(04-20-2021, 12:23 PM)Predator Wrote:

(04-20-2021, 09:45 AM)Bullseye Wrote: Agreed generally with the statement in bold.

But even with that, there's a distinction to be made.

If you have a young team...perhaps in the first or second year of a rebuild, and it finally has a strong enough nucleus to be competitive, it's finally comfortable in the schemes and it starts to put things together, and there is still a chance of making the playoffs (see 1996 & 2004 Jaguars), that's one thing.  Let the team continue to develop naturally and win those games.  If they fall short of the playoffs, okay, but you gave it a good shot and you have some indicia your team is on the right track.

But if your team has been clearly trending downward over the course of multiple seasons, there has been a purging of talent, the coach and/or FO has been on the hot seat and the team has zero chance to reach the playoffs, any late season wins are of no use whatsoever, especially if it contributes to a division foe getting a franchise QB.  I expect players and coaches to be competitive.  But competitive drive without competitive talent leads to, at best, a bunch of competitive losses.  At the end of the season, you'd still want to purge the team of competitive but inferior talent (i.e. Taven Bryan) in favor of superior competitive talent.

In this instance, we have a new coach implementing new schemes.  The team has bottomed out at 1-15.  We'll have the new QB in addition to a slew of other new players to fit the scheme.  If the team starts slowly then starts to win mid to late season, I'm okay with it.  While a win might harm draft position, at least we go forth with the idea we have the franchise QB, and then it's a matter of putting in other pieces around him.

What are you talking about?

Late season wins means everything to someone's future job prospects.No one wants to hire someone who quits.

And to think someone would lose on purpose just to help the people who are firing them is just ridiculous. They couldn't give a rats [BLEEP] about the teams fortunes once they are gone. If anything they would be vindictive and want to ruin things for the team that is firing them.

From a football fan's perspective, who cares about the future job prospects of a player?

What's crunk juice doing these days?

Any word on what Don Davey is doing in his career

Keeping tabs on Stacey Mack or baby Boselli?

After every game and during every offseason everyone who has an opinion on this football team on this board talks about about what positions are good and what positions need upgrading.

What do you suppose that means?

During training camp we do roster projections and talk about guys who are on the bubble, etc.  Do you seriously think those subjects have ZERO implications on the employment of these players?!?  We fans have zero influence on these things so our speculations mean nothing, but teams undergo these same deliberations.  Every year, they fire a ton of players.  Every year, fans say so and so coach should be fired.  People have been calling for Marrone to be fired since the AFC championship game in 2017  Unless it's a player we like, no fan even blinks when a player becomes unemployed.

Why would you pretend to care NOW?!?

Should we keep inferior players on the team to keep to avoid someone's job loss?  For how long?  retirement age?  I'm not talking NFL retirement age, but 65?

Yes, I absolutely expect players and coaches to fight like hell to keep their jobs.  It's only human nature they would.  But I also absolutely expect a team to do what's in its best long term interests.  If that means cutting a competitive but ineffective player, so be it.  We all do.

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