The trending topic in sports talk today was, “As a fan, would you object to your team tanking the season to draft Andrew Luck?” My answer: I would object if we didn’t!1
Look, I’m a Tampa Bay fan, and you know what the Buccaneers got for not sucking bad enough in 2006 and 2009? Gains Adams instead of Calvin Johnson (after losing a coin flip to Detroit) and Gerald McCoy instead of Ndamukong Suh because they won a meaningless week 16 game against the Saints. So don’t give me this crap about trying to win every game.
I’ve always said that, if my team has no legitimate chance to win a ring, I’d much rather get a top draft pick then finish 8-8 and be stuck with a crappy pick and crappy team. And that was in drafts that didn’t contain this kind of prospect.
Stanford QB Andrew Luck, by all accounts, is the most polished prospect since, well, maybe ever. If I were creating the ultimate QB in Madden he probably wouldn’t be as good as Luck looks. The guy throws the rock like Tom Brady and runs like Tim Tebow. Most important of all though, he’s a bright kid. He appears to
have the mental tools to control the game like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees do. There’s also something to be said about a kid who turns down the millions of dollars that come with being the consensus number one pick to return to school. As hyped as he is, I can't see him being a bust. I’m all in on Andrew Luck. He's a guy you can build your franchise around.
have the mental tools to control the game like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees do. There’s also something to be said about a kid who turns down the millions of dollars that come with being the consensus number one pick to return to school. As hyped as he is, I can't see him being a bust. I’m all in on Andrew Luck. He's a guy you can build your franchise around.
It’s no secret how valuable a franchise quarterback is, but has that point ever been more prevalent then in the wake of Peyton Manning’s injury? While there’s no such thing as a sure thing, Luck is as close as there has ever been. And with the NFL’s new risk aversion system-the rookie wage scale-what do you really have to lose?
The question isn’t about whether Luck himself is worth taking, it’s a question of the ethics involved with tanking a season.
That’s a dicey situation. Most GM's think they can’t afford to risk losing the chunk of fans that would feel alienated by blatantly tanking the season. But I would argue that, if Luck is who everyone thinks he is, the number of fans you would lose off the bandwagon by sucking for one year wouldn’t come close to the number you would gain by becoming a perennial powerhouse. I mean, who liked the Colts in 1998?
One thing a lot of owners need to keep in mind, most people are idiots. Especially when it comes to their sports teams. You know, the people who actually believe that their mediocre team can win a championship this year. (Yea, I’m talking about you Knicks fans) You’re never going to convince those people it’s worth tanking before the fact. They think that their team improving from 3-13 to 7-9 somehow means they’re going to go 11-5 the following season. Great logical thinking!
But who really cares about those people? At least from a losing them as fans standpoint. Those guys are die-hard's that are going to stick with their team no matter what. Plus, if you're going to tank this is the season to do. Not only is the lottery at an all time high, but GM’s have a get out of jail free card this year if their team sucks. It’s 2011, just blame everything on the lockout, injuries, or Obama. Or there's always the semi-sneaky tank like the 2006-2007 Celtics pulled when they were trying to position themselves for Durant or Oden.
Convincing the players would be the hardest part. But let’s be honest, most of these teams wouldn’t have to try very hard to do so. Jacksonville put themselves in contention by cutting Garrard as did the Bengals by declaring Dalton the starter. Seattle is definitely in the running and Denver could have pretty much locked it up if they had been able to complete the trade of Orton to the Dolphins.
Not everyone would be willing to sacrifice one season of " progress" for future greatness. You know who regularly trades away his assets though and would have no problem tanking a meaningless season if his team wasn’t already elite? Bill Belichick. But what does he know?
1 Of course, that’s assuming your team A) has zero chance of winning that year and B) isn’t invested in a QB already. We’re talking about 49ers, Raiders, Cardinals, Broncos, Redskins, Titans, Seahawks, Texans, Bengals, Dolphins, Bills, Jags, Browns, Vikings or ChiefsThe
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