We were wondering how the Kansas City Chiefs would approach Week 17 against the Oakland Raiders since they've already clinched the division title but could still fall to the fourth seed with a loss and an Indianapolis Colts victory. I think it's a valid question to wonder whether the Chiefs may be inclined to give a little extra rest to some starters even with something still on the line.
Chiefs head coach Todd Haley was given a chance on a conference call with reporters Sunday night to dismiss any notions of resting players and, while he didn't sound like that would be an option, he did leave the door open to "do the right thing", whatever that is.
"I don't know," Haley said when asked how they'll handle Week 17. "We'll have to get in there tomorrow when we get back to work. I would venture to say that with our team and what we're trying to get done, our goal is trying to get to three wins [in this quarter], I would say that we'll get back to work on trying to get that done and how everything plays out we'll just kinda have to see.
"When you're in that mode and all of a sudden Cincinnati wins to help you get to your primary goal you have to think through things and try to do the right thing anyway."
Haley says the fact that they're playing for a higher seed will "obviously" play a role in what they do which would indicate it's full speed ahead against Oakland.
"With the position we're in and the fact that we've had a couple of opportunities throughout this season to take advantage when we haven't -- we're still in the development stages of this team and the guys are still developing and the team is still developing --- when you're in this position or this stage I would not think we'll do a lot different than trying to get a little bit better each day."
The Chiefs are going to say all week that they're preparing to win in Oakland and I believe that they are. But I also believe if Player X is banged up, he may get stronger consideration to sit this week to prepare for the playoffs. We'll learn more as the week goes along.