Would you have tanked for Ryan Leaf?

[garyo1954]

In the NFL its much easier to improve a bad team with one pick than it is to improve a mediocre team but I wouldn't tank for anybody. That's the purpose of establishing trade rules. It puts every team on equal footing. You want the overall #1, you make a deal with the team holding that pick. Tanking is saying, "Since I can't play fair and get what I want, I'll cheat."

If it becomes the prevalent philosophy of building a winner, multiple teams will start tanking each year since, "We're going to lose anyway, might as well lose for the best draft position."

 

[Ranching]

The 25-year plan we are currently on has gone really well for us.....


You also know that Trevor Lawrence is not Ryan Leaf.

Like others mentioned, I think you are trying too hard here.


Also, we can "tank" all we want (which we aren't doing), We aren't leapfrogging the Jets and Jags to get to Lawrence. The numbers just don't work out.

No guarantee that Lawrence will be a HOF player. He may not have the issues that Leaf had, but he's not perfect. Isn't he missing his second game for covid? None of his teammates missed games.......

 

[Ranching]

if you were referring to @Kolemmitt i don't think he ever mentioned losing deliberately.

Just a general statement

 

[Ranching]

I'm more impressed at the size of your ankles. Holy cow.

Lol....I wear a size 15 shoe and my scar runs from my pinky toe up to my calf.

 

[cern]

Just a general statement

one with which i wholeheartedly agree. now time to stuff some home made jerky in my pocket, and head back out into the deer fields. taking my rattling horns with me. have a great day.

 

[CouchCoach]

one with which i wholeheartedly agree. now time to stuff some home made jerky in my pocket, and head back out into the deer fields. taking my rattling horns with me. have a great day.

The Horns have been rattled enough this year.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't understand why someone would want to lose on purpose to draft a player that is not proven. Could put us back another 10 years.......

Would you tank for Payton Manning? I mean, what's so hard to understand here? Both of those guys were available in the same draft and teams liked one or the other above one or the other. It's not as black and white as you make it here.

 

[js66]

There are a lot of variables... it depends on the player(s) available, your roster, your record etc. I don't think it matters, the Jets will get him unless he refuses to play there or stays in college to avoid them. You can't out-tank the Jets.

When I look at the players available, our roster, our situation and the way our season is headed... I would play younger players, see what I have on the roster and that may cause us to "tank" so to speak. In my mind, it could definitely be worth it.

Trevor Lawrence is the unquestionable #1 pick in my mind and in the mind of almost everyone. He's got all the physical traits (he's 6'6", 220lbs), he's mobile and can throw on the run, he's had great coaching and is from a winning program, he's got a football mind and seems to be a student of the game, his teammates love him and he loves the game of football and is dedicated to it. No offence to a guy like Goff, but this isn't one of the years where a guy like that is sitting at the top of the draft board. This isn't Jamarcus Russell. This is something like Lebron sitting at the top of the NBA draft....

There really hasn't been too many guys come along with this package of talent, size, intangibles, smarts and mobility in the last 10 years. Maybe Andrew Luck? There are no 100% sure franchise QB's in the draft, but this kid might be the closest thing anyone has seen in about a decade or so. If you put some support around this kid, I think you're going to have a very solid franchise QB on a cheap deal for a while.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Tanking here is probably for a 3-5 pick which in this draft should be traded for more draft capital and then the resulting picks should go towards defense.

 

[ondaedg]

Lawrence is not impressing anyone right now. Dak is a proven qb who just needs an average or better defense and right now we're not even close to average.

Dan Marino couldn't overcome horrible defenses so I don't see how a lesser talent like Lawrence could.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Lawrence is not impressing anyone right now. Dak is a proven qb who just needs an average or better defense and right now we're not even close to average.

Dan Marino couldn't overcome horrible defenses so I don't see how a lesser talent like Lawrence could.

There is enough tape on Lawrence that I don't think he really has to impress anybody right now. Lawrence is hands down, more talented then any QB who has come out in years IMO. Now, will that translate into the NFL, that's hard to say because a lot of that has to do with the situation they get drafted into but that's not on Lawrence, that's a franchise thing to me.

 

[Cowfan75]

....so could signing a QB to a large contract extension coming off a bad ankle injury.

And who has one playoff victory on his resume.

 

[Dale]

Tanking is relative. I never would have advocated tanking early in the season, when we thought we had a team that could and should contend.

But now? At 2-7 with our fourth starting QB? I couldn't care less if we win another game. Give me the best draft position as possible.

 

[DandyDon52]

I think you can tank for a player or players, but you need to fully investigate any player taken in round 1, because it is a big investment of time and money.
You have to look at more than college stats etc, and look at personal life , where their head is at , how smart they are, and are they after money or do
they want to win championships.
the jones boys dont seem to do that so, dont know if tanking is a good idea for them.

 

[jazzcat22]

Players and coaches won't tank to get a high draft pick. Their careers are on the line. Really only fans who think in those terms.

I have heard several announcers saying things lately about fans wanting to tank. Troy Aikman. commented on it last nigh.
Basically saying it is stupid, and is a fan driven thing.

He said Dolphins fans use to say, tank for Tua. Then the Dolphins go on to win some games at the end of the year. Fans were upset. But players play to win as coaches do. And then the Dolphins ended up with Tua anyway.

 

[Bigdog]

Would you tank for 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 2 thirds that the Titans got from the Rams for Goff?
Would you tank for 2 firsts, 1 second, 1 third and 1 fourth that the Browns got from the Eagles for Wentz?

Probably the more honest question given our circumstances.

And a year later the Chiefs gave up a 1st and 3rd to the Bills to move up from 27 to 10 to take Mahomes which many experts at the time did not think he was that good and was a system qb. In hindsight, that was highway robbery. Drafting a qb or any player is a crap shoot. I like Dak but like I have said if we get a chance to get Lawrence we take him. If not then move on to the next best player available.

 

[jjktkk]

So, you would lose on purpose to draft Lawrence?

No. But if I was Jerra and friends,, given Dak's contract demands, I would be seriously looking for my next franchise QB in the upcoming draft. Strong, strong, QB class.

 

[Bobhaze]

I don't understand why someone would want to lose on purpose to draft a player that is not proven. Could put us back another 10 years.......

I think this is what many fans don’t seem to understand. For every Peyton Manning, there’s a Ryan Leaf or Tim Couch or DeMarcus Russell. I’m amazed 100 times over how many people here seem to think all we need to do is go pick “the QB tree” and “get a can’t miss college QB”. As if it’s that simple.

The other thing that concerns me about the “tanking for Trevor” shenanigans is not where we draft, but who’s doing the drafting. Have we forgotten that Jerry wanted Johnny Football and Paxton Lynch? Jerry and his FO have made some good picks occasionally but I wouldn’t say I have any confidence in them.

But this FO still baffles me on what their vision is. What kind of team are we trying to become? The really good teams that are winning consistently know exactly what kind of team they’re building and what kind of players fit that profile. Here it seems like we have a fantasy football draft every year to see if we just “grab some talent.”

 

[SackMaster]

No guarantee that Lawrence will be a HOF player. He may not have the issues that Leaf had, but he's not perfect. Isn't he missing his second game for covid? None of his teammates missed games.......

The whole Covid thing is interesting.

From this article: https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/espn-reports-no-new-covid-19-cases-for-clemson-football

Lawrence is Clemson's first confirmed positive during the season. The Tigers had several confirmed players with COVID-19 during the summer, but they've remained relatively healthy from the coronavirus.

Even though the si.com article was from just a couple of days after Lawrence tested positive, I was unable to find any other instance of a player or coach for Clemson testing positive. Although Notre Dame enacted mandatory Covid tests following Notre Dame students storming the field after their upset win over Clemson.

Note: The below is MY OPINION based off the evidence that Lawrence is the only member of the Clemson football program to test positive DURING the season. If someone can provide evidence to the contrary that I missed, I will be happy to admit I missed it and it would lessen the question I propose about Lawrence

So my question is, if one of the ~40 players that tested positive during the summer is the cause of Lawrence's positive test, why is he the only one to test positive during the season? How it is that none of the other 119 players on the Clemson roster, or the 11 coaches, tested positive in the just over 2 weeks ago since Lawrence tested positive?

I mean, if there someone else in the program tested positive around the time Lawrence did, OK, then someone screwed up and it could have not been Lawrence's fault. Even if there was an outbreak on campus itself, I would still find it strange that Lawrence is the only individual inside the football program that has been reported.

I know Lawrence has said he has retraced his steps and can't think of any way he contracted Covid. But I can't help to think that he clearly did something that the no one else in the program was doing.

Therefore that could be reason to question if Lawrence is a "team player" (like the other 100+ players /coaches / individuals who are clean) or does he think he is "special" and does not need to follow the rules?

Again JMHO.

 

[Ranching]

Would you tank for Payton Manning? I mean, what's so hard to understand here? Both of those guys were available in the same draft and teams liked one or the other above one or the other. It's not as black and white as you make it here.

Nope. I don't understand how anyone would want to lose on purpose. I just have a hard time with that.