I wish Clark Phillips would have played in the Rose Bowl, Kincaid too.

Kincaid was hurt and had already given everything he had to help get Utah to the Rose Bowl. He still hadn’t fully recovered in time for the combine so if anything, he should have probably missed more time during the season (especially Colorado) than he did.

CP(ick-6) was also dinged up. I believe he played the 2nd half of the season with a shoulder injury, and had missed a game.

I root as hard as anyone for the name on the front of the jersey but not at the expense of the name(s) on the back. If these two felt it was in their best interest to heal up and prep for the next phase of their careers, I fully support their decisions.

Wish in one hand and..well you get what I mean. 
Is what it is. 

It is a very thin line. Players and coaches want the yards and points to support the best possible position. Late in a game after control has been gained is tough. Do you take a break and risk the guy behind you passing your numbers. Or do you take every opportunity and risk injury when you may be tired. In Kincaid’s case at Colorado looking back, you wish he was watching the last minutes from the sideline. I don’t recall Phillips in late in games most likely because he did not have an event in that situation. Myself, I favor watching the 2s develop in games under control.

After breaking my leg skiing, I caught an interesting article on ski injuries (long ago). The research noted that injury correlates very strongly with being tired. Since this was my case and the same for a couple of close friends, I watched this be confirmed something like 80% throughout the 70s when ski injuries were common. I have no idea if this translates to football or any other sport, but as an old man I enjoy quitting before getting tired and coming back the next day to continue.

I remember when most teams played DL starters as much as possible and Whitt was an early adopter of liberal rotation throughout the game. McBride preferred rotating RBs more than was popular in the 90s. In both cases they were convinced that having fresh guys in the 4th qtr was key to what they were trying do. Maybe the best 11 on the field only applies if they are fresh and only in the 4th qtr of contested games.