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The NFL draft is bizarre

Stuffshot

Hall of Famer
Feb 20, 2008
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According to ESPN and SI, the same team had the first pick in (1) the first round, (2) the second round, (3) the third round, (4) the fourth round, and (5) the fifth round.

Huh? Did Jacksonville really do that? Urban Meyer must really know how to game the draft.
 
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According to ESPN and SI, the same team had the first pick in (1) the first round, (2) the second round, (3) the third round, (4) the fourth round, and (5) the fifth round.

Huh? Did Jacksonville really do that? Urban Meyer must really know how to game the draft.
As long as they didn't trade draft picks, that's what you should expect.
 
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Fire away, you guys. This time I deserve it.


Two things I really dislike about pro football--

--The worst teams pick first. In college, if you suck, you get the worst recruits. In the pros, it's 'Suck for Luck'. I know it makes for better. closer games and thus, more $, but in how many aspects of life does it work this way?

--For players, actual college production matters, but not much. 90% of it is measurables. It's unfortunate, and one reason among many that I prefer college football.
 
Two things I really dislike about pro football--

--The worst teams pick first. In college, if you suck, you get the worst recruits. In the pros, it's 'Suck for Luck'. I know it makes for better. closer games and thus, more $, but in how many aspects of life does it work this way?

--For players, actual college production matters, but not much. 90% of it is measurables. It's unfortunate, and one reason among many that I prefer college football.

Well its not about just making for better games but a better overall product. The same goes for the salary cap structure. Even teams like the Lions often go into most seasons hopeful. Baseball is a sport where you go into a season (lets say the Detroit Tigers) and we know they will be horrible not just this year but the following season as well. The NBA has a cap restriction but when teams are able to compile stars as they do today, it's obviously not doing much. Hence the reason a league like the NFL is hands down more popular than those leagues.

So although I dislike the idea of teams purposely not doing well in an effort to reach a higher draft pick, I think think the current draft structure at least gives the fans of that team hope for the future when their team is a complete dog today. There is no perfect system but I don't know how you make it any better than it is. Certainly making the entire draft just a toss up every year could make some franchises unbearable to watch.
 
Two things I really dislike about pro football--

--The worst teams pick first. In college, if you suck, you get the worst recruits. In the pros, it's 'Suck for Luck'. I know it makes for better. closer games and thus, more $, but in how many aspects of life does it work this way?

--For players, actual college production matters, but not much. 90% of it is measurables. It's unfortunate, and one reason among many that I prefer college football.
You know what this country needs....relegation. Like the major soccer leagues in Europe, where if you suck you get knocked down to the lower league. And if you're in the lower league and you finish in the top three, you move up. Talk about no more tanking.
 
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Well its not about just making for better games but a better overall product. The same goes for the salary cap structure. Even teams like the Lions often go into most seasons hopeful. Baseball is a sport where you go into a season (lets say the Detroit Tigers) and we know they will be horrible not just this year but the following season as well. The NBA has a cap restriction but when teams are able to compile stars as they do today, it's obviously not doing much. Hence the reason a league like the NFL is hands down more popular than those leagues.

So although I dislike the idea of teams purposely not doing well in an effort to reach a higher draft pick, I think think the current draft structure at least gives the fans of that team hope for the future when their team is a complete dog today. There is no perfect system but I don't know how you make it any better than it is. Certainly making the entire draft just a toss up every year could make some franchises unbearable to watch.

I know what you mean. I'm old enough to remember the old Washington Senators. They sucked for something like 30 years straight. They had 2 good players....Frank Howard & Dean Chance. The rest of the team was horrible year after year.

I'm glad there is at least limited free agency. There's at least some incentive there for teams not to tank a season, or just not to care.

So....there's no doubt it's the best business model. But I really hate it when ahole owners like Brown at Cincinnati become insanely wealthy despite all their worst efforts. And other franchises like the Patriots & Stealers that are so much smarter than the rest inevitably & eventually pay a price for their success by having to draft last year after year. I know most hate them, but they shouldn't get penalized for their success.
 
You know what this country needs....relegation. Like the major soccer leagues in Europe, where if you suck you get knocked down to the lower league. And if you're in the lower league and you finish in the top three, you move up. Talk about no more tanking.

Love it.

How about a stadium lease that penalizes an owner for putting out a crap team? So the rent goes up a certain $$ the next year for each game the team finishes under .500.
 
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