The Tank for Tua Tagovailoa debates have begun among the Tennessee Titans faithful who’ve all but given up on Marcus Mariota. Many experts believed Jameis Winston and Mariota—the No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2015 NFL Draft, respectively—were destined to evolve into the next great superstar quarterback duo of this generation. After a Thursday Night Football contest showcasing Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew outclassing the fifth-year veteran, Mariota cemented his status as the AFC South’s weakest quarterback option.
An end of the Mariota era is in sight. Fans are frustrated. Can you blame them? Mariota isn’t progressing. Questions remain about his throwing power, accuracy, decision-making, tentativeness, pocket presence, ability to move on from his first read, situational awareness, durability, and whether opponents haven’t already David Carr’d him. His one redeeming quality is his athleticism that features 4.5ish 40-yard dash speed. Mariota apologists have a point when they criticize coaches for not using Mariota on rollouts and zone reads. It seems as though he’s coached to remain statuesque in the pocket.
Blame goes both way. Regardless, this relationship isn’t working. Is Tagovailoa the answer? Experts love the kid. It’s become trendy to encourage tanking for 0-2, even 1-1 teams. The Miami Dolphins appear hellbent on putting the most noncompetitive product on the field. Many New York Giants fans didn’t want Daniel Jones or any of the quarterbacks because their sole focus was the almighty Tagovailoa. Outkick the Coverage’s Clay Travis felt the Pittsburgh Steelers should use their 0-2 start and Ben Roethlisberger injury as a reason to Tank for Tua.
How about we stop this nonsense? Tagovailoa doesn’t guarantee a dynasty. He doesn’t guarantee a Super Bowl. He doesn’t guarantee anything. Put Tagovailoa in a franchise submerged in mismanagement? He’ll turn into a major bust. How dumb will Miami feel when Tagovailoa barely survives his early years because they’re expecting him to work with an empty cupboard. They traded a franchise left tackle that most organizations would kill for. Karma would have them regretting that decision.
Someone is bound to call me an idiot because I’m neglecting the idea of drafting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Let’s put that to death right away. Lawrence isn’t eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft. Whichever franchise finishes second-worst doesn’t get a consolation prize of the other quarterback. Not unless your idea of the other quarterback is Oregon’s Justin Herbert. If those franchises are dumb enough, they’ll repeat the entire process the next season en route to running off their fan base.
It’s time to restore logic. Let’s discredit the Tank for Tua Tagovailoa nonsense. This applies to all future incidents, e.g. Tank for Trevor Lawrence.
Tank for Tua Tagovailoa: In Real Life, Create-a-Player Doesn’t Exist
Has somebody created a cloning device? The Dolphins, Titans, Steelers, Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and others are all supposed to Tank for Tua. Only one team gets the honor of drafting him. What about everybody else? Did they tank for nothing? Are teams truly supposed to aim for 1-15, maybe even 0-16 to earn the rights to draft this one quarterback?
Consider the New York Knicks. They spent the entire 2018-19 NBA season tanking for the No. 1 pick. They finished with a league-worst 17-65 record. Knicks management and fans rejoiced as they assumed they’d get the No. 1 pick along with a slew of superstar free agents. We were about to witness the greatest dynasty in sports history. The Knicks were guaranteed to win a 2019-20 NBA championship. Anyone who disagreed wasn’t just an idiot, they were a hashtag idiot. Haters gon’ hate!
The Knicks ended up with the No. 3 pick and Julius Randle. For the Knicks fan base, the morale has never been lower. Management tried to take the easy way out. How’d that work for them?
Many “experts” praise the Philadelphia 76ers for tanking to glory. Were they tanking just to get to Round 2? Year after year after year after year. The 76ers tanked for nearly half-a-decade in a league where tanking strategies are most beneficial. They’ve had limited results.
Tanking needs many things to go right. If they don’t, then you’re jeopardizing the morale and trust of your fan base.
Tank for Tua Tagovailoa: NFL isn’t NBA
NBA drafts feature most of its talent at the top of the draft. There’s a large drop off from the Top 3-5 and the rest of the draft. Quality NFL talent is available throughout the entire seven rounds. A good coaching staff can develop talent through undrafted free agency and practice squads.
Tank for Tua Tagovailoa: It’s Unnecessary
Tanking played a huge role in the development of some of the greatest individual NFL seasons and dynasties of the past 20 years. Remember how the New England Patriots spent years tanking for the rights to draft arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Tom Brady? How about the Seattle Seahawks when their tanking gave them the gift of Russell Wilson while the Indianapolis Colts had to settle for that mid-round bust, Andrew Luck? How about those Green Bay Packers racing to the podium to draft Aaron Rodgers first overall? Thank God those St. Louis Rams tanked after Trent Green got injured. Could you imagine watching some grocery store bum like Kurt Warner operating that Greatest Show on Turf offense? Only hyped players like Ryan Leaf, Andrew Luck, and Jameis Winston can accomplish such feats.
You don’t remember any of that? Me neither. Well, except for Warner. Most of the NFL’s elite talents are found outside the Top 10. This includes quarterbacks. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known for turning rarely used players on other teams into major contributors for his Super Bowl units.
Tank for Tua Tagavailoa: It’s Bad for the Product
NBA regular seasons have become largely unwatchable. That’s because more than half the league starts tanking well before the All-Star Game. Teams playing G-League talents in an attempt to lose enough games to draft mega prospects, e.g. Zion Williamson. Do fans want the league full of Dolphins vs Patriots encores?
Tank for Tua Tagavailoa: Shit (e.g. Injuries) Happens
Remember how Tank for Zion Williamson supporters felt when his shoe came apart? Panic ensued. Williamson avoided a catastrophe. Far more common are major football injuries. Imagine these teams if, in the middle of their Tank for Tua campaign, Tagovailoa suffers a McKenzie Milton-type of leg injury.
Don’t worry about what you can’t control. Make a concentrated effort on developing your rosters now. Maybe you’ll find a surprise. How many people projected Minshew to become an early storyline? How many people thought Warner would become a Hall of Famer? What about Nick Foles?
Tank for Tua Tagavailoa? Um…No.
Build a foundation and quality franchise in good faith. Did we not just witness a sixth-rounder tear apart the Titans defense? Have we not witnessed nearly two decades of dominance via a sixth-rounder (Tom Brady)? How often does the hype never live up to expectation? Remember when drafting Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf was considered the dumbest decision in NFL history? Didn’t we just witness an early retirement of possibly the most hyped NFL prospect in the 21st century (Andrew Luck)? A quarterback from that draft class won a Super Bowl. It wasn’t Luck. It was former third-round pick Russell Wilson.
Stop with this Tank for Tua nonsense. It’s dumb. It’s wrong. Professional media and sports management executives need to use a modicum of common sense. You still have to put a product on the field for fans who are attending this year. The NFL is the one sport that’s far more enjoyable at home than at a live event. Intentionally tanking makes that even truer. Don’t give fans another reason to stay home.
Here’s a noble concept: how about instead of tanking, demand your favorite sports franchise to hire scouts and executives who can properly evaluate talent. Even if you tank for one projected superstar, you’ll need to surround that player with a roster full of capable talents. In the NFL, studs and duds don’t win championships—teams do. In what world has Miami shown they can surround a No. 1 overall pick with championship talent?
Fanatics encouraging their teams to lose all 16 games. At the same time, they’re still wasting money and time attending live sports events of games they’re hoping to lose. They complain about player salaries and rising ticket prices. Maybe you should treat these organizations who resort to these tactics as crappy franchises instead of idols?
This is America. Stop supporting this nonsense. Quit supporting failure. We demand greatness. We’re the land of milk and honey, not pruno and lemons. I want to watch a competitive league where half the league isn’t trying to intentionally lose after Week 4. If you’re within Tua range after Week 15 or so, fine. Promoting these tactics before that is immoral and ignorant.
Common sense 2020. Tank for Tua supporters need not apply. These scouts and executives are paid hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars to make solid decisions. Do it the right way. You don’t get to intentionally lose for the next year or two just to draft that one player. Not in a league where the two greatest quarterbacks of our generation are a sixth-rounder and a No. 1 overall pick that experts and scouts criticized because their greatest bust in history wasn’t taken.
…I do think the Titans need a new quarterback though. So good luck with that. After watching Vince Young and Mariota? After watching Blake Bortles never living up to his No. 3 overall draft hype? Titans fans should know better than to sell out for media hype. There are better and more surefire ways to grab that Lombardi Trophy.
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Joshua Huffman was born and educated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
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