Losing the first pick in the Buffalo game Thoughts

[Grogan1980]

I'm on the fence regarding the idea of instituting an NBA-style draft lottery.

Positives include the fact the elimination of a guaranteed #1 pick by tanking; bad teams don't get penalized for still trying hard down the stretch, nor do they get penalized for beating a playoff team playing third stringers while the starters are cocooned in bubble wrap. It's weighted, so the worst teams still have the highest probability of the top pick(s). Another positive is that a team cannot drop more than four places, so the club that finished the season with the worst record, #1 in the current draft order, is going to drop no further than to #5. That hurts that team a little bit, but it's not awful.

On the other hand, while minute, any team that did not make the playoffs could conceivably get the #1 pick. Applied to the 2024 standings, 10-7 Seattle or 9-8 Cincinnati could wind up with the #1 draft pick. I'm not convinced that is a good thing.


As for games like the Chiefs-Broncos - while I agree that is an issue - I don't see any method where you can fix that. You can't tell a #1 or #2 seed that they have to keep their starters in the game, and then watch as a key player or two suffers a season-ending injury. The cure would be worse than the disease, as the saying goes.

Make the draft order based on the Standings as of Week 16

 

[Boomer B]

The Bills had no desire to win that game and were pretty much fine with the loss. Other then running it every down there wasn’t much we can do, and the coaches/players weren’t gonna tank it.

NFL should do a weighted lottery for the worst 5 teams.

 

[Grogan14]

Just stick to the usual run the ball on first and second down, and then have milton stand in the pocket instead of running around improvising.

Yes could have run the ball but have to let Milton play

 

[sb1]

The Bills had no desire to win that game and were pretty much fine with the loss. Other then running it every down there wasn’t much we can do, and the coaches/players weren’t gonna tank it.

NFL should do a weighted lottery for the worst 5 teams.

I like the idea of a lottery but that won't stop teams like the Chiefs and Bills from mailing it in.

 

[mnpatfan]

Gibson had a 140 all purpose yard incentive too. AVP should have fed him the ball on every other play.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Had the Patriots lost yesterday and retained the number 1 pick, there would have been an uproar over " tanking", likely an investigation and the team would have been penalized. Now at least, they can't claim the team tanked.

 

[signbabybrady]

Number 1 pick should go to the worst team that wins the last week of the season. So basically still us lol.

Edit: nevermind not still us we have 4 wins the worst teams have 3.

But I still stand by my idea. I saw somewhere that womens hockey has some sort of scoring system where after your eliminated you start accumulating points for each win and the most points get the better picks. The earlier you're eliminated the more chance to gain points so it's still waited toward the worst teams but then they are motivated to compete still. Seemed a little complicated and convoluted so I was trying to come up with something similar but only week 18.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

They already had a system in place of sorts…16 game season.

Feels like tanks are happening more and the product has absolutely gotten worse.

16 games was plenty.

 

[TheRainMaker]

It’s funny how this has suddenly become a problem when it doesn’t benefit the Pats. Bad teams can’t rely on the good team like the Bills to play their starters and finish off the Pats.

With that said, I’m not a fan of the worst team getting rewarded with the #1 pick in the draft. A lottery system is not a bad idea.

 

[archstanton543]

It’s funny how this has suddenly become a problem when it doesn’t benefit the Pats. Bad teams can’t rely on the good team like the Bills to play their starters and finish off the Pats.

With that said, I’m not a fan of the worst team getting rewarded with the #1 pick in the draft. A lottery system is not a bad idea.

So they can do the lottery behind closed doors like the NBA? Do you want Goodell the one picking the ping pong balls out of the machine? I sure don't.

 

[Grogan14]

Last year pats missed out on Jayden Daniels even though Pats and commanders had identical records and pats lost at home to commanders due to strength of schedule

Lottery system is more fair for bottom 4 or 5 teams in winning percentage

Especially for great talents like Daniels who can alter balance of power for a decade

 

[Thelonious]

"can not blame Mayo. He is supposed to try to win games."

Horseshit: his job, as he himself said, in a rare moment of clarity, was to "do what is best for the team."

 

[sb1]

So they can do the lottery behind closed doors like the NBA? Do you want Goodell the one picking the ping pong balls out of the machine? I sure don't.

Jets would be getting firsts every year. Lol

 

[Grogan14]

"can not blame Mayo. He is supposed to try to win games."

Horseshit: his job, as he himself said, in a rare moment of clarity, was to "do what is best for the team."

Maybe he honestly believed it was best for the team to win the game.

I doubt Wolf or Kraft would tell him otherwise

 

[maust]

12. Can the NFL do something about the sham games on week 17?

Shouldn't they maybe do something about the sham games on Week 18 first?

 

[50-yard-line]

How do you lose the game if the bills also want to lose the game without making it obvious that you are trying to lose the game for a draft pick. No way to do that

You could start by not blitzing the Bills scrubs in the 4th quarter.

Maybe not run Gibson in the second half. Throw to Baker and Bell, maybe, instead of launching 23 of the 29 passes to Boutte/Gibson/Douglas/Hooper.

Maybe do the run-run-throw boring style you did all f***ing year. You can't ask the players to not play hard, but you don't have to dial up blitzes and leave a bunch of starters in for the whole damned game.

Two unwatchable years, and now an off-season that will be far, far less interesting (and if they had the #1 pick, the most money to spend in FA, and Drake Maye, they would be a lot more attractive to coaches/gms). When you think about the amount of rebuilding capital they threw away for a meaningless win, it's sickening.

 

[Joey007]

Mayo is fired, so I'm moving on. We have the 4th pick and it is what it is.

The bigger question now is how to navigate the draft from this position. It's still going to be a situation where we likely have one of the best two players in the entire draft on the board.

The biggest positional needs obviously remains OT and WR. It would be ideal to solve the WR equation before the draft. as there are more options in the FA/trade market at WR compared to OT. But the question then follows into -

1. Do you believe Banks is worth the 4th pick in the draft?
2. If not, do you trade down? How far do you trade down, what would be your return? Do you like Will Campbell enough as well to be able to move down into a spot where you would at least be able to land one of him and Banks?

Going to be an interesting decision. Still feels like we could at least put together some decent capital moving down 4-5 spots in the draft if someone really wants McMillan/Hunter/Carter

 

[javajunky]

It was obvious that Wolf's roster moves were made to help tank this last game. Mayo played to win out of spite. He may feel good about himself, but he will never get a coaching gig again. You get no credit for playing out of the number one pick when the other coaching staff actively tries to hand you the game. You only get the booby prize. Players play to win; coaches are supposed to know the big picture. The fan's hate of Mayo is justified.

 

[Grogan14]

Kraft just said Mayo did not know he was fired until after the game

 

[Wax Frog]

The fans atvtwobiklsdrive ....

Some days I feel as if I live there.