The nfl needs to fix how the draft order is determined

[GoPats]

I think of instead of a change in the draft, the playoff teams should see an increase in cap space for the next year.  give them a chance to keep their players. instead of a FA drain that seems to happen to the SB winners.   

 

That flies directly in the face of the entire point behind the introduction of free agency. The league didn't want perennial powerhouses and teams that finished in the basement every season. They want all 32 teams to be competitive. 

 

Teams that win are often almost "penalized" by how things are set up. They draft low, their players and coaches are poached by other teams, they get a more difficult schedule the following year, etc-etc. Everything in the NFL is set up to give bad teams a chance to get good, and to make it harder for good teams to stay good. 

 

They can't account for two things though: 1) Coaching/management, and 2) QB play. There's such a discrepancy in those areas and no one can really control it. 

[JerodMayo51]

A lottery system similar to the NBA I think would be a good idea, it would prevent teams from throwing games to get that super valuable 1st pick

I also think they should copy the NBA with cap relief for contracts of players that have been with 1 team their whole career, say 10+ years?

That would allow lifers on a team to finish their career there without having to be cut purely for salary cap reasons.

I think it's a great idea to reward players and teams for loyalty. You could add some limitations there, like maybe only being able to apply a legacy tag to 2 or 3 players total, and you could scale it down.. so like 15% cap relief for legacy player 1, 10% for legacy player 2, 5% foe legacy player 3

Think of how many players stay on the same team for more than 10 years.. its not that common.

In the Pats case, Brady and Wilfork would fall into that category, but that's it. Those are legacy type players and it's a tragedy when those players have to leave for no other reason than getting cap space (see Logan Mankins)

[Superman]

A lottery system similar to the NBA I think would be a good idea, it would prevent teams from throwing games to get that super valuable 1st pick

I also think they should copy the NBA with cap relief for contracts of players that have been with 1 team their whole career, say 10+ years?

That would allow lifers on a team to finish their career there without having to be cut purely for salary cap reasons.

I think it's a great idea to reward players and teams for loyalty. You could add some limitations there, like maybe only being able to apply a legacy tag to 2 or 3 players total, and you could scale it down.. so like 15% cap relief for legacy player 1, 10% for legacy player 2, 5% foe legacy player 3

Think of how many players stay on the same team for more than 10 years.. its not that common.

In the Pats case, Brady and Wilfork would fall into that category, but that's it. Those are legacy type players and it's a tragedy when those players have to leave for no other reason than getting cap space (see Logan Mankins)

 

Everything the NBA does for legacy players and amnesty provisions and buyouts and whatnot are made necessary because of fully guaranteed contracts, which is a problem the NFL doesn't have. Teams cut players in the NFL because they aren't good or valuable anymore (or they don't think they're good or valuable anymore). When there's a mutual desire between a player and a team, you'll see a Larry Fitzgerald renegotiation.

[JerodMayo51]

Everything the NBA does for legacy players and amnesty provisions and buyouts and whatnot are made necessary because of fully guaranteed contracts, which is a problem the NFL doesn't have. Teams cut players in the NFL because they aren't good or valuable anymore (or they don't think they're good or valuable anymore). When there's a mutual desire between a player and a team, you'll see a Larry Fitzgerald renegotiation.

Good point about the guaranteed money issue

but I don't think that a team always cuts a player because of a lack of value. Wilfork could be cut simply because they don't have the space for his cap hit while still retaining their young drafted talent.

they drafted Wilfork, he's been there over 10 years and is a legacy player, but to retain other guys they drafted like Solder, hightower, vereen, Ghostkowski, jones, mccourty.. they need to cut or trade guys like Wilfork and Mankins

Id like to see some sort of slight perk exist for teams that draft well and are loyal to guys for their entire career.

If there was no free agency, I'm thinking the Pats would have another fist full of rings ;)

[Superman]

Good point about the guaranteed money issue

but I don't think that a team always cuts a player because of a lack of value. Wilfork could be cut simply because they don't have the space for his cap hit while still retaining their young drafted talent.

they drafted Wilfork, he's been there over 10 years and is a legacy player, but to retain other guys they drafted like Solder, hightower, vereen, Ghostkowski, jones, mccourty.. they need to cut or trade guys like Wilfork and Mankins

Id like to see some sort of slight perk exist for teams that draft well and are loyal to guys for their entire career.

If there was no free agency, I'm thinking the Pats would have another fist full of rings ;)

 

If there's no mutual desire between the Pats and Wilfork, then we all know what will happen. But that's a Pats thing, not something that they have to do. They have a strict value matrix that they use when making these decisions, and they make them without regard for emotion and legacy.

 

Another significant difference between the NFL and NBA is that skills and ability can disappear overnight in the NFL, whereas the decline for an NBA player is typically more gradual. Teams like the Pats like to cut bait before they get stuck with a big contract for a sharply declining player. Sometimes they time it well, other times they're a little premature, but that's their deal. I think that strict adherence to their value matrix has hurt them more than free agency and the salary cap. They could have kept Asante Samuel, they could have added better receivers in 2005-06, etc. And ironically, while Brady did some team friendly contracts, they never seemed to take advantage of that additional flexibility.

 

There are a lot of cap gimmicks that teams can use to keep their legacy players. The Ravens used voided years to keep Ray Lewis. Combined with option bonuses and other tricks, usually things can be worked out. Again, there has to be a mutual desire.

[Dustin]

A lottery system similar to the NBA I think would be a good idea, it would prevent teams from throwing games to get that super valuable 1st pick

I also think they should copy the NBA with cap relief for contracts of players that have been with 1 team their whole career, say 10+ years?

That would allow lifers on a team to finish their career there without having to be cut purely for salary cap reasons.

I think it's a great idea to reward players and teams for loyalty. You could add some limitations there, like maybe only being able to apply a legacy tag to 2 or 3 players total, and you could scale it down.. so like 15% cap relief for legacy player 1, 10% for legacy player 2, 5% foe legacy player 3

Think of how many players stay on the same team for more than 10 years.. its not that common.

In the Pats case, Brady and Wilfork would fall into that category, but that's it. Those are legacy type players and it's a tragedy when those players have to leave for no other reason than getting cap space (see Logan Mankins)

Why put in a provision for something that doesn't happen anyway? Teams don't throw games.

[JerodMayo51]

Why put in a provision for something that doesn't happen anyway? Teams don't throw games.

 

We disagree on this

[Dustin]

We disagree on this

There's nothing to disagree on. It doesn't happen.

[NewColtsFan]

We disagree on this

 

Oh, for the Love of God....

 

You think teams throw games?

 

Seriously?

[amfootball]

Oh, for the Love of God....

 

You think teams throw games?

 

Seriously?

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2015-01-03/story/nfl-confidential-did-tampa-bay-bucs-coach-tank-last-game-no-1-pick

[NewColtsFan]

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2015-01-03/story/nfl-confidential-did-tampa-bay-bucs-coach-tank-last-game-no-1-pick

 

Please.

 

The implication by the poster was that this was a common everyday occurrence.

 

Heck,  I've been a Colts fan three years and there are no shortage of New England fans who have figured out the elaborate conspiracy theory concocted by Polian and Irsay in order to get Andrew Luck.    We didn't throw a game.  

 

According to Pats fans we threw an entire season!

 

Of course,  it involved not one,  not two,  not three,  but four serious neck surgeries on Peyton Manning's neck,  but that was all part of the grand master plan to acquire Luck.

 

Teams tanking a game at the end of the season in order to get a great pick happens in lots of sports.

 

I don't care about a game here or there.   What they're getting in return is a great player.

 

I care about the assertion of throwing games for other reasons.   And when the poster I responded made his post,  he was not at all clear about what he was saying....    I took his post to mean throwing games to cover gambling losses or something on that level.    When someone says throw a game,  that, to me, is typically what that means.

 

Can we please try and stay on planet earth?

 

For the record,  I'm reacting this way because for a while,  not too long ago,  we were visited by a fan of another team who is Captain Conspiracy Theory Guy and believes all sports are completely fixed and rigged.     Not just a game to get a better draft pick.

 

But all games, all the time.    That got pretty exhausting pretty quickly.....

[wizwor]

The draft is fine.  The salary cap is fine.  The NFL is fine.  There are minor flaws in their system -- the so called 'suck for Luck' campaign, the final exhibition game, and the 'rest' games at the end of a season come to mind -- but, generally, this somewhat flawed system has created opportunity for every team and competitive balance every season -- parity.

 

We see year after year that draft position is no guarantee of success (the mvp of the SB was a sixth round pick and the guy he gave the truck to wasn't drafted at all).

 

The last time Dallas played Indianapolis, Indy was the better team.  For that reason, the system is giving Dallas a little better opportunity to improve.  That is what parity is all about and that is why everyone watches NFL Football.

[scousecolt]

Say you win your first 8/9 games and have qualified for the play offs, what's to stop teams tanking the final games for better draft positions? Theres flaws to most systems but this rewards teams in hard divisions more than Patriots, Colts who get 11 wins or more most years.

[amfootball]

Please.

 

The implication by the poster was that this was a common everyday occurrence.

 

Heck,  I've been a Colts fan three years and there are no shortage of New England fans who have figured out the elaborate conspiracy theory concocted by Polian and Irsay in order to get Andrew Luck.    We didn't throw a game.  

 

According to Pats fans we threw an entire season!

 

Of course,  it involved not one,  not two,  not three,  but four serious neck surgeries on Peyton Manning's neck,  but that was all part of the grand master plan to acquire Luck.

 

Teams tanking a game at the end of the season in order to get a great pick happens in lots of sports.

 

I don't care about a game here or there.   What they're getting in return is a great player.

 

I care about the assertion of throwing games for other reasons.   And when the poster I responded made his post,  he was not at all clear about what he was saying....    I took his post to mean throwing games to cover gambling losses or something on that level.    When someone says throw a game,  that, to me, is typically what that means.

 

Can we please try and stay on planet earth?

 

For the record,  I'm reacting this way because for a while,  not too long ago,  we were visited by a fan of another team who is Captain Conspiracy Theory Guy and believes all sports are completely fixed and rigged.     Not just a game to get a better draft pick.

 

But all games, all the time.    That got pretty exhausting pretty quickly.....

I wasn't referring to the Colts with my link but showing that throwing games does happen ... for all different reasons.