Jets getting pass into playoffs?

By Fred Guzman

MauiNow.com

In the past few days, there has been much spirited debate about whether Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell did the right thing by pulling his key starters – including quarterback Peyton Manning – with the Colts leading the Jets by five points in the third quarter on Sunday.

The Jets went on to win the road game, 29-15, sparking a string of boos of the hometown fans and touching off a national furor over Caldwell’s decision.

On one side, there are the many who are outraged because the Colts essentially threw in the towel in a bid for a potential perfect season.

On the other side, are the pragmatists who note that the only meaningful goal in the NFL is to win the Super Bowl, and that Caldwell did the right thing by protecting his key players from injury.

The irony of all this is that the people most affected by Caldwell’s decision were not the Colts or their irate fans. But, rather, the teams that are competing with the Jets for a playoff berth.

And the same situation could surface again this weekend when the Jets face Cincinnati in the final game of the NFL regular season.

By playing in Sunday’s late game, the Bengals will know by then if the game has any meaning for them. And, if it doesn’t, head coach Marvin Lewis might take the same tack as Caldwell did last week.

And if that happens, the Jets could end up qualifying for the playoffs by beating a pair of teams that essentially laid down their cards and conceded a meaningless game. Somehow, that doesn’t seem right.

MIL FOOTBALL: Congratulations to Baldwin junior wide receiver Ro Wilson and Maui High senior linebacker Kotoni Anitema for their selections as players of the year in the MIL all-star team announced today by the Maui News.

WAHINE WIN: A clutch pull-up 10-foot jumper by Keisha Kanekoa with 3.3 seconds left enabled the Rainbow Wahine to overcome 21 turnovers in a 54-53 basketball win over Kent State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Kanekoa finished with 19 points and sister Big Island product Leilani Galdones added 14 as UH improved its record to 5-7. The two teams play again at 7 tonight in a televised game.