Some people's opinions carry more weight than others.
Tedy Bruschi, for example, fits that description. The former Patriots linebacker, now an analyst for ESPN, nearly experienced perfection in 2007, and he said that the Colts and Saints will regret it if they don't give their all in their pursuits.
"Think about it this way: Let's say you're 14-0 and your team decides to rest players and use the backups, and you lose one of your remaining regular-season games and then go on to win the Super Bowl," Bruschi wrote on ESPNBoston.com. "For the rest of your life, you'd wonder: If we had played out the season, could we have gone 19-0?"
Bruschi said that the teams will have plenty of time to rest with a first-round bye in the playoffs, and even by resting starters in the regular season, that doesn't guarantee health in the playoffs. He mentioned his own calf injury that he suffered in the AFC Championship game before Super Bowl XXXVIII.
He also said there's no way the Patriots players would have accepted letting off the gas pedal when they were in the same position that the Colts and Saints are in now.
"Going back to 2007, if Bill Belichick had come to me and said, 'You know something, Tedy, we're going to rest you — we're 14-0, and we already have the No. 1 seed wrapped up,' I would have jumped down his throat. That is the type of mentality we had in the locker room. We embraced the opportunity to make history."
Of course, the Pats fell just shy, but Bruschi said going 19-0 would mean being the best ever.
"In this day and age, I think going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl would be bigger than what the '72 Dolphins did," Bruschi said. "I feel like it would be more revered in this age of constant scrutiny and media attention. You would be put above the '72 Dolphins. The season is longer. Quite simply, 19-0 is better than 17-0."
Bruschi concluded with a simple suggestion: "History. Go for it."
We don't know what will happen with Indianapolis or New Orleans this season, but we know for sure that if Bruschi does not elect to go into coaching, he'll have no problems taking on a career as a motivational speaker.
