'You're Playing': Belichick and Brady Discuss

Prior to New England's meaningless but important game against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick discussed what every guaranteed playoff team has been discussing this week.  Should they rest their starters or not?

As far as Bill is concerned, the answer is no.

Quarterback Tom Brady claims he has spoken to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick today about his desire to play this Sunday.

"You'll play, don't worry about that. You'll be playing," said Belichick to Brady.

"As players, we obviously don't factor into any of those decisions that coach Belichick makes. It's our job to prepare to play and I certainly am. I'm out there doing all my regular practice stuff," replied Brady.

New England is already a lock for the playoffs this year.  Houston is still clinging to a possible chance, or rather a miracle, of making it in.  For Houston to appear in the postseason, they need to not only beat the Patriots, they also need a ton of other teams to lose to help their chances.

Brady summed it up nicely afterward.

"I want to play and I want to do great. I want to have a great game against a team that is fighting for their playoff lives, and has a lot of great players and really challenges you in some different ways. It's a meaningful game for us, it's a meaningful game for them, too. It would be great for us to go win on the road in a real tough environment against a damn good team."

Whether or not Brady plays the entire game is a different question.  If New England takes a big lead early in the game, expect Bill to go back on his word and take Brady out. 

As for other New England players, it is also questionable.  The sensible thing to do would be to start everyone at the beginning of the game.  If things get out of hand either way, rest them.  A win or a loss isn't worth the injury risk.