Ready for the closing arguments
As Bears zero in on top seed, old 'rest vs. rust' question looms
Three consecutive victories, and the Bears almost certainly would own the top seed, with New Orleans the only team that could extend the suspense. And the Saints would have to sandwich a victory at Dallas between home wins against San Francisco and Washington in that stretch.
The point is, while the Bears haven't clinched anything yet, they're in great position to achieve everything they wanted to get out of the regular season well before that season is over.
Then what?
Will the crowd now demanding that Rex Grossman be benched then insist he must play to retain momentum heading into the playoffs? Will Grossman finally give way to Brian Griese? Will the Bears shut down their operation the way they did last year at Minnesota and risk a repeat of their first-game exit in the playoffs?
Without another team on their schedule that has a winning record, it certainly looks like the Bears are on a collision course with the age-old argument pitting rest vs. rust, preservation vs. preparation, healthfulness vs. impetus.
''That is a long ways off for us, but if you are talking about a general philosophy, then it depends on your situation,'' offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. ''If you are totally healthy, I would say play some. If you have guys that are banged up, then try to rest.''
When the Panthers beat the Bears 29-21 at Soldier Field, one charge against coach Lovie Smith & Co. was that they lost all momentum by resting the team at Minnesota and then enjoying a bye week, while Carolina beat up the New York Giants 23-0 at Giants Stadium.
''I was still somewhat hurt,'' said Grossman, who broke an ankle in the preseason and missed the first 13 games. ''At that point, coming off the injury, maybe it was better for me to sit. Obviously, I would have liked to have had the game experience, but you had to weigh the risk/reward with the healing.
''This year, hopefully we're in that position again. I'll do whatever they tell me to do, but I always like to play.''
Cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. also prefers to play. He was on that Panthers team that beat the Bears before signing in the offseason.
''I definitely felt we had more momentum coming in here last year because we had played the week before and we were on a roll,'' Manning said. ''You live and learn, find out what is right for your team. I don't think the time off is a problem because a lot of people have done it that way and had success. Seattle did it last year, and they beat us.''
Manning said he always wants to play late in the season, a lesson he learned during Carolina's Super Bowl run three years ago. Terry Cousin was resting some minor injuries that he could have played through if the Panthers needed him. Manning replaced Cousin and wound up breaking into the starting rotation for the playoff run.
The value of momentum over resting players used to be found in the numbers, but the issue is no longer clear. In a five-year period starting in 1999, the top four playoff seeds won at an 83 percent clip if they won their season finale, compared with just 60 percent for higher-seeded teams that lost their final game.
At the end of the '04 season, Philadelphia not only rested players for the final two games, but also practiced only once during its bye week. The Eagles ended up getting to the Super Bowl but lost to New England.
''If I had to do it as a coach, I would always worry about getting guys rested,'' tight end Desmond Clark said. ''It's always better to be healthy. I know it helped me out a whole lot last year to take that week off. I came out a little bit fresher in the Carolina game than the way I felt in the quarter or two against Minnesota.''
But didn't the Bears lose to the Panthers?
''I don't think we came out rusty in that game,'' Clark said. ''We just ran into a team that was playing better football than us at the time.
''It could have been a momentum issue -- for them. They were coming off a big-time victory. They were playing better than we were.''