As the NFL playoffs get underway, I'll be very interested to see if the teams that decided to rest their players for the last game or two actually see that strategy pay off.  In particular, I'll be curious to see how the Saints and Colts do.  Both teams just a few weeks ago were undefeated.  Now the Saints limp into the playoffs with three straight losses and the Colts finished up by losing their last two.  Both teams rested players over the last couple weeks and both now have byes.  So by the time these teams play again, it will have been several weeks since they fielded their starters for a full game.  Will they come out rusty or will they come out looking rested and sharp?  We'll find out.  But if I were a head coach, I think I would like to keep my team sharp down the stretch and not risk being out of sync come playoff time. 

One other intriguing aspect of the playoffs is the fact that there are three rematches from the final week of the regular season.  The Packers head back to Arizona, Philadelphia travels to Dallas again and the Bengals will host the Jets.  It's also interesting to note that all three of those games on Sunday resulted in blowout wins for the Packers, Cowboys and Jets.  Are those outcomes indicative of how the playoff games will be or will those losses provide extra motivation for the teams that were on the losing end?  As I said, we'll find out.  It should be fun.