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Talk of tanking always comes up this time of year around bad football teams. I mean, come on, it just makes sense for a team that obviously isn't going to the playoffs to throw their games so they can get a better draft pick, right...right? Actually, it makes no sense at all.
It's a nice plan, in theory, but there are too many problems when you step back and think about it. For a team to tank on purpose, the players have to play bad on purpose. Why would a player ever do that? There is no loyalty from teams to players. Every time a player goes out there and plays he is not only playing for the team he is playing on, but he is putting film out there on himself for when the team he is currently playing with cuts him loose. That is just the reality of the business and players know that. They aren't going to put their long term livelihood in jeopardy just so the team they are currently playing on can get a better pick in the upcoming draft.
The same principal can be applied to coaches. Most coaches cannot afford to tank a season for a draft pick. They might get some leeway for a year or two, but what if the guy they are tanking for doesn't pan out? Then they are going to be out looking for a job.
I say all of that to say that the idea that an organization would actually tank for a draft pick is pretty dumb, or as Delanie Walker put it to Jim Wyatt, "ludicrous:"
"I'm like, 'Oh, OK, sure,' " said tight end Delanie Walker, shaking his head. "It is ludicrous to me. Fans don't understand the situation we go through as players. No one wants to lose games for better picks. It just doesn't happen. It would never happen. Just the thought is ludicrous."
We all want the Titans to have the #1 pick in the draft at this point, but they players and the coaches aren't, can't and won't be thinking about that.
