Yea ...... Tanking the season on purpose will sure do a lot of good for the young guys.
"Hey kids ...... Make sure you always play hard except when some guys on the internet want you to lose on purpose.
Go out there and half *** it and risk getting hurt trying to lose."
You don't have to tank. This is what one side of the argument either can't or won't understand. You make decisions with the long term interest in mind rather than the short term goal of simply winning on Sunday.
Example, we knew Andy Dalton wasn't the future for the Cowboys. Instead of playing him, we should have played Gilbert more to see if he is a viable back up QB or if we need to move on. Those games Dalton played could have been used to develop Gilbert. Then we would know if we need to move on from him and find another back up QB or, if we did keep him, he's got more game time experience.
Another example, we play Pollard and rest Zeke more. It saves Zeke's body for more carries in a season that hopefully matters instead of wearing down his tread in a season you know the team can't win the SB in.
You essentially treat those games like preseason games where the scoreboard isn't the primary goal. Putting the team in the best position later is the the goal, whether you win or lose.