By Dave Cokin
Posted 12/30/2009 at 04:50 AM

I am clearly stuck on stupid. But at least I’m not alone.

Yes, I’m one of those idiots who has been critical of the Indianapolis Colts brain trust for, in essence, forfeiting their most recent game against the New York Jets.

If you’re reading this piece, there’s no need to rehash at length what took place this past Sunday in Indianapolis. Just as had been threatened by the Colts hierarchy, they pulled the plug on some key starters and basically handed the New York Jets a huge win.

I’m stupid because I actually believed the Colts would at least take a shot at making history when confronted with the opportunity. Sure, I know they said they might rest their stars, but I thought they’d do so only if it looked like they might lose anyway. That wasn’t the case as the Colts were leading the Jets in the third quarter when they decided to send in the junior varsity.

I’m stupid because I ought to have realized that this philosophy has worked so well in the past. Except that the actual truth is that it HASN’T worked. If you don’t believe me, do the research. Number one conference seeds that have seen fit to rest their stars down the regular season stretch haven’t done especially well in the playoffs. There are a couple of semi-exceptions, but by and large the strategy has not been meaningful one way or the other. And none of those teams had the opportunity to go 19-0.

I’m stupid because I thought it was patently unfair on the part of the Colts to not give it their best effort against a rival competing with several other teams for one of the remaining AFC playoff berths.

I’m stupid because I don’t think it’s right to charge admission for regular season games that are played as though it’s a mid-August exhibition scrimmage that doesn’t count.

I’m stupid because the talking bobbleheads manning the microphones across the land have decided en masse that Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell have to know more about this than the rest of us, and if we disagree, we’re stupid. In fact, we’re so stupid that Polian, after getting yelled at by some unhappy Colts fans on his weekly radio show, decided we weren’t worth talking to anymore. He simply ended the show early rather than waste time listening to complaints from his team’s fans.

The good news is that Stupidville is not a desolate locale. Among the new residents are Jeff Fisher, who said that if he had a chance to garner a perfect season, he’d play his starters. Mike Ditka is stupid as well, for having the gall to suggest that a team should always try to win. And I’m pretty sure that Peyton Manning may actually be part of this illustrious roster as well, even if he won’t publicly admit it. Or was that a Manning impostor standing on the sidelines still wearing his helmet on Sunday after being pulled from the game?

Finally, we can finally all agree that Don Shula is really stupid. Worst coach ever. Forget all those wins he racked up. Shula is an idiot. Had he not been stupid and had wisely rested his stars late in the 1972 season, the Dolphins could have given away a meaningless regular season win and become just another Super Bowl champ. Instead, Shula the moron played his starters, won all his games and 37 years later, they remain the one and only team in NFL history to enjoy a perfect season. In other words, the BEST TEAM EVER, because they’re the only ones that never lost a game.

No offense intended for Colts fans, but I really hope this team blows it. In my mind, that would be true justice for screwing all of us stupid fans out of a chance to witness history.