Grown Men Don’t Tank

With the NFL season winding down its becoming obvious that some teams will not make the playoffs. Here in Atlanta the Falcons are one of those teams. The common thing I have been hearing from so called fans is that the team should tank the season. They should lose games to obtain a higher position in the upcoming draft. These people must not ever been competitive at any level of life, because they would know that this is not an option for these professional players.

Whenever these athletes approach the field they are thinking about winning. If they happen to lose it is not because they wanted to or can even be convinced to do so. They did not become part of the elite of what they do in the world by giving up. Now I know this is hard concept for fans to grasp but these players are some of the best in the world at what they do. That is why a team that is 2-10 can blow out a team that is 10-2, because they both are comprised of special athletes. They are also people who are trying to protect their jobs.

I know it’s hard to look at playing a sport as a job but that is what it means to be a professional. Unlike most of our jobs, these employees are constantly being evaluated. These guys are not only being looked at by their current employers but also by future possible organizations. Their performance will dictate how much money they can earn or if they are worthy of being a part of the NFL. The same thing also can be said about the all of the coaches on the sidelines. Nobody is trying to hire a defensive coordinator that was getting lit up all last season.

Not to mention that the draft does not provide any guarantees. Let’s be honest 32 teams each have 1 pick in each of 7 rounds. Out of all of that we only talk about 3 to 5 rookies at the most each year that are making an impact. No grown man is going to suck at his job in hopes that they can get in position to get some unproven college kid. No winning organization has ever thought this was a good way to go about their business. So don’t expect your team to try to go 2-14 in hopes of picking up the next Ryan Leaf anytime soon.

Keith B. Holt

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