Winning

[Dynastybuilder]

In fact, the NFL's Competition Committee is currently investigating the tank. And, something could certainly come out of it. In the past, there has been a rather fine line between "tanking," and "rebuilding." But, the Dolphins are being pretty egregious about it. I'm not sure that any team, in the seeming process of tanking, has publicly put their entire roster on the trading block.

And while it may not seem such a serious issue to the average, depressed Dolphins fan, the NFL most certainly has a stake in this.

For starters, the NFL has, by act of congress, antitrust exemption. This obscure designation has come in pretty handy on occasion when things like deflategate, and spygate have avoided such things as interstate RICO indictments. But, beyond the more egregious cases, it is important to realize that there are many businesses that rely on the competitive nature of the NFL, and the Miami Dolphins, to turn a buck. If a team is seen to be intentionally making moves to make themselves as uncompetitive as possible, the U.S. House of Representatives will, once again, revisit the issue. Historically, such things have not gained much traction. But, in today's political climate... who knows what could happen?

More obviously, the NFL has worked tirelessly to maintain some amount of parity in the league. That is, after all, the entire point of the cap system, and the method by which they dole out draft picks, and the rules for free agency.

To be sure, the NFL is not happy with the way the Dolphins are handling the tank.

So what happens if they win today? Does the witch hunt switch to Washington and Cincinnati?

I mean the Titans signed Wake, and trade for Tanny and they're 2-3. The Broncos signed James and they're 1-4.

The Texans meanwhile are 3-2 after giving up quite the draft haul for Tunsil and Stills, and the Steelers are 1-4 after trading for Fitzpatrick.

Hell, we lost Suh, Pouncey and Landry 2 years ago and they were all pro-bowl players. We didn't lose much more talent this offseason, if any. I mean we're going to investigate them for not re-siging Wake?

It's a crock of ****, and should be put to bed shortly..... unless we lose by 3 or more scores again.

 

[andyahs]

In fact, the NFL's Competition Committee is currently investigating the tank. And, something could certainly come out of it. In the past, there has been a rather fine line between "tanking," and "rebuilding." But, the Dolphins are being pretty egregious about it. I'm not sure that any team, in the seeming process of tanking, has publicly put their entire roster on the trading block.

And while it may not seem such a serious issue to the average, depressed Dolphins fan, the NFL most certainly has a stake in this.

For starters, the NFL has, by act of congress, antitrust exemption. This obscure designation has come in pretty handy on occasion when things like deflategate, and spygate have avoided such things as interstate RICO indictments. But, beyond the more egregious cases, it is important to realize that there are many businesses that rely on the competitive nature of the NFL, and the Miami Dolphins, to turn a buck. If a team is seen to be intentionally making moves to make themselves as uncompetitive as possible, the U.S. House of Representatives will, once again, revisit the issue. Historically, such things have not gained much traction. But, in today's political climate... who knows what could happen?

More obviously, the NFL has worked tirelessly to maintain some amount of parity in the league. That is, after all, the entire point of the cap system, and the method by which they dole out draft picks, and the rules for free agency.

To be sure, the NFL is not happy with the way the Dolphins are handling the tank.

You have evidence of this investigation?

 

[Avigatorx]

The Dolphins might not even be the worst team in the league.

Why not investigate the Jets for starting Luke Falk? Or the Redskins for playing Haskins and firing their coach?

The NFL or Federal Govt isnt going to do jack **** when 25% of the league has less than 2 wins. Parity my ass. This league is full of haves and have nots.

 

[royalshank]

The Dolphins might not even be the worst team in the league.

Why not investigate the Jets for starting Luke Falk? Or the Redskins for playing Haskins and firing their coach?

The NFL or Federal Govt isnt going to do jack **** when 25% of the league has less than 2 wins. Parity my ***. This league is full of haves and have nots.

The Jets hired Adam Gase knowing he was a fraud. They should be punished!

 

[fansinceGWilson]

The Dolphins might not even be the worst team in the league.

Why not investigate the Jets for starting Luke Falk? Or the Redskins for playing Haskins and firing their coach?

The NFL or Federal Govt isnt going to do jack **** when 25% of the league has less than 2 wins. Parity my ***. This league is full of haves and have nots.

JMHO, but parity is quite vague. Parity over what period of time? Miami could be called the poster child of parity - decades around 8-8. But NE, PIT, and a few others have shown it can take a long time for 'parity' to work it's magic. And for all the 'stuck in mediocrity' talk, there are a few teams who's fans would love a few 8-8 seasons. Also missing is the number of teams who did a rebuild (I'll avoid 'tank') and ended up as bad as they were.

The problem is luck (no, not Andrew). 'Bad' teams churn through HCs for years and the fans rail against the FO that 'should have known better. Fans rail against the FO for picking the 'wrong' player in R1, forgetting most experts and other teams had the guy ranked just as high. Every year has 'can't miss' players who 'miss' badly. Luck. No, not ALL luck. Some teams do a better job than others. Some players enter a bad system. A good coach can get more than the talent of the team deserves. But luck (good or bad) can extend a team's fortunes for longer than 'parity' can explain

 

[Shoes]

“The tank” is so high profile because yelling and yapping heads on ESPN and Fox Sports need to fill their time with something. “Bloggers” also need click bait.

Only in the United States will the main TV and radio talk shows go on and on about a game between two teams that hadn’t previously won.

 

[Avigatorx]

JMHO, but parity is quite vague. Parity over what period of time? Miami could be called the poster child of parity - decades around 8-8. But NE, PIT, and a few others have shown it can take a long time for 'parity' to work it's magic. And for all the 'stuck in mediocrity' talk, there are a few teams who's fans would love a few 8-8 seasons. Also missing is the number of teams who did a rebuild (I'll avoid 'tank') and ended up as bad as they were.

The problem is luck (no, not Andrew). 'Bad' teams churn through HCs for years and the fans rail against the FO that 'should have known better. Fans rail against the FO for picking the 'wrong' player in R1, forgetting most experts and other teams had the guy ranked just as high. Every year has 'can't miss' players who 'miss' badly. Luck. No, not ALL luck. Some teams do a better job than others. Some players enter a bad system. A good coach can get more than the talent of the team deserves. But luck (good or bad) can extend a team's fortunes for longer than 'parity' can explain

Excellent points.

Rather than 8-8 being seen as parity, id call it mediocrity.

IMO, parity implies the old adage "Any given Sunday." Meaning, any team has a chance to win each game, or....if we stretch it out over a season, from season to season, any given team has a shot at a SB title.

That just hasnt been the case (with few exceptions) You have the same teams year in and year out, competing in the playoffs, and mostly the same teams, year in and year out that hover between mediocrity and futility.

The media recognizes this, that is why teams never get any "respect" in the eyes of national media. The media wont say it, but it knows that there is no such thing as parity in today's NFL, and frankly, I dont think they want it.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

Excellent points.

Rather than 8-8 being seen as parity, id call it mediocrity.

IMO, parity implies the old adage "Any given Sunday." Meaning, any team has a chance to win each game, or....if we stretch it out over a season, from season to season, any given team has a shot at a SB title.

That just hasnt been the case (with few exceptions) You have the same teams year in and year out, competing in the playoffs, and mostly the same teams, year in and year out that hover between mediocrity and futility.

The media recognizes this, that is why teams never get any "respect" in the eyes of national media. The media wont say it, but it knows that there is no such thing as parity in today's NFL, and frankly, I dont think they want it.

Which was one of my points. 'Parity' over what period of time? Given a top HC who stumbles on to a top QB and a good D, how long until 'parity' brings the team back to 8-8? Personally, I don't think the NFL equates parity with W/L. Rather, parity means 'we'll give every team equal shot at resources and opportunities, with poorer teams getting first shot.' If some teams fail, that doesn't mean there is no parity.

 

[Good_Dylan]

JMHO, but parity is quite vague. Parity over what period of time? Miami could be called the poster child of parity - decades around 8-8. But NE, PIT, and a few others have shown it can take a long time for 'parity' to work it's magic. And for all the 'stuck in mediocrity' talk, there are a few teams who's fans would love a few 8-8 seasons. Also missing is the number of teams who did a rebuild (I'll avoid 'tank') and ended up as bad as they were.

The problem is luck (no, not Andrew). 'Bad' teams churn through HCs for years and the fans rail against the FO that 'should have known better. Fans rail against the FO for picking the 'wrong' player in R1, forgetting most experts and other teams had the guy ranked just as high. Every year has 'can't miss' players who 'miss' badly. Luck. No, not ALL luck. Some teams do a better job than others. Some players enter a bad system. A good coach can get more than the talent of the team deserves. But luck (good or bad) can extend a team's fortunes for longer than 'parity' can explain

I would disagree that fans of some teams would love to be 8-8...8-8 is just bad enough to miss playoffs (the goal?) and just good enough to keep you frustrated & there for years on end (*See the Miami Dolphins)

 

[Dolphin North]

I think they just wanted to get rid all of the biggest contracts of everyone that will not be a part of the team in 2 years and the team was not very talented anyway. Then the Tunsil deal was too good to pass up. Either way, it doesn't really matter. We suck. If the league wants more parity they should leave crappy teams operating within the rules alone and put some rules in place about the cheatriots' cheating and actually monitor the situation, instead of taking a draft pick every 3 or 4 Superbowls and pretending to expect that would deter them from continuing.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I would disagree that fans of some teams would love to be 8-8...8-8 is just bad enough to miss playoffs (the goal?) and just good enough to keep you frustrated & there for years on end (*See the Miami Dolphins)

We disagree. I've had fans over the years who supported perennial 4-12 teams who longed for 8-8. No, not a lifetime of 8-8, but a team improved enough to get to 8-8.

 

[Avigatorx]

Which was one of my points. 'Parity' over what period of time? Given a top HC who stumbles on to a top QB and a good D, how long until 'parity' brings the team back to 8-8? Personally, I don't think the NFL equates parity with W/L. Rather, parity means 'we'll give every team equal shot at resources and opportunities, with poorer teams getting first shot.' If some teams fail, that doesn't mean there is no parity.

I think the rules in place help to promote parity via the draft rules, waiver priority, or salary cap rules, but I dont think they are effective enough in actually creating parity.

Like you said, some of it is self induced by teams with inept ownership, front office, or coaching.

As for what else can be done to improve the situation, I havent put a lot of thought into it, but might come up with some ideas eventually.

 

[EasyRider]

But according to Herm Edwards....."Hello...you play to win the game". I just can't believe the Dolphins are tanking.

And you needed to start another thread on this??? Whew! I hope this is worst we’ll be seeing on your contributions to this board.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I think the rules in place help to promote parity via the draft rules, waiver priority, or salary cap rules, but I dont think they are effective enough in actually creating parity.

Like you said, some of it is self induced by teams with inept ownership, front office, or coaching.

As for what else can be done to improve the situation, I havent put a lot of thought into it, but might come up with some ideas eventually.

I can go with that. Parity takes many forms. To many, parity means all teams hovering around 8-8 over a given period of years. Instead, I think parity means 'parity in the method' or 'parity in opportunity.' Consider this . . . I give 100 people $1000 (not really) and tell them on November 1 at opening bell they can buy any stock they want. That doesn't mean all will end up with the same amount of money (parity). It means they had equal shot (parity) at doing research and analytics. That, IMO, is NFL parity.

 

[Good_Dylan]

We disagree. I've had fans over the years who supported perennial 4-12 teams who longed for 8-8. No, not a lifetime of 8-8, but a team improved enough to get to 8-8.

We do disagree and that ok...its what discussion is for but why would any fan strive or long for 8-8? It makes no sense. Sure its 4 more wins than 4-12 but where does that get them big picture? As a Fins fan I can answer my own question....It gets them disappointed and disinterested after about 2 seasons of it.
As to NFL parity...There is none. There is NE and all the rest and out of the rest about 3 are really serious contenders to NE. Look at NE this season...They have more talent on defense and are deeper across the board than 3 other bottom feeder combined. What the NFL should do if they are serious about parity is break up the talent and spread it out throughout the league. Expansion has left the league void of talent in many areas and NE has managed to hoard more of it over 2 decades. Their winning is way more about that than Belicheat being a evil genius.