Tanking games for the draft

[Tex]

The problem for a coach "tanking" games to get a high draft pick is that in reality he may well get "tanked" also.

Sure they get the number one pick. But everyone says the team "quit" on the current coac too.

And to get the fans on board they clean house of all the coaches that contributed to that 2-14 record and freshen everything up to give hope.

Hot new quarterback and new coach also. See what I mean.

From a coach's view point you better fight for every win.

 

[Joe Realist]

maybe the NFL needs a lottery for teams with 3 worst records

 

[TheRat]

people treat winning football games like a religion, without any concern for how that would affect the team in the long term. Unless you have no ability to look beyond the distance of your nose, of course a team like the Colts should tank games from Luck.

 

[gimmesix]

This seems to be a hot topic right now with many teams needing a franchise quarterback and Andrew Luck being arguably one of the best QB prospect ever.

Right now, 3 teams are winless (Dolphins, Colts, Rams) and 4 others are 1-4. The thought is that if the season is already lost, a team would purposely lose a game or games to ensure a better draft position to take a better player to help the team in the future. In more simple terms, drafting a better player for the future is better than winning a game in a season that is already lost.

I remember last year this was a hot topic for the zone as the Cowboys were already eliminated from the playoffs and had it's last game against the Eagles who were playing backups. The Cowboys eventually won the game, moving their draft position from a possible 5th overall to 9th overall. That pick would have put the Cowboys in position to draft possibly the best CB prospect in the past decade, Patrick Peterson. Instead, he ended up going 5th overall to the Cardinals.

So what is your take: Is it better to purposely lose games if it ensures you a prospect that could help your franchise be successful in the future, or should a team try to win at all cost, even if it means losing positioning for a better draft prospect?

I'm sure it's even more tempting now that there's a rookie cap. Some teams used to dodge that No. 1 overall pick because they didn't want to pay the prices. Now, it's not that expensive overall, if you miss, to take a big swing.