We know that tanking is not fun for players, but for sports fans it is fun. Talking heads can fill radio hours with this idea. Fans can use the content of those hours. Reasonable people can move to the opposite side of the debate and that’s okay.
Unless teams are given higher draft slots to lose more games – or more odds to “earn” a higher draft pick – there will be an incentive in the tank. And what we understand about tanking is that the management gives the coach a player’s pellet cupboard and says good luck. Everyone with a jersey or headset is supposed to give it all away.
That’s why Doug Pederson’s Sunday night tank got so tight. He broke the rules we all agreed on. And that’s why it doesn’t seem right.
No, the Padres don’t need to interfere with the league over what they did on Sunday night. No one here needs to talk to the manager. And no, I don’t care if it makes the Giants worse in the postseason trip. They did not start 1-7 depending on the division-enemy to defeat the enemy of the second division.
The Peders actively made his team worse in the second half of the competitive game. Still, he left hints throughout the week of his plans, such as telling Christ Collinsworth and Al Michaels during their production meeting that he wanted to see what Nate Sudfeld had, he still didn’t need to go down that way.
The first clear indication was not taking points at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles had 17th down, 4th and fourth. Outside of halftime, Washington Washington’s offense was stable, with two three-and-outs and a first-play interception recorded on his third second drive. After five attempts from inside the 10-yard-line failed to enter the end zone, the play here was to kick the chip-shot field goal and tie a game with 17 minutes left to play. Also Analytics Say it
I shudder to think what Pederson would have done if Jalen Hurtz had actually completed that fourth-down touchdown pass. Nonetheless, it was the next Sudfeld show, and it featured a game worthy of the Arena Football League.
“Yes, I was coaching to win, yes that was my decision.” Said the Padres after the game. “Nat has obviously been here for four years and I thought he deserved a chance to get some pictures. Listen, if there’s anything that thinks I’m not trying to win the game, you know, (tight end Zach). Ertz is out there, (defensive end) Brandon Graham is out there, (Cornback c) Darius Slay is out there, all our top guys are still on the field late, so we’ll win the game.
“Pretty cool, this week the plan was to take some time off the net and I felt it was time to get into the game.”
Sudfeld committed two turnovers in his first five plays on the field. He finished the game 5-for-12 for 32 yards when he was put on two other drop-backs. Sudfeld has been with the Eagles and Pederson since 2017. He is a 27-year-old quarterback. What he brings to the team, he should know at this time.
And because he should know, I believe Pederson knew. And what he realized was that Sudfeld gave the Eagles the best chance of losing. Coaches don’t believe in being a tanking insofer as a game decision, so pulling a more capable quarterback in the fourth quarter of a one-score ballgame is as innocent as it gets.
No, the key is not to relax the beginners before the game. The chiefs were not deliberately trying to lose the game against the Chargers by resting Patrick Mahoms, Sammy Watkins and Tyrick Hill. Were they trying their best to win the game? Of course not, but as we football fans understand, the amount of meaningless play for the purposes of repeating as a Super Bowl champion amounts to a risk of injury and it is decided that some players have taken 0% risk and others can go there and play .
Did the Steelers try to throw their game against Brown? After all, it was a divisional game where Pittsburgh could have won their comeback win against Indianapolis in the 16th week, potentially finishing second in the AFC playoffs and beating the hated browns in the playoff contest.
Again, Mike Tomley did not field his most competitive team. However, he decided on his team’s makeup based on competitive reasons. Instead he wants to win next week (coincidentally against the Browns) with a healthy-ish roster rather than win with a bang-up roster through Week-17 Wild-Card Weekend.
The fact is, the decisions of Reed and Tomlin and every other coach of their right mind in late-season games for decades are rooted in competition. Live to fight the next day. Don’t shoot all your bullets. Choose your skills.
The closest thing that comes to mind about tanking in the game is the 2nd week of the week of 2014 between the Bookers and the 6-9 Saints. The Bucks took a 20-7 halftime lead and then Lowy Smith pulled receiver Mike Evans, linebacker Levante David and another in the second half. Books maintained that lead in the fourth quarter before the Saints made a comeback.
And on the third -5-5 near midfield, with 20-14 left to play in the game, by 20-14, quarterback Josh McCoy attempted the first pass of the second half which was blocked. (Look! They were still trying to win at this point.) To give those Saints a touchdown to move on to gold-down and ultimately win the game. At 2-14, the Bucks grabbed a tiebreaker for the No. 1 overall pick on the Titans and wound up picking up James Winston.
I want to avoid phrases like Protecting the integrity of the game. I’m not that person. But Pederson was engaged in the coaching behavior that made his team worse in the moments where we learn from an early age, it’s time.
I don’t believe Pederson went into the game trying to lose. I believe his attitude has become more than just about losing in the second half. He gained a certain comfort with losing during the game which should be hated by anyone who values competition. And he did so without reading his players, like the coach, by announcing the breakers at the start of the week.
Pederson’s method of tanking is unique. He clearly went into the game with the assurance that he would be back next season. Since he is a smart man, he recognizes that there is a difference between the No. 9 overall pick and the No. 6 pick in the 2021 draft. And if he and Hoi Roseman want to move on, it’s better to deal with the sixth pick than the ninth.
Perhaps the Eagles will secure the player changing the franchise where they will take in April. This will probably be the biggest move for this organization after Philly Philly. But it came at the expense of Pederson.
His players know what he did. We all know what he did. And you can use any Pritzel logic you want to explain it, but purposefully, the tank job in the game was done on Sunday night. And I hope no other coach had an idea anywhere.
