(02-01-2022, 08:24 PM)CorpusChristiBengal Wrote: From what I've read, this stinks of a "settling out of court" suit.
NFL wont like the allegations of tanking though, if he has that in writing Ross is screwed.

(02-01-2022, 09:38 PM)CorpusChristiBengal Wrote:

(02-01-2022, 11:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote:  I also think it's very possible we were tanking for Joe Burrow.

(02-01-2022, 11:19 PM)bengaloo Wrote: Good job Zac..... and General Tso's is inferior to moo goo gai pan. It sucks heated up

(02-01-2022, 11:26 PM)Nepa Wrote: The team came back in dramatic fashion to take Miami to overtime and nearly lose the number 1 pick. They crushed the Jets. They lost some very close games. If they were tanking, I don't think you would have seen that kind of a performance. They were just a very bad team.

(02-02-2022, 12:06 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: By tanking, I don't mean the coaching staff and players.

I mean they didn't put 100% effort into fielding the best team possible. They knew it was a 2-3 year rebuild process and treated it as such.

Look, I know this won't be a popular take. People are very reluctant to admit it. But I think it's pretty obvious teams tank, and I don't think it's an insult to say the Bengals did so. It's pretty cutting edge for the NFL at the moment.

Not as widespread as the MLB and NBA. Yet. It's getting there though.

(02-02-2022, 12:34 AM)Whatever Wrote: I kind of suspected during Zac's first year that the Bengals tanked down the stretch.  I don't think they went into the season with the intention of tanking, but as losses and injuries mounted and Burrow's stock rose, I think there were conversations about it.  

Realistically, every team does it to some extent or another.  If you're eliminated from playoff contention and start playing young guys off the bench, you're technically tanking.  When we sat our starters against the Browns, that's tanking, as we deliberately didn't field the best team we could have.  It's just that in that case we tanked to try and win more games in the playoffs instead of next year.

Do I give a damn?  Nope.  The ends have obviously justified the means.  Will anyone ever be able to nail Mike Brown for it?  Doubt it.  People have been screaming that he hasn't been doing everything he can to win for 30+ years.  

(02-01-2022, 11:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote:  I also think it's very possible we were tanking for Joe Burrow.

(02-02-2022, 12:53 AM)Benton Wrote: I don't think we did. We just had a lot of not good players at the time. I mean, think about all the pieces we added that offseason, that draft and the following offseason and draft. A big chunk of those starters aren't on the team... and not because we got outbid to keep them.

I think we really were just that bad.

And even the moves we made where it looked like maybe we were trying to tank (benching Andy) weren't all that bad of ideas at the time.

(02-01-2022, 11:35 PM)CorpusChristiBengal Wrote: The actual lawsuit is very, very bizarre to read.

(02-01-2022, 11:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: It'll be settled. Great timing by the lawyers, dropping a PR nightmare right before the Super Bowl.

Not sure what to believe with these allegations, but I've always believed tanking has spread to the NFL. It's common sense. It's been used as a means to rebuild in MLB and NBA...yet we think the NFL is above it?

The Colts tanked for Luck. That was a playoff roster. They played Curtis Painter and didn't even try to swing a trade or sign a vet. 2-14.

The Browns tanked for 2 years with Hue, compiling picks. The Dolphins were clearly stockpiling picks and tanking as well. I also think it's very possible we were tanking for Joe Burrow.

Would anyone hate that decision now? NFL might want to adopt a draft lottery system to discourage it. Doesn't work for the NBA, but I think it could work for the NFL, since teams are really targeting 1 QB at the top, usually.

(02-02-2022, 12:06 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: By tanking, I don't mean the coaching staff and players.

I mean they didn't put 100% effort into fielding the best team possible. They knew it was a 2-3 year rebuild process and treated it as such.

Look, I know this won't be a popular take. People are very reluctant to admit it. But I think it's pretty obvious teams tank, and I don't think it's an insult to say the Bengals did so. It's pretty cutting edge for the NFL at the moment.

Not as widespread as the MLB and NBA. Yet. It's getting there though.

(02-02-2022, 01:28 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Maybe. I don't have a strong opinion on whether we tanked or not. I'm just open to the possibility. We really didn't add a ton that first offseason (the season that netted us Burrow). BW Webb? Who else?

AJ Green got hurt and we didn't attempt to fill that hole at all. Instead we let Auden Tate, Alex Erickson and John Ross be featured to the tune of 214 total targets (no wonder Dalton had his career worst year). Started Ryan Finley even though it was obvious he wasn't cut out...and I'm sure coaches knew it by that point.

We had a defense still loaded with holdovers from the previous era. I'm sure we knew they weren't fits for Lou, but what could we do?

So it'd make sense if they just said "look, this thing is going to take a couple years at least. The first year is a throwaway with a great draft pick being the benefit".

By the time we played the Dolphins, they had 3 wins. We had one. There was no risk in beating them. Same with our last win. Burrow was locked up, and we win in week 17.

I don't know if the coaches were involved, but maybe they were. Tbh, I'm happy if it was a tank job. Look where we're at.

(02-01-2022, 08:09 PM)CorpusChristiBengal Wrote: Meh. You can make anyone look dumb about the NFL by bringing up old stuff. If you go back about ~200 pages compared to now we look like idiots.

(02-01-2022, 07:45 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote:

Flores says that Stephen Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins, offered to pay him $100,000 for every loss during 2019 season to help the team get a better draft spot. Was mad when they kept winning.

— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) February 1, 2022

When this didn’t work they reportedly called and offered us 3 1st rounders. We promptly hung up.

https://www.nfl.com/news/dolphins-were-willing-to-give-up-multiple-first-round-picks-in-2020-nfl-draft-fo

And I for one - couldn’t be more happy that we did.