Would an NFL team lose a game on purpose, aside from a higher draft pick?

[Scary Gary 19]

This ISN'T the scenario here, but very well could have been. Which brings up this scenario:

 

Dallas plays the Lions on Monday. Dallas has home field wrapped up.

Green Bay is playing incredibly well, and well, their passing game looks awesome. Dallas pass D is horrid.

If I'm a Dallas fan, or part of coaching staff, I don't want to face a hot team with a great passing game (Green Bay). That's the Cowboy's kryptonite.

When I was looking at playoff scenarios, for a brief moment, I thought "If Dallas loses, the Lions are in and Green Bay is out"

That led me to my thought process of Dallas throwing the game.


It has had to come up before in the past.

 

And for the record, the Packers, on a "scare" level for me as a Cowboys fan, right now is about an 8. Patriots being a 10. Giants...about a 5. They don't scare me. They won 2 games over Dallas by a total of 4 points. A 3rd game...easy pickings for Dallas.

[knight11e 10]

I don't know if it DOES happen, but if I was a owner/coach I wouldn't disregard it. It's pretty clear that most teams would rather play Detroit right now than Green Bay, so I would be on board in this instance.

 

The worst case scenario is that the team you "let" into the playoffs beats you. Big deal.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Packers play lions next week, who has tiebreaker? Anyway, I don't think a team would throw a game, there are too many factors in play. Integrity, individual contract escalators, bonuses etc.

[IGotWorms 3,309]

Yes, Pats have done it before

[TimHauck 1,799]

I think you could make the argument that when teams rest a bunch of starters they're essentially losing on purpose, but obviously that's a lot different than throwing the game entirely. I don't really think an NFL team would throw a game to try to influence the playoff scenario though.

[redsrback 30]

76ers been tossing basketball seasons for years

[ZeroTolerance 582]

On one hand, you would think the last thing anyone would want to do is give Goodell a reason to pull a Goodell.

 

On the other hand, I doubt Goodell would bother to punish the Cowboys.

[BobSanders_33 127]

On one hand, you would think the last thing anyone would want to do is give Goodell a reason to pull a Goodell.

 

On the other hand, I doubt Goodell would bother to punish the Cowboys.

Like said above the Pats have done this before. There would be no way to prove a team was effectively throwing a game by not running the best suited plays and resting players.

[nzoner 936]

When I was looking at playoff scenarios, for a brief moment, I thought "If Dallas loses, the Lions are in and Green Bay is out"

That led me to my thought process of Dallas throwing the game.

 

 

No matter who wins tonight GB and Det will play for the division title next Sunday night.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,618]

Of course the Pats have done it. They stay off the high road as much as possible

[giraldi02 470]

No matter who wins tonight GB and Det will play for the division title next Sunday night.

This. The Cowboys have zero effect on whether the Packers make the playoffs or not.

[aljack88 5]

Of course the Pats have done it. They stay off the high road as much as possible

When?

[R8RMick 242]

On one hand, you would think the last thing anyone would want to do is give Goodell a reason to pull a Goodell.

 

On the other hand, I doubt Goodell would bother to punish the Cowboys.

Actually looks like Randy Gregory will start tonight. Gee, blew off a drug test, skipped out of rehab, had 10 games tacked onto his four game suspension, rumors of a second missed test, able to workout with team entire time. It pays to work for Jerry Jones.

 

Meanwhile Aldon Smith is missing out on $78,000 a week, and the Raiders are reeling. you you Goodell.

 

Oh yeah, just saw on local news here in Dallas the ENTIRE Cowboy defensive line is inactive tonight.

[cmh6476 750]

Raiders wanted to play the steelers this week

[Ray_T 588]

No team every loses a game on purpose.

 

The coach always plays to win.

 

BUT

 

The GM may choose to ask the coach to sit certain players so they can see what other players can do against real competition.

 

They may also find excuses to sit certain players for other reasons.

 

You never as a team want to tell your players to lose the game because that reinforces bad character. But you may give lesser players a chance to prove themselves in the name of player development. But you always tell them you wanna win.

[weepaws 2,456]

Oh I don't know about that. I think organizations might like to keep on losing , just ask Browns fans.

 

The Browns keep refusing to upgrade their Qb postion.

 

And instead draft WRs.

 

I think they like the publicity of losing.

 

Now I want to see the Browns prove me wrong when the next NFL draft rolls around.

 

More WRs? Or do they dummy up and go for a Qb?

[Oriole8159 86]

Oh I don't know about that. I think organizations might like to keep on losing , just ask Browns fans.

 

The Browns keep refusing to upgrade their Qb postion.

 

And instead draft WRs.

 

I think they like the publicity of losing.

 

Now I want to see the Browns prove me wrong when the next NFL draft rolls around.

 

More WRs? Or do they dummy up and go for a Qb?

 

yeah but why would a coach do it though?

I get why Mike Pettine went to Cle, because he was years away from really deserving a head coach job so when one falls in his lap, even a bad one, I get why he would take it to work for such a bad organization.

 

But Hue Jackson was thought of pretty highly in the league, so why would he go to Cle and just go along with losing? He could have held out for better, right?

[weepaws 2,456]

No doubt.

 

So why didnt he wait to take a head coaching job on another team?

 

He was with the team during their last draft , so why didn't he address his Qb situation then.

 

No they took WRs right?

 

I'm just saying , you saw the same thing from this team this past season as I did , they where once again awful right?

 

Also I was tossing in a little sarcasm.

[oldtimer 84]

When the Browns had the lead on the Steelers this past weekend, I told my wife not to worry as there was no way they would win. We had the Steelers in our football pool. Why would the Browns win that game? They would lose the #1 pick in the draft for a meaningless game. Completely meaningless. I'm not saying they threw the game, but they were playing against the Steelers backups for the most part and completely held them in check early on.

 

Granted, I do not think they made anything obvious, but seriously, what did they have to play for? I have looked online and see no escalators that any player on the team could have hit in that game or anything that would have made a difference contractually. They doubled the yards the Steelers had.... Considering how many scouts they've had watching Myles all season, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they took their foot of the pedal to make sure they ended the season with the #1 pick. As an owner, and with Myles being compared to Kearse and Peppers, I would have done the same thing. When the Cowboys went 1-15, then drafted Aikman, people were screaming they threw games to make sure they got the #1 pick. As a Cowboys fan, I was ok with it, but towards the end of the season they were playing backsups "to see what they had for the next year". Ok... Call it what you want, but I think many teams do this if the race for the top pick is close. Look at what the Rams and Eagles gave up last year to move up to those slots. That alone is worth losing.

[Oriole8159 86]

When the Browns had the lead on the Steelers this past weekend, I told my wife not to worry as there was no way they would win. We had the Steelers in our football pool. Why would the Browns win that game? They would lose the #1 pick in the draft for a meaningless game. Completely meaningless. I'm not saying they threw the game, but they were playing against the Steelers backups for the most part and completely held them in check early on.

 

Granted, I do not think they made anything obvious, but seriously, what did they have to play for? I have looked online and see no escalators that any player on the team could have hit in that game or anything that would have made a difference contractually. They doubled the yards the Steelers had.... Considering how many scouts they've had watching Myles all season, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they took their foot of the pedal to make sure they ended the season with the #1 pick. As an owner, and with Myles being compared to Kearse and Peppers, I would have done the same thing. When the Cowboys went 1-15, then drafted Aikman, people were screaming they threw games to make sure they got the #1 pick. As a Cowboys fan, I was ok with it, but towards the end of the season they were playing backsups "to see what they had for the next year". Ok... Call it what you want, but I think many teams do this if the race for the top pick is close. Look at what the Rams and Eagles gave up last year to move up to those slots. That alone is worth losing.

 

Oh I definitely agree that that happens (and I agree it probably happened in this case as well), but sometimes there's only so much you can do.

 

I'm a Vikes fan, and I remember years back when we won a meaningless Dec game that knocked us out of the #2 spot in the Luck/RG3 draft, and fans were going berserk. What nobody cared to think of was that that game was Joe Webbs' QB audition game, so you really think he's going to tank his one shot at proving himself as an NFL QB so that we can secure a draft spot to take his replacement?

You can't account for that, and you certainly can't "pressure" him to lose.

 

Really sucked after that first year when RG3 went crazy, but no big loss now. Still could've gotten the trade though that the Rams got.

[weepaws 2,456]

Does it sound like to you that the Vikings coach has so called lost his team ?

[Oriole8159 86]

Does it sound like to you that the Vikings coach has so called lost his team ?

 

I don't think so. I think the entire team was just so deflated with the way the year played out, and with Zim still being a relatively new coach not used to losing, it just went south quickly.

 

But Zim was so popular going into this season, with both the players and the fans. After 2 years people were saying he was the best coach we've had since Bud Grant, so I still think that love for him is still there. I'm confident he can wrangle the team back in this offseason, but next year will be a big turning point for both him and our GM to make a serious move.

 

Fingers crossed.

[weepaws 2,456]

Hey I read a story about Bud Grant.

 

That once a year he sales off a lot of his old football stuff.

 

Have you even been to his place, to take place in doing that?

 

From what I read it sounds like a great time , and you get to meet coach Grant.

[Oriole8159 86]

Hey I read a story about Bud Grant.

 

That once a year he sales off a lot of his old football stuff.

 

Have you even been to his place, to take place in doing that?

 

From what I read it sounds like a great time , and you get to meet coach Grant.

Never met Bud, but yes he does do that sale periodically. It's actually kind of funny because last time he did it some people complained about him keeping the money; they thinking he should just automatically be donating it to charity. I think people forget though that people from his era didn't make the kind of money that people are making today, so even though he's been in the league for 50 years he's by no means loaded.

 

I met Jim Marshall once when I was a kid, that was pretty cool. Other than that just normal MN sports mainstays like Kirby or KG as memorable. KG's a client of my previous firm, and prob 10 years or so ago I got to use his Target Center box seats for the Guns n Roses concert, which was pretty awesome. That was just Axl with the backup band, but he can still kill it on stage. Can't wait for their July show here with the whole band back together.

[weepaws 2,456]

Are you old enough to have seen the Vikings famed front four playing ?

Allen Page was amazing.

[Oriole8159 86]

Are you old enough to have seen the Vikings famed front four playing ?

Allen Page was amazing.

Nope; only in my mid 30s but grew up with Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, and Al Noga, which was still a pretty fearsome d-line even though not the same. With Joey Browner laying people out in the secondary though; Browner was my fav growing up. He's still pretty put together too now even in his 50s; definitely not a guy you'd like to pick a fight with.

 

It was very cool though to see Alan Page rise to become a Supreme Court justice though in my adult lifetime. Just "retired" (forced retire after a certain age in MN) this past year, but I voted for him every time he was up again.

[Maulers1973 117]

No doubt.

 

So why didnt he wait to take a head coaching job on another team?

 

He was with the team during their last draft , so why didn't he address his Qb situation then.

 

No they took WRs right?

 

I'm just saying , you saw the same thing from this team this past season as I did , they where once again awful right?

 

Also I was tossing in a little sarcasm.

 

Please stop saying the Browns refuse to address the QB position. They do it nearly every year, and I for one (as a Browns fan) am sick of it!

 

It's part of the reason the organization felt pressure to "address the position" and listen to ALL those pundits who said that they HAD to draft Manziel. THERE YOU GO! They addressed it, ok!! It failed miserably, but they didn't "fail to address it".

 

 

As far as losing on purpose the Browns did that for the for time ever this year. They deliberately tanked this season. No other justification to cut Karlos Dansby and S Donte Whitner just prior to the season. They did NOT have proven young talent at those positions waiting in the wings. They had a terrible journeyman LB and b-level talent in the secondary. They knew the defense would be TERRIBLE and thus that they would struggle to win any games at all. It was ALL part of the plan by ownership and management. If you think it wasn't, then you weren't paying attention or are incredibly naive.

[weepaws 2,456]

Are you really trying to sale me on the fact that drafting Johnny football was going to fix their Qb issues.

 

Your are you trying to sale that to yourself?

 

Because I'm not buying.

 

As an NFL fan it's so sad to see you say they tanked the season.

 

Shame on the Browns organization if that indeed is what happen.

 

They haven't been trying to fix their Qb problem since they return to the NFL.

[weepaws 2,456]

Yeah I agree seeing Page taking a seat on the Supreme Court was awsome .

[Ray_T 588]

Are you really trying to sale me on the fact that drafting Johnny football was going to fix their Qb issues.

 

Your are you trying to sale that to yourself?

 

Because I'm not buying.

 

As an NFL fan it's so sad to see you say they tanked the season.

 

Shame on the Browns organization if that indeed is what happen.

 

They haven't been trying to fix their Qb problem since they return to the NFL.

Let's be realistic. I really dont think the Browns envisioned what they got when they drafted Johnny Football.

 

I think they really wanted him to succeed. While he had the reputation of being a party boy, so did Farve. They just made the classic mistake of not digging deep enough into the guys character.

 

As for this last year, at the time I felt they made the right call. The scouting reports on the top QB's said none are ready to start, and neither will likely be a superstar. Then they were offered a kings ransom for the #2 pick and I truly think they would have been stupid to turn down that deal. As it turns out one QB (Wentz) was ready to start and a second tier prospect (Dak) was as well. That being said, I dont blame the Browns for not drafting Dak. Lots of other teams didnt draft him either and all teams had a shot.

 

so they signed RGIII and gave him a shot and addressed other areas of need with all the draft picks they got. (and there were a LOT of areas of need)

 

also, I am a big believer that a rookie QB shouldnt go onto a barren roster devoid of talent. I think the Cleveland Offense has the talent now.

 

To me, I guess the question is whether they give RGIII another shot. I know this year is not supposed to be a good year for QB's in the draft, so maybe they wait one more time.

 

I guess we shall see....

[weepaws 2,456]

No they made the classic mistake of trying to put fans into seats , and that's the mistake they made by drafting Johnny Football.

 

We all knew about his reputation and so did they.

 

They should have taken a shot on either Wentz or Dak.

 

What did they have to lose , where they going to only win one game this past season.

 

Ops that happen anyway.

 

This is a piss poor run organization, and that's why they will once again run out there RG mistake once again at Qb.

[Maulers1973 117]

Are you really trying to sale me on the fact that drafting Johnny football was going to fix their Qb issues.

 

Your are you trying to sale that to yourself?

 

Because I'm not buying.

 

As an NFL fan it's so sad to see you say they tanked the season.

 

Shame on the Browns organization if that indeed is what happen.

 

They haven't been trying to fix their Qb problem since they return to the NFL.

 

Your level of comprehension is so far lacking. I'm not sure I can engage you with this further.

[Oriole8159 86]

No they made the classic mistake of trying to put fans into seats , and that's the mistake they made by drafting Johnny Football.

 

We all knew about his reputation and so did they.

 

They should have taken a shot on either Wentz or Dak.

 

What did they have to lose , where they going to only win one game this past season.

 

Ops that happen anyway.

 

This is a piss poor run organization, and that's why they will once again run out there RG mistake once again at Qb.

 

That makes sense with Johnny; they definitely bought into the hype and marketing aspect. There were analysts though that really liked Manziel as a standalone prospect though for what it's worth. Cle had zero accountability though in their organization though at that time, so impossible to reel in a personality like that. You have to have the infrastructure in place to take a chance on troubled players like that, and they just didn't.

 

In regards to Dak though, I don't think he'd be the same playing on a weaker team like Cle. Not that he's a product of Dallas' system, but he has the benefit of playing behind a much better o-line, with potentially the best RB in the league, so he doesn't have the pressure of the entire organization on his shoulders like he would in Cle.

With that in mind though, they still could have taken Dak but instead did the questionable move of taking Kessler over him, which makes me question their overall talent evaluation anyways. Dak wouldn't be an MVP candidate in Cle, but you'd have to think he'd show better than Kessler did.

[Ray_T 588]

No they made the classic mistake of trying to put fans into seats , and that's the mistake they made by drafting Johnny Football.

 

We all knew about his reputation and so did they.

 

They should have taken a shot on either Wentz or Dak.

 

What did they have to lose , where they going to only win one game this past season.

 

Ops that happen anyway.

 

This is a piss poor run organization, and that's why they will once again run out there RG mistake once again at Qb.

I would argue every team should have taken a shot with Dak.

 

You think if the scouting reports suggested he'd be the player we saw this year that he wouldnt have been a first round pick?

 

The scouting reports suggested he would likely be a backup, but could be an eventual starter, but that he had some holes in his game. Specifically regarding poor decisions under pressure.

 

that being said, he landed on a team with the best O line in the NFL, so that wasnt so much of an issue for him. I would argue that he may not have developed into the player he did behind a lesser O line. NOt to mention he had a strong set of receivers, and the best rookie RB to come to the NFL in years. It was a combination of things that led to Dak's success.

 

I honestly dont blame any team in the NFL for not drafting him in the first 3 rounds. The scouts didnt see a star, they saw a backup who has the chance to eventually be a starter.

 

Blaming a team for not drafting him is like blaming a team for not drafting Brady (who went late as well). I dont think it's a fair comment.

[weepaws 2,456]

Agree that Dak ended up on a team that was beneficial to him.

 

And I agree that with the Browns there would be no way he would have had the same success this season.

 

But I disagree with the Browns not taking one of them at Qb.

 

This is a team who took Johhny football and all his bs that came with him, and there is no way they didn't know all the extra luggage that came along with him. Shows they where less concern about winning and more concern about fans coming out to see if Johnny would be successful or fail.

 

The Browns have needed a Qb for so long now , and that's why I think they still needed to take a shot at one last season.

 

They are just happy being a 1-15 team and it shows.

 

I can't wait to see the great draft pick they make at the next draft.

 

I think what's not fair is this organization known as the Browns to continue to be happy with not trying to develop a young Qb.

 

And being happy with losing seasons.

 

Their coach as no chance at staying there for long.

 

Remember that even coach B Belichick couldn't win there.

 

Now those are some unfair comments.

 

Amen.

[giraldi02 470]

Remember that even coach B Belichick couldn't win there.

 

 

Uhhh...this is selective memory. As someone who vividly remembers this time period, the facts simply don't support this.

 

In 1994 the Browns went 11-5 under Belichick. They won a playoff game with him. They were improving statistically and in the standings every year under BB.

 

In 1995 that team was projected, by some, to make it to the Super Bowl. And then came ownership greed to take the team to Baltimore. The Browns went 1-7 after that announcement. They won ONE game afterwards.

[weepaws 2,456]

And in 1994 when he he coached the Browns to the playoffs.

 

They beat the Patriots.

 

Then he was told he would coach the new Baltimore Ravens team and was fired instead.

[Oriole8159 86]

Agree that Dak ended up on a team that was beneficial to him.

 

And I agree that with the Browns there would be no way he would have had the same success this season.

 

But I disagree with the Browns not taking one of them at Qb.

 

This is a team who took Johhny football and all his bs that came with him, and there is no way they didn't know all the extra luggage that came along with him. Shows they where less concern about winning and more concern about fans coming out to see if Johnny would be successful or fail.

 

The Browns have needed a Qb for so long now , and that's why I think they still needed to take a shot at one last season.

 

They are just happy being a 1-15 team and it shows.

 

I can't wait to see the great draft pick they make at the next draft.

 

I think what's not fair is this organization known as the Browns to continue to be happy with not trying to develop a young Qb.

 

And being happy with losing seasons.

 

Their coach as no chance at staying there for long.

 

Remember that even coach B Belichick couldn't win there.

 

Now those are some unfair comments.

 

Amen.

 

Don't forget that Cle did take a QB last year; they took Cody Kessler in the 3rd before Oak too Connor Cook, and before Dal took Dak Prescott.

So they were in the market for the position, and I don't even want to say they "guessed" wrong, because they selectively took a lesser rated guy over what many thought were more obvious selections.

[aljack88 5]

And in 1994 when he he coached the Browns to the playoffs.

 

They beat the Patriots.

They beat Bill Parcells' Patriots. I do believe that was the first meeting between Parcells and Belichick.

[weepaws 2,456]

Browns have been on the clock for a Qb ever since they came back.

 

And they keep going after the Johnny footballs and Kesslers of the football world.

 

Oh yeah and RG the third.

 

Not really in the mood to develop a young Qb , just some one to play the postion.

 

Once again proving just how happy they are with losing.