After the New Orleans Saintsclinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs on Sunday, head coach Sean Payton provided a short "we'll see" response when asked for his thoughts on playing starters in Week 17.
Payton then addressed a series of questions on the same subject during his Monday afternoon teleconference, and he clearly wasn't in the mood to reveal his plan.
"I'm going to specify for the fourth time -- you ready? -- I can't be any more clear, all right?" Payton said. "We're going to approach this game just like we would a regular-season game, and if there's any changes to the lineups, I'll keep you posted. I'm done answering that question. That's four in the last 24 hours."
The Saints head coach added he doesn't have a general philosophy on resting starters, pointing out each team is different before putting an end to the line of questioning.
Regardless of how Payton feels about the subject, it's hard to argue against the validity of the subject.
Outside of quarterback Drew Brees being in the league MVP race, which featured the Kansas City Chiefstweeting a video campaigning for Patrick Mahomes, there really isn't anything else to for the Saints to gain.
By resting starters in the season finale, the Saints would give key players, especially those dealing with injuries, the opportunity to rest or heal ahead of the playoffs.
Of course, Payton didn't specifically say who would play outside of approaching the matchup against the Panthers like it was a regular-season game, which it obviously is.
So, would anyone really be surprised if backup signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater sees action or if the Saints give more playing time to reserves?
