There is no intelligent reason to make Romo play Sunday

[windward]

Who cares?

I know I certainly wouldn't want to see Weeden starting in the Wild Card game..

We are going to play the starters probably a half. I think there need to be at least some reps to keep some semblance of routine going. Then we get ready for the playoffs.

 

[windward]

As @Toruk_Makto pointed out, Belichick is probably going to play his starters a bit. Parcells did too when we had nothing to play for in 2003 with a playoff berth locked up. It's not a crazy idea to play the starters some in Week 17.

 

[rynochop]

I cant imagine Garrett leaving himself open to an avalanche of criticism all off season by playing romo in a meaningless game, gets hurt, cant go and one and done.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Would be stupid to risk romo in a meaningless game. Teams play better when rested. We will NOT play to win this game. They will not play the starters the entire game.

Just going with what the article said. Not what fans here think.

 

[50cent]

Play the starters til Murray breaks the record. Then, in no particular order sit Romo, Dez, Martin, Murray, Witten, Ro (should not dress), Mincey, Crawford, Scan, Church and Wilcox! Weeden, Dunbar, Randle, WRs, Escobar, Berny, Hills, Wilber, Heath, patmon, Parnell, hitchens, moore, carr, Lawrence, hayden, Selvie, etc etc etc should get first hand experience in the Commanders rivalry to make their own history!

 

[gdogg24]

Romo wants to play. Most players do. There is a remote chance they can get a bye. If there is just a small chance you play to win the game and you do that by playing your starting QB.

By my calculations there's a .182% chance that the GB/DET game will end in a tie. There's is a far greater chance of injury to a key player. A bunch of our guys could use a week off it's not worth it. They're earned a week off

 

[gdogg24]

Seattle and Arizona both losing is a very real possibility. 49ers will likely beat Arizona and St. Louis is coming off a tough loss after a good streak of playing very well and would like nothing better than to spoil some pf their division rivals thunder by putting a L on them.

I think they have to play and to win. A bye is THAT important.

We get the bye in that scenario regardless of us losing to Washington

 

[gdogg24]

Go back to 2007 and see what resting our starters did. You play this game one week at a time. Forget the post season. You need momentum going into the post season. How do you think the Colts are feeling right now after getting spanked? Not very good. Take this game one week at a time.

Its a gamble on Garrett's part but that's what coaching is about. Guys can get hurt any time. They can get hurt in the 1st round. Then what?

Ok in 2007 we were the number 1 seed and we ended up resting our starters so they had TWO WEEKS off. During which time it seems a few of our guys decided to dip out and go on vacation. This is not the same, this is a team that can use some time to heal from injuries, this is a different leadership in the lockeroom & a different head coach. The guys that are in this locker room now will not let this team's mindset leave from achieving their goals. They'll take the week off and come back with fire against whoever loses the GB/Det game.

 

[gdogg24]

So being 11-5 is better than 12-4? When we are tied with 5 other NFC teams at 11-4. Bizarre. Either way, winning is better than losing. For the mindset heading into the playoffs.

In order to get homefield advantage, the Cowboys need to beat Washington, have the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions tie in their meeting and need the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals to lose.

Even with a loss to the Commanders they can still get a first-round bye ... if thethe Seahawks and Cardinals lose.

Garrett said he wants to keep his team sharp and focused with the playoffs ahead.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4738659/cowboys-plan-to-play-regulars-at-washington

Yeah if it helps your playoff of chances! I would not risk ending a key player's season for .18% It's not worth it, it'll take away from being able to rest and prepare for our playoff opponent.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Seattle and Arizona both losing is a very real possibility. 49ers will likely beat Arizona and St. Louis is coming off a tough loss after a good streak of playing very well and would like nothing better than to spoil some pf their division rivals thunder by putting a L on them.

I think they have to play and to win. A bye is THAT important.

I think you are totally missing the point.......................the ability for us to get a bye has absolutely nothing to do with us winning or losing................its irrelevant to the conversation, only Seattle and Arizona losing gets us a bye, what we do in our game is meaningless.

So there is no "play to win to get a bye"............we can lose by 50 and still get a bye or we can win by 50 and not get a bye, its totally out of our control if we end up the #2 or #3 seed.

So why play Romo?

 

[windward]

I think you are totally missing the point.......................the ability for us to get a bye has absolutely nothing to do with us winning or losing................its irrelevant to the conversation, only Seattle and Arizona losing gets us a bye, what we do in our game is meaningless.

So there is no "play to win to get a bye"............we can lose by 50 and still get a bye or we can win by 50 and not get a bye, its totally out of our control if we end up the #2 or #3 seed.

So why play Romo?

I think he will play about as much as Tom Brady does, namely a half or so.

 

[Beast_from_East]

we aren't he's playing , we have to put the pressure on seattle by winning.

Us winning or losing puts no pressure on Seattle at all.....................there is a major misunderstanding going on................what we do in our game has no affect on us getting a bye, NONE.

If Seattle and Arizona both lose, we get the #2 seed regardless of what happens in our game...................If Seattle wins, they get homefield and we get the #3 seed, regardless of what happens in our game.

This is basically like the last preseason game..............how many folks want Romo playing in the last preseason game before the season starts?

 

[Beast_from_East]

I think he will play about as much as Tom Brady does, namely a half or so.

If the Skins start with their kamikaze 10 man blitzes and Romo takes a shot to the back again......................Garrett will be crucified.

 

[gdogg24]

Us winning or losing puts no pressure on Seattle at all.....................there is a major misunderstanding going on................what we do in our game has no affect on us getting a bye, NONE.

If Seattle and Arizona both lose, we get the #2 seed regardless of what happens in our game...................If Seattle wins, they get homefield and we get the #3 seed, regardless of what happens in our game.

This is basically like the last preseason game..............how many folks want Romo playing in the last preseason game before the season starts?

Yeah it's pretty much like saying "we need to go into the season with momentum so he needs to play the last preseason game" there's no value to winning at Washington, there's everything to lose and nothing to gain. Much better to rest, heal up and be ready for the loser of the GB/Det game

 

[windward]

If the Skins start with their kamikaze 10 man blitzes and Romo takes a shot to the back again......................Garrett will be crucified.

Yeah he will. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

I would not play any of our starters. This essentially IS our bye. BUT....BUT.....if you play....deploy a full blown game plan and try to win. Do not play like you are trying to avoid getting hurt!

 

[DogFace]

It's not a bye. There's a football game to be played. This point keeps being brought up when it's irrelevant.

What are the stats of playoff teams that rest their best players and lose the last game of the season against teams that win the last game? That'd be a more appropriate statistic.

Exactly

 

[cowboys2233]

Seattle and Arizona both losing is a very real possibility. 49ers will likely beat Arizona and St. Louis is coming off a tough loss after a good streak of playing very well and would like nothing better than to spoil some pf their division rivals thunder by putting a L on them.

I think they have to play and to win. A bye is THAT important.

Even if we lose, we would still get the bye if both Seattle and Arizona also lose.

 

[cowboys2233]

He will play his guys.

Um yeah, he has a bye the following week, we don't. Would someone explain to me how our situation is even remotely the same as the Patriots? Aside from the small fact that they're getting a bye week, we also have a QB who has been dealing with a bad back all season, someone who CLEARLY benefits from having extra days off.

And we're going to play him in a game that has virtually no bearing on whether we get the #2 seed or stay as the #3 seed...just because? Really? Please.

 

[gdogg24]

Um yeah, he has a bye the following week, we don't. Would someone explain to me how our situation is even remotely the same as the Patriots?

It's not, this team earned their week off by securing the division against the Colts.