number of unders for those teams, but keep in mind that 6 of the 8 playoff games so far have gone under total. Yeah, it should come as no surprise that defense wins championships in all sports, once again!