# "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:** 4
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/61 "2019-09-24T21:08:14Z")
It seems there’s a bigger divide between the good teams and bad teams this year. I mean, usually there are 4-5 really good teams, 20 or so mediocre teams, and 4-5 bad teams. This year there’s the same 4-5 good ones, but like 10 absolutely terrible teams. Baseball was the same this season, too. ---
**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 24, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/62 "2019-09-24T21:31:45Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You say that like it’s a surprise that NFL team owners don’t generally give a shit about their players. They’re meat. Team owners might not but you’d think the NFLPA would. ---
**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, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/63 "2019-09-24T22:36:39Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Team owners might not but you’d think the NFLPA would. That would entail them saying the _current_ left tackle for the Dolphins isn’t worthy of being on an NFL roster. Michael Deiter might be a rookie, but he’s still a member of the NFLPA. And it’s not like he’s some UDFA scrub, he was a 3rd Round pick. ---
**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 24, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/64 "2019-09-24T23:07:00Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > That would entail them saying the _current_ left tackle for the Dolphins isn’t worthy of being on an NFL roster. Michael Deiter might be a rookie, but he’s still a member of the NFLPA. And it’s not like he’s some UDFA scrub, he was a 3rd Round pick. So they’re not literally putting a sack of footballs on the far left side of the line of scrimmage to impede the end rushers. I imagine pre-snap, the bag of footballs shifts and leans over… “False start! Sack of footballs! Five yard penalty, still first down.” ---
**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 25, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/65 "2019-09-25T01:20:07Z")
Three teams won this week: [del]Jacksonville Jaguars[/del] [del]Carolina Panthers[/del] [del]New York Giants[/del] Here are our six stopped squads, sorted by Points-Per-Drive differential (Offense PPD scored - Defense PPD allowed), also showing is average margin of loss, and their next opponent: **Miami Dolphins** -3.10 (-39.0) host Chargers (1-2, -1.3ppg) **New York Jets** -1.59 (-12.3) BYE **Pittsburgh Steelers** -0.93 (-12.0) host Bengals (0-3, -9.7ppg) Mon Night **Washington Redskins** -0.90 (-10.3) at Giants (1-2, -10.3ppg) **Denver Broncos** -0.67 (-7.0) host Jaguars (1-2, -0.7ppg) **Cincinnati Bengals** -0.60 (-9.7) at Steelers (0-3, -12.0ppg) Mon Night Winless: **Arizona Cardinals** -0.70 (-8.0) host Seahawks (2-1, -1.0ppg) Just what the rapidly declining prestige of Monday Night Football, a week four matchup of 0-3 teams. Both lost on the road by four points to two surprising 3-0 teams after holding fourth-quarter leads. The biggest difference is the Steelers had a +3 turnover margin and the Bengals were -2. As for the other teams, most of them looked pretty pathetic. Many were going up against top-5 PPD diff teams, and/or really solid defenses. But still, those efforts looked like week-one college puff pastry opponents. At least this upcoming week all the 0-3 teams are either on a bye or going against other teams with losing records. ---
**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 25, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/66 "2019-09-25T02:26:08Z")
I’m calling a tie game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/67 "2019-09-25T08:41:11Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m calling a tie game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Yeah, me too. Final score: suck to suck ---
**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 25, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/68 "2019-09-25T16:27:29Z")
> [@Harrington](#): > > Yeah, me too. Final score: suck to suck Hey! I resemble that remark! ---
**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 26, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/69 "2019-09-26T00:59:20Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You say that like it’s a surprise that NFL team owners don’t generally give a shit about their players. They’re meat. 100% agreed. The fact that the players are 80% black and the owners are all almost rich white billionaires makes the optics even worse. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**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 26, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/70 "2019-09-26T01:01:01Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > That would entail them saying the _current_ left tackle for the Dolphins isn’t worthy of being on an NFL roster. Michael Deiter might be a rookie, but he’s still a member of the NFLPA. And it’s not like he’s some UDFA scrub, he was a 3rd Round pick. No but he’s not as good as Tunsil. Even he would admit that. 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 26, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/71 "2019-09-26T01:31:55Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > No but he’s not as good as Tunsil. Even he would admit that. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk He wouldn’t agree that he endangers the health of his quarterback by his presence. ---
**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 28, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/72 "2019-09-28T01:39:12Z")
Under sedation, he would. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**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 30, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/73 "2019-09-30T18:10:46Z")
Good news everyone! The Dolphins had a lead for the first time! ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/74 "2019-10-01T12:14:55Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Good news everyone! The Dolphins had a lead for the first time! And they’re getting incrementally better. -49 -43 -25 -20 They’ve improved by 29 points in just three weeks! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/75 "2019-10-01T17:28:46Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Of course the Steelers are no longer playing for Tua. We cunningly make it _look_ like we do, though. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Mike Tomlin and his mind games, man… :eek: Just noticed this exchange. Steelers can’t tank for Tua anymore because the 'Fins have their first rounder for next year… ---
**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:** [October 1, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/76 "2019-10-01T17:33:32Z")
Of the 4 Teams that are 0-4, the Broncos, Redskins & Bengals have a combined -128 point differential. The Dolphins have a -137 point differential. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/77 "2019-10-01T17:39:15Z")
Redskins scoring sharply declining each week: 27 21 15 3 It took bringing in rookie QB Dwayne Haskins to get those 3 points. I fully anticipate them losing in Week 5 vs NE 63-0. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/78 "2019-10-02T10:19:06Z")
CONGRATULATIONS! The only win this week was from the muddled-on-maladroit meeting of two of our ‘best’ Monday Night. The Steelers managed to appear as an actual NFL team by beating the now 0-4 Bengals. How impressive. [del]Pittsburgh Steelers[/del] Here are our Five Fatuous Factions, this time sorted by their Pro Football Focus total DVOA rank. Rank in the adjective sense, not the noun. Also showing is average margin of loss, and their next opponent: **Miami Dolphins** -90.9% (-34.2) BYE **Cincinnati Bengals** -28.9% (-13.2) host Cardinals (0-3-1, -10.2ppg) \ ***Arizona Cardinals** -24.0% (-8.0) at Bengals (0-4, -13.2ppg) **Washington Redskins** -23.4% (-13.0) host Patriots (4-0, +23.8ppg) **New York Jets** -23.1% (-12.3) at Eagles (2-2, +1.2ppg) **Denver Broncos** -16.2% (-5.8) at Chargers (2-2, +4.0ppg) \*Winless. I’m a’gunna throw the Cards in with the rest, now. They tied a good Lions team Week 1, but they’ve gone on to stink it up pretty bad since then. The Dolphins are so bad How bad are they? The Dolphins are so bad they lost by 20 and _improved_ their average point differential. The Dolphins are so bad their loss margin is worse than _all the other winless teams COMBINED_. The Dolphins are so bad they are 0-4 _against the spread_. Their _average_ point spread was more than two touchdowns. In sad news for teams hoping to pad their victory margins, the Dolphins are on a bye this week. The Bengals got blown out by previously-winless Steelers team. The Cardinals visit them this week. Will Arizona become the first team since forever to have _two_ ties in a single season? How are the Bengals the favored team? The Redskins almost seem desperate to keep up with the Dolphins, and they get help this week by playing the Patriots. How many cupcakes before the Pats start getting doubted? Sam Darnold being out with mono is not the reason the Jets are losing. The Broncos lost another heartbreaker, but how a Vic Fangios defense is that bad I do not understand. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/79 "2019-10-04T20:43:07Z")
The bad news train gets set to roll, it won’t slow down yet out of coal: The **Jets** ’ [Sam Darnold still out with mono](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27766729/sam-darnold-return-jets-luke-falk-start-vs-eagles). The **Dolphins** will have to wait another week to go 0-5. The **Bengals** [place starting WR John Ross on IR](https://www.cincyjungle.com/2019/10/2/20895417/bengals-john-ross-injury-stanley-morgan-nfl-news). The **Broncos** ’ WR Emmanuel Sanders has been the subject of trade rumors, now [Mike Florio is suggesting trading Von Miller](https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/10/02/should-the-broncos-listen-to-offers-for-von-miller-and-other-veterans/), too. The **Redskins** , who “didn’t have” a plan at starting QB all week, [will start… Colt McCoy](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27767603/washington-redskins-start-colt-mccoy-quarterback). The **Cardinals** ’ [WR Christian Kirk is out this week](https://arizonasports.com/story/2106968/cardinals-wr-christian-kirk-ruled-out-for-week-5-vs-bengals/), which may make those four-wideout formations they use 60% of the time a little less useful. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066/80 "2019-10-04T20:52:15Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > The **Dolphins** will have to wait another week to go 0-5. Are we sure? I’m not yet convinced the Dolphins won’t find a way to lose this weekend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-for-tua-or-the-0-16-nfl-season-thread-2019-ed/840066.md?page=5)