Would you TANK for Lawrence?

Haven't read any posts on the thread, but NO. NFW!

Hyped said:

Neither is possible? F that....if '01 taught us anything...anyone has a shot at winning the SB. And I can see us being in place to draft Lawrence *if* we have massive injuries on defense...say Gilmore tears his ACL in camp, Hightower's shoulder goes limp, and we lose someone like J.C. Jackson for the year with JoeJuan not ready to step in? All of sudden, we will be allowing 27+ ppg.....and putting pressure on the offense to air it out....and end up 3-13 despite Belichick doing a great job.

Anything is possible.

And I will watch IT ALL. No chance I ever skip a season, LOL.

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Love this statement. I’ve been a fan since 1975. I saw some rough seasons in my first 26 seasons as a fan (1975-2000). Saw a 1-15 season, saw a 2-14 season, and even during those seasons, I’d still get butterflies when I’d get to watch the Pats play on TV twice a year (born and raised in NYC). Always hoped they would become what they eventually became (still shocked we got 6 Lombardis), and always rooted with all of my heart.

goheels22002 said:

The Bills are the Bills. We'll see how well they do up there with all the pressure on them to beat the hated Patriots. The Patriots defense will keep them in the game, and when has Josh Allen stepped up in a big game? Last year he completed less than 60% of his passes and threw 21 INTs. I am not sold on him as an NFL starter.

I think the Patriots beat the Ravens at home in prime time. The Patriots defense can handle the Ravens offense with the speed they have in the front seven and the best secondary in the NFL.

The Ravens offense was bad in their one-and-done loss to the Chargers who the Patriots destroyed on the ground. When the big moments came for the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, they choked against the Steelers, the Bengals, the Browns, the Saints, the Chiefs and the Chargers. I am unimpressed by their team performance even with the league MVP.

Until Lamar Jackson wins a playoff game, he's just a fantasy football wet dream.

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I think the Ravens are going to be better than last year. Maybe not their record, tough to do better than 14-2, but they had a GREAT draft, so a 14-2 team that goes on to have a great draft, pretty scary. I really feel they are the team that could dethrone the Chiefs.

Ravens 2020 draft:

Round 1, pick 28: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU

Round 2, pick 55: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 71: Justin Madubuike, DT, Texas A&M

Round 3, pick 92: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas

Round 3, pick 98: Malik Harrison, LB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 106: Tyre Phillips, OT, Mississippi State

Round 4, pick 143: Ben Bredeson, OG, Michigan

Round 5, pick 170: Broderick Washington Jr., DT, Texas Tech

Round 6, pick 201 (from Vikings via Bills): James Proche, WR, SMU

Round 7, pick 219 (from Vikings via Dolphins):Geno Stone, S, Iowa

Queen and Harrison are great picks. Both very athletic defenders. Duvernay is a SPEED demon who plays bigger, despite being 5’11”, great at jump balls as well. Proche just catches everything, dominant college receiver. I think he was going through injuries late, should’ve gone no later than the 3rd round.

The cherry on top (for them), is RB J.K. Dobbins, what a great running back who has it all, a true 3 down back who’s explosive.

I hate that they had such a great draft. My 3 biggest hates in the NFL are the Ravens, the Steelers and the Dolphins.

scott99 said:

I think the Ravens are going to be better than last year. Maybe not their record, tough to do better than 14-2, but they had a GREAT draft, so a 14-2 team that goes on to have a great draft, pretty scary. I really feel they are the team that could dethrone the Chiefs.

Ravens 2020 draft:

Round 1, pick 28: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU

Round 2, pick 55: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 71: Justin Madubuike, DT, Texas A&M

Round 3, pick 92: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas

Round 3, pick 98: Malik Harrison, LB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 106: Tyre Phillips, OT, Mississippi State

Round 4, pick 143: Ben Bredeson, OG, Michigan

Round 5, pick 170: Broderick Washington Jr., DT, Texas Tech

Round 6, pick 201 (from Vikings via Bills): James Proche, WR, SMU

Round 7, pick 219 (from Vikings via Dolphins):Geno Stone, S, Iowa

Queen and Harrison are great picks. Both very athletic defenders. Duvernay is a SPEED demon who plays bigger, despite being 5’11”, great at jump balls as well. Proche just catches everything, dominant college receiver. I think he was going through injuries late, should’ve gone no later than the 3rd round.

The cherry on top (for them), is RB J.K. Dobbins, what a great running back who has it all, a true 3 down back who’s explosive.

I hate that they had such a great draft. My 3 biggest hates in the NFL are the Ravens, the Steelers and the Dolphins.

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Agreed, they had a great draft.

Justin Madubuike was probably my favorite penetrating speed DT in the draft, third round that's a smart pick.

Elijah said:

It's kind of silly to solely blame Lamar for both of those one and dones considering he almost brought them all the way back against the Chargers and their defense absolutely blew it against Tennessee. The most valid criticism you can make against him from those games is he was unable to overcome the loss of Mark Ingram.

I don't think he plays a particularly sustainable style of football, but it's a team sport and he's largely done his part.

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Against the Chargers Lamar threw an interception and fumbled 3 times.

Against Tennessee Lamar threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

He's got to learn how not to lose before he can learn how to win

Anything can happen in the NFL. The 2008 Cardinals lost to the Pats week 16 by a score of 47-7 to drop to 8-7 yet a month or so later are a play or 2 away from winning the Super Bowl. 2011 Giants were a similar story and needed other teams to lose just to make the playoffs on the last week of the season. The 2019 Ravens entered the season with an O/U of 8.5 and quickly became the most dominant regular season team in the league. Things can change quickly. Pats are clearly not one of the favorites this year but if Stidham plays well there is absolutely no reason they are not extremely competitive. I realize that is a big if but based on the actions of BB this off season he clearly thinks it is a possibility or he would not have let things play out the way he has.

The Dolphins traded every good player on their roster who was looking to get paid or already getting paid and still didn't get the #1 overall pick.

Real question... how do you "tank" and ensure you get the top pick?

You can't, therefore the premise of tanking for a certain player is absurd.

Moreover the Patriots are entirely too good to tank. The time to tank for Lawrence isn't now, it was in the offseason. They should have traded all their vet free agents instead of signing them, they should have traded everyone getting paid a decent salary.

Pretend for a moment Belichick knocked it out of the park with this and last year's drafts, and all these young players play well including Stidham. Under this scenario the 2020 Patriots are one of the most talented teams in the league from 1-53.

The odds that all these young players and rookies stay healthy and play well is long... but the possibility exists, and considering who made the picks the odds are better than most.

Elijah said:

It's kind of silly to solely blame Lamar for both of those one and dones considering he almost brought them all the way back against the Chargers and their defense absolutely blew it against Tennessee. The most valid criticism you can make against him from those games is he was unable to overcome the loss of Mark Ingram.

I don't think he plays a particularly sustainable style of football, but it's a team sport and he's largely done his part.

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He's great. No question about that. But, he does not have Patrick Mahomes patience nor has he yet learned how to keep his eyes downfield on the move. Actually, you are right that Lamar Jackson has done his part. I think John Harbaugh did a good job adapting to his new QB after Flacco, but went overboard on his reliance on Jackson for everything. The Ravens need to run a two-back rushing game with rookie Dobbins and Ingram, and throttle back Jackson's carries.

Wozzy said:

The Dolphins traded every good player on their roster who was looking to get paid or already getting paid and still didn't get the #1 overall pick.

Real question... how do you "tank" and ensure you get the top pick?

You can't, therefore the premise of tanking for a certain player is absurd.

Moreover the Patriots are entirely too good to tank. The time to tank for Lawrence isn't now, it was in the offseason. They should have traded all their vet free agents instead of signing them, they should have traded everyone getting paid a decent salary.

Pretend for a moment Belichick knocked it out of the park with this and last year's drafts, and all these young players play well including Stidham. Under this scenario the 2020 Patriots are one of the most talented teams in the league from 1-53.

The odds that all these young players and rookies stay healthy and play well is long... but the possibility exists, and considering who made the picks the odds are better than most.

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I thought the Dolphins did a great job over two seasons to get out of cap hell and to build a roster of players who buy into their coaching staff's vision. They could be the real surprise team in the AFC this year. I also like the Bills roster a lot and their coach's disciplined but still aggressive game planning. Belichick has his hands full but is obviously up to the challenge.

Wozzy said:

Pretend for a moment Belichick knocked it out of the park with this and last year's drafts, and all these young players play well including Stidham. Under this scenario the 2020 Patriots are one of the most talented teams in the league from 1-53.

The odds that all these young players and rookies stay healthy and play well is long... but the possibility exists, and considering who made the picks the odds are better than most.

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The odds haven't been better than most for a long, long time...

goheels22002 said:

I thought the Dolphins did a great job over two seasons to get out of cap hell and to build a roster of players who buy into their coaching staff's vision. They could be the real surprise team in the AFC this year. I also like the Bills roster a lot and their coach's disciplined but still aggressive game planning. Belichick has his hands full but is obviously up to the challenge.

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I still think the Dolphins are a year away at least. If it were me I would sit Tua and let Fitzpatrick QB another year. The Bills will be good but won't win playoff games if Allen is the QB. The team nobody is talking about who had a good draft and offseason is the Jests, but they seem to implode on their own every season.

captain stone said:

The odds haven't been better than most for a long, long time...

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They won a Super Bowl the season before last so you apparently have a short attention span.

If we knew the next TB was in the draft, I wouldn't tank the season even for him.

I mean, you can get QBs like that only at pick #199.

scott99 said:

I think the Ravens are going to be better than last year. Maybe not their record, tough to do better than 14-2, but they had a GREAT draft, so a 14-2 team that goes on to have a great draft, pretty scary. I really feel they are the team that could dethrone the Chiefs.

Ravens 2020 draft:

Round 1, pick 28: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU

Round 2, pick 55: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 71: Justin Madubuike, DT, Texas A&M

Round 3, pick 92: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas

Round 3, pick 98: Malik Harrison, LB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 106: Tyre Phillips, OT, Mississippi State

Round 4, pick 143: Ben Bredeson, OG, Michigan

Round 5, pick 170: Broderick Washington Jr., DT, Texas Tech

Round 6, pick 201 (from Vikings via Bills): James Proche, WR, SMU

Round 7, pick 219 (from Vikings via Dolphins):Geno Stone, S, Iowa

Queen and Harrison are great picks. Both very athletic defenders. Duvernay is a SPEED demon who plays bigger, despite being 5’11”, great at jump balls as well. Proche just catches everything, dominant college receiver. I think he was going through injuries late, should’ve gone no later than the 3rd round.

The cherry on top (for them), is RB J.K. Dobbins, what a great running back who has it all, a true 3 down back who’s explosive.

I hate that they had such a great draft. My 3 biggest hates in the NFL are the Ravens, the Steelers and the Dolphins.

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On paper, the haul does look impressive but the reality is that we don't have any idea if this is a GREAT draft class at this point, or if it is even a good class. Unless you are using the Wes Welker approach and this post is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek to some degree, using the word great SIX times in the same post is most certainly overkill.

Number of combined NFL snaps played by that collection of players: ZERO.

People need to pump the brakes on these draft labels before we've see them against starting caliber NFL talent. Let's revisit all of these draft classes in two years.

scott99 said:

I think the Ravens are going to be better than last year. Maybe not their record, tough to do better than 14-2, but they had a GREAT draft, so a 14-2 team that goes on to have a great draft, pretty scary. I really feel they are the team that could dethrone the Chiefs.

Ravens 2020 draft:

Round 1, pick 28: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU

Round 2, pick 55: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 71: Justin Madubuike, DT, Texas A&M

Round 3, pick 92: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas

Round 3, pick 98: Malik Harrison, LB, Ohio State

Round 3, pick 106: Tyre Phillips, OT, Mississippi State

Round 4, pick 143: Ben Bredeson, OG, Michigan

Round 5, pick 170: Broderick Washington Jr., DT, Texas Tech

Round 6, pick 201 (from Vikings via Bills): James Proche, WR, SMU

Round 7, pick 219 (from Vikings via Dolphins):Geno Stone, S, Iowa

Queen and Harrison are great picks. Both very athletic defenders. Duvernay is a SPEED demon who plays bigger, despite being 5’11”, great at jump balls as well. Proche just catches everything, dominant college receiver. I think he was going through injuries late, should’ve gone no later than the 3rd round.

The cherry on top (for them), is RB J.K. Dobbins, what a great running back who has it all, a true 3 down back who’s explosive.

I hate that they had such a great draft. My 3 biggest hates in the NFL are the Ravens, the Steelers and the Dolphins.

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They killed it. I gushed about their draft in another thread but they hit a home run.

Queen & Harrison immediately overhaul their LB corp and fill different needs. Outstanding value on both and again big needs filled.

People talk about CEH landing spot but JKD hit lottery as well. Perfect style and complement to Lamar. I think he's going to tear it up there. That running game could be nuts going forward. Inside, outside, they have multiple threats. Dobbins is a great complement Jackson stretching and widening the field. I thought all the RB's landed in great spots this year.

Duvernay is someone I wanted bad. Reminds me of Deebo, Cobb ... I love these newer slot guys. Built like power backs. They can shake you in the open field and lower their shoulder to run you over like Duvernay did to Delpit.

I'd want 2-3 of these guys on my team. Line them up in the slot, backfield, motion ... I love the evolution at the slot position. Now they have multiple 4.4 guys that can go inside/outside. Him and Brown will be a problem. Proche will help stretch the field east/west as well. Lots of quick strike options for Jackson.

Great value on Madubuike & Bredeson.

Yea Idk how they do it but they keep connecting on swings. If they stay healthy they'll be a problem for the next few year's. Look better than last year on paper and that's not easy.

I would never tank for anyone. How did sucking for Luck work out for the Colts short of that AFCCG participant banner? Luck was supposed to be a sure thing HOF QB and he wasn't. He was a very good QB who at times played at a HOF level. And the Colts have little to show for his career.

Patrick Mahone was the third QB taken in his draft and he is best QB in the league right now.

That said, I won't be upset if the Pats suck this year if they use the higher draft picks to rebuild the team and become a contender again in a year or two. I think this year is going to be a lost year for the league anyway. There is a good chance the season could be delayed or suspended (at least for a few weeks or months) some time during the season. If the Pats are going to have a year that they absolutely suck and then reload, this is the year to do it.

Joker said:

reminds me of that old Bob Hope ditty....Tanks For The Mammaries....

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Relating tank tops to...

Tank for the top [pick]

I wouldn’t tank for Lawrence in a million years.

I’d consider tanking for the bounty of draft picks some foolhardy team would give me for the #1 overall though.

Rob0729 said:

I would never tank for anyone. How did sucking for Luck work out for the Colts short of that AFCCG participant banner? Luck was supposed to be a sure thing HOF QB and he wasn't. He was a very good QB who at times played at a HOF level. And the Colts have little to show for his career.

Patrick Mahone was the third QB taken in his draft and he is best QB in the league right now.

That said, I won't be upset if the Pats suck this year if they use the higher draft picks to rebuild the team and become a contender again in a year or two. I think this year is going to be a lost year for the league anyway. There is a good chance the season could be delayed or suspended (at least for a few weeks or months) some time during the season. If the Pats are going to have a year that they absolutely suck and then reload, this is the year to do it.

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"Suck for Luck" or we you wanna call it worked out perfectly fine. Luck was a great QB who had a few stinkers against the greatest dynasty ever. And his own team completely let him down. OL was terrible for most of his career. Never had great weapons or even anything to talk about besides TY. Like Manning he didn't have a strong HC so he tried to "win" every other play.

Luck was a great QB who was let down by the Colts. Landing spot and opportunity matter so much for QB. Luck was dumped on dump on team with a crackhead owner who couldn't keep his nose out of the plate full of candy or the locker room. What they did to him was a shame. I'm talking about the injuries. Just awful management and leadership.

One year of being bad vs 10 years of being great. Why not?

The Dolphins ended up Tua, who was their target all along.

If the Pats believe they can get a top 3 prospect by 'taking it easy' this year, it could pay off big in the future.

Unlike the NBA, there is no draft lottery, so there's literally no drawback to tanking.

And let's say you don't get the #1 overall pick, if you end up with #3 you can still end up drafting a franchise level player like a Richard Seymour or a JJ Watt for instance.