# "Tank for Tua" OR The 0-16 NFL Season Thread (2019 ed.) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 11, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066 "2019-09-11T20:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/41 "2019-09-19T15:33:35Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Sadly, my Saints are contenders. We won the first game, but probably won’t win another unless/until Brees comes back, at which point we’ll already be all but eliminated from playoff contention anyway… Eh, you play the Jags during the stretch. And I really don’t see Brees sitting out the second half of the season if he’s healthy, regardless of playoff odds. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/42 "2019-09-19T16:19:42Z")
They probably deserve to, but Washington isn’t going to go 0-16. Five of their remaining 14 games are against teams still on the Week 2 list (Giants, Miami, Jets, Panthers, Giants). They’ll win at least a couple of those, and they’ll probably win a couple of games against better teams that they shouldn’t. They always manage to pull one or two of those out every year no matter how shitty they are. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/43 "2019-09-19T17:34:10Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Eh, you play the Jags during the stretch. And I really don’t see Brees sitting out the second half of the season if he’s healthy, regardless of playoff odds. I’m a pessimist by nature. I’m not convinced Drew is coming back from this. He’s pretty old, and his hand may not heal as quickly or completely as expected… ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/44 "2019-09-19T17:39:26Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Whoops, make that 0-14-2 because they play each other twice. Duh. The Jets and Dolphins are so bad, it is possible for both of them to lose when they play each other. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/45 "2019-09-19T20:26:00Z")
I have seen several articles in the new today that say the Dolphins and tanking on purpose. The Dolphins (management, not players) are intentionally fielding a bad team to improve their draft position next year. Can season ticket holders sue? Or at the very least, get a refund?? They paid full price, but are intentionally getting sub-par product. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/46 "2019-09-19T20:34:58Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Can season ticket holders sue? Or at the very least, get a refund?? Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. 🙂 **Can** they sue? Sure – my understanding is that you can file a lawsuit over practically anything, and “I’m suing you” is shorthand for “I’m filing a lawsuit against you.” Do they have a case? Now there’s the question, and I suspect that the answer is “no.” They bought tickets to professional football games, and there’s no promise that the team that management puts on the field is going to be good. The players have all signed NFL contracts, they are all getting paid – they _are_ professional football players. Whether or not they’re competitive with the other teams they play may be frustating and annoying to the fans, but I doubt it’s a breach of contract. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/47 "2019-09-19T20:46:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. 🙂 > The players have all signed NFL contracts, they are all getting paid – they _are_ professional football players. Whether or not they’re competitive with the other teams they play may be frustating and annoying to the fans, but I doubt it’s a breach of contract. Clarification. It is not the players that are breaching the contract, it’s the owner and management. They have purposefully put a sub par team together. They have traded away what little talent they had. They have decided _NOT to compete_ this year. IMO, they have defrauded the paying customers. They should give those customers a refund. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/48 "2019-09-19T20:50:34Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Clarification. It is not the players that are breaching the contract, it’s the owner and management. Oh, I know, and that’s what I was referring to – the contract that’s part of buying a ticket for a game. I mentioned the players because the ticket-holders have bought tickets for a professional football game, and by any technical definition of the term, the players that the Dolphins are fielding _are_ professional football players – they have signed NFL contracts, and they are getting paid. They _are_ professionals. “Putting a subpar product on the field” may _feel_ fraudulent, but I don’t believe that there is anything in the contract between the ticket-holder and the team that promises a par product. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/49 "2019-09-19T21:47:29Z")
The team can also deny that they are “intentionally putting out a sub-par product.” They can simply argue they _are_ trying to field the best team they can, but as with any business, working toward future success has to be accounted for. ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/50 "2019-09-19T22:09:10Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > They have purposefully put a sub par team together… They have decided _NOT to compete_ this year. That’s going to be really tough to demonstrate in a court of law. Lawyer: Are you tanking? Respondent: No. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/51 "2019-09-23T04:08:13Z")
Redskins still to play tomorrow night, but here’s some stats of distinction for each team: **Miami Dolphins** - Through three games is being outscored 16-133, worse than the 2017 Browns (56-76), 2008 Lions (59-113), and 1976 Bucs (9-57). **Pittsburgh Steelers** - Lost, totaling only 239 yards on offense, despite getting FIVE takeaways. **Cincinnati Bengals** - Actually put up a decent fight. Uh, they’re the farthest team away from their last playoff win. **New York Jets** - 0 for 12 on 3rd Down, 105 total offensive yards. That’s not actually their team record low. **Denver Broncos** - First defense in the last 50 years to go their first three games without a single sack OR takeaway. **Arizona Cardinals** - Kyler Murray “beat” Nathan Peterman’s “record” of fewest passing yards on 30+ completions, going 30 for 173yds. Peterman went 31 for 188. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/52 "2019-09-23T04:15:33Z")
Of course the Steelers are no longer playing for Tua. We cunningly make it _look_ like we do, though. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/53 "2019-09-23T14:31:14Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Of course the Steelers are no longer playing for Tua. We cunningly make it _look_ like we do, though. Mike Tomlin and his mind games, man… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/54 "2019-09-23T14:47:54Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Sadly, my Saints are contenders. We won the first game, but probably won’t win another unless/until Brees comes back, at which point we’ll already be all but eliminated from playoff contention anyway… Apparently I know even less about football than I do about politics. Saints offense wasn’t great, but Bridgewater played reasonably well. Without all the penalties, they may have scored another couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/55 "2019-09-23T20:56:32Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Apparently I know even less about football than I do about politics. Saints offense wasn’t great, but Bridgewater played reasonably well. Without all the penalties, they may have scored another couple of times. Your team has the best backup tandem in the league at QB with Bridgewater and Hill. You can still make the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/56 "2019-09-23T21:37:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Your team has the best backup tandem in the league at QB with Bridgewater and Hill. You can still make the playoffs. There’s a reason Bridgewater is the highest-paid backup in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/57 "2019-09-24T01:39:22Z")
What Miami is doing is not only disgusting it’s dangerous. Trading a left tackle who’s job is to protect the QBs blindside for a bag of footballs should not have been allowed by the NFL. This isn’t the NBA, Dolphins players could get seriously hurt by their team’s refusal to put the best players possible on the field. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/58 "2019-09-24T01:47:13Z")
The Dolphins got _two_ 1st Rounders **&** a 2nd Rounder for Tunsil. Not many teams would turn that down. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/59 "2019-09-24T04:06:58Z")
I get that but what does that do for the players on this years team? A record number of their agents have asked to be traded. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/60 "2019-09-24T16:22:56Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I get that but what does that do for the players on this years team? A record number of their agents have asked to be traded. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk You say that like it’s a surprise that NFL team owners don’t generally give a shit about their players. They’re meat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066.md?page=4)