c_hawkbob wrote:Well no, it doesn't work the same in the NFL; there is no lottery, so instead of having a half dozen or more teams tank to get into the lottery you've only got one or two in the NFL trying (and usually limited to the last game or two of the season) to get the #1 pick.
I like the NFL draft's current structure and I like the parity that has resulted. It's a lot more interesting league than when you had one or two teams dominating every year.
Good post, and I agree 100%.
Plus I'll add to your comments this thought: As short as coaching lifespans in the NFL are, not many coaches are going to sacrifice a decent looking W/L record for a higher draft slotting as doing so could be detrimental to their career. Our Mora year in 2009 is a great example. We lost the last 4 games of the season, 3 of them coming at the hands of teams that did not make the playoffs to finish 5-11. Due to this lackluster effort, or "tanking", management got the distinct impression that Mora had lost the team, that they wouldn't play for him anymore, so he was done after just one season, unusual even for the NFL. Had he won just two of those last 4 games, say home games against 3-13 Tampa Bay and 8-8 Tennessee, he would have finished 7-9 and it might have been good enough to earn him another season.
Additionally, the players have a similar motivation. When Pete came in following the 2009 season, he took one look at that sordid film, much of it containing the tanking in December, and decided that there weren't many players he wanted on his team, so he blew it up and started over. Not many players off the 2009 roster survived the purge, or in that case, more accurately termed an enema.