Prior teams that tanked

[MightyGiants]

Considering this is a major topic with the Giants, I sort of racked my brains to think of past teams that seemed to openly tank:


2023 Washington Commanders-  They started trading away quality veterans mid-season.  They ended up with the 2nd pick in the draft as seemingly (based on current information) hit paydirt with drafting Jayden Daniels.   Ron Rivera ended up being fired after the tank season and the GM was reassigned to a lesser position.

2019 Dolphins:  There was much talk of tanking for Tua.   They got Tua, but the QB has had many concussions and has never reached the level originally anticipated.  The tanking instruction was mentioned in coach Flores' lawsuit against the NFL

2019 Eagles:  The Eagles infamously pulled their QB in the second half of a game they were winning to ensure defeat and a higher draft pick.   The tank job cost Pederson his head coaching job, but GM Howie Roseman thrived with the extra draft capital the team received.


Can anyone else remember a case of a team tanking by either eliminating players, benching players, or some other means to encourage more losses for a better draft position?


On a side note, the Texans tanking efforts were ruined by an interim coach who had his team win the final game pushing the Texans to the 2nd overall selection.  It proved to be a happy ending as the Panthers traded up to draft Bryce Young, leaving Houston with CJ Stroud who had an excellent rookie season and mixed results year two.

[Gmo11]

So as with most things in the NFL, it works if you end up picking the right QB.

[EDjohnst1981]

The thing I remember with Miami is that they started winning some games, pushed them down the draft order and still got Tua.

I might have misremembered but that's what I recall.

[sxdxca38]

Hi Mighty,

I can remember back in the day the Colts motto was "Suck for Luck". They got their guy in the draft (Andrew Luck) to replace Peyton Manning, and it was the right move.

[President Rick]

there's no one close to andrew luck in this qb class

[uconnjack8]

Trading guys at the deadline isn't that uncommon in today's NFL.  I think the Commanders had new ownership at that point and were likely to blow things up and start fresh.

Funny thing with Miami and the tank for Tua- The Giants have more playoff wins than Miami since that 2019 season. If they had gotten Burrow instead, maybe that would be different?

Did the Giants of 2003 tank? 

[MightyGiants]

Hi Mighty,

I can remember back in the day the Colts motto was "Suck for Luck". They got their guy in the draft (Andrew Luck) to replace Peyton Manning, and it was the right move.

Yeah, that was a term.  However, it seems like the Colts' losses were more attributed to the unexpected loss of Payton Manning, than some kind of plan to tank

[MightyGiants]

Trading guys at the deadline isn't that uncommon in today's NFL.  I think the Commanders had new ownership at that point and were likely to blow things up and start fresh.

Funny thing with Miami and the tank for Tua- The Giants have more playoff wins than Miami since that 2019 season. If they had gotten Burrow instead, maybe that would be different?

Did the Giants of 2003 tank?

I don't think so; they just weren't a very good team.  Jim Fassel appeared to lose the locker room, and lost his job at the end of the season (replaced by Coughlin)

[coggs]

Trading guys at the deadline isn't that uncommon in today's NFL.  I think the Commanders had new ownership at that point and were likely to blow things up and start fresh.

Funny thing with Miami and the tank for Tua- The Giants have more playoff wins than Miami since that 2019 season. If they had gotten Burrow instead, maybe that would be different?

Did the Giants of 2003 tank?

In his book Strahan said he lost the team after the Brian Westbrook punt return TD game against the Eagles.  Feagles asked Fassel if he should punt it out of bounds.  Fassel said, "no we will cover it." After game, fassel asked feagles to say Fassel told him to kick it out of bounds and he made a bad kick."  Team was pissed and basically quit on him.  Weird thing is they won the next 2 to get to 4-4 and then lost 8 straight.

[Painter]

So as with most things in the NFL, it works if you end up picking the right QB.

Exactly! And even then, it depends on your definition of the "right QB". Whether you "tank" or not, there are no sure things even with the No.1 overall QB; it always comes down to the Luck of the Draft.

Cheers!

[TDToomer]

Trading guys at the deadline isn't that uncommon in today's NFL.  I think the Commanders had new ownership at that point and were likely to blow things up and start fresh.

Funny thing with Miami and the tank for Tua- The Giants have more playoff wins than Miami since that 2019 season. If they had gotten Burrow instead, maybe that would be different?

Did the Giants of 2003 tank?

It's not uncommon but not nearly as regular as in other sports leagues where trade deadline day has an online tracker and is covered by multiple sports networks.

The 2003 Giants didn't tank, they just had a tremendous drop off in QB play from Kerry Collins to Jesse Palmer. Plus every receiver not named Toomer got injured by seasons end.

[MightyGiants]

Exactly! And even then, it depends on your definition of the "right QB". Whether you "tank" or not, there are no sure things even with the No.1 overall QB; it always comes down to the Luck of the Draft.

Cheers!

Don't think I didn't notice what you did there with "Luck"   

I will add another aspect.  We don't know if Nix had come to NYG, he would be playing as well is playing with the Broncos (especially without Nabers), but I wonder.  If the Giants and Broncos had switched draft slots would the Broncos have passed on Nix because he was a reach at 6 and would the Giants have drafted Nix at 12 because at 12 his selection was more reasonable than higher in the draft order.

[HondurasGiants]

I HATE tanking...

I see it as a form of cheating (the system, the fans and the players)...

And 9 out 10 times (if not every time) it won't end well...

Bad look, bad karma...

Play to win game!