To Tank or Not to Tank?

   Based on what we see on the field, the Cleveland Browns Front Office isn't even trying to win.   They have deliberately tanked the team, deliberately made it worse in order to maximize their draft position unloaded veterans who could contribute in the short run but maybe not in the long haul.  n for 2018.  In 2018, they probably have their eye on a quarterback that they believe is so special that it is worth losing games in order to get, unless something miraculous happens between now and the draft, which I doubt. 

     The temptation to tank for draft picks is not a new idea.  I remember in 1968 the Philadelphia Eagles fans were winless with two weeks left in the season.  That was the year they famously booed Santa Claus.   But the fans were excited because they were going to be able to draft O. J. Simpson, the superstar halfback of the University of Southern California.   You young 'uns might not believe it, but O. J. was a football star before he became a reality TV phenomenon.

    So most of the fans wanted the Eagles to contrive to lose their last two games.  The Eagles players, however, were not interested in losing and Eagles somehow managed to win their last two games in a row to finish 2-12, just ahead of the Buffalo Bills who went 1-12-1 and landed the coveted prospect.  So the Bills got O. J. and the Eagles wound up with a fellow named Leroy Keyes a running back who didn't fare well in the Pros.  

     But even as kid, I respected the Eagles for fighting to the end and trying their hardest to win.  But by now, the Cleveland Browns have apparently figured out that it is better to lose games to get good draft position for a few years, with the idea that they will start trying to win in 2018 and beyond.  

    Are the fans okay with that?  
    It's inescapably obvious that the Browns have a plan to land a major player, comparable to Myles Garrett, but probably a quarterback.  

The fictional antihero of the movie "Draft Day" was a sensational quarterback named Bo Callahan.  They say there are a few  five star quarterbacks in the 2018 draft class. 

    That is the reason why the Browns are so far under the salary cap.  The Browns are spending only about $115 million on active player salaries in 2017, or in other words about $35 million below the rest of the NFL.

      Their biggest investment this year was Brock Osweiler at $16 Million, the highest paid man on the team, who isn't even playing. They made this investment in order to obtain a second round draft pick for 2018.  They could have signed two starters for that amount of money.  

    The Browns cut, traded or made little effort to sign several players who were veterans and still capable of playing NFL caliber football if not at a star level.  In particular, they cut Joe Haden, who they are paying $7 million dollars to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  This was done over the objections of Coaches Hue Jackson and Gregg Williams, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  ( 6 Reasons Not to Cut Joe Haden ).  The Browns Coaching staff did not want to lose DeMario Davis, according to Ms Cabot.  We made these moves to make sure we can lose  games and perhaps even beat out the  the San Francisco 49ers,  for the top slot in the draft.  Th 49ers, like the Browns, are jettisoning veteran players and gutting salaries.

    I think they made the decision to start DeShone Kizer to find out if we have a franchise quarterback, and if not, we'll draft one in 2018.  Not sure that one year is enough to make a decision on Kizer but any case I don't think they can turn down a start quarterback in the next draft. 
      This thought process probably looks good in computer simulations. But I question whether a football team is going to win if they realize that the Front Office is okay with a losing performance.  I can't stand it whenever I hear talk that we need to start the rookie NOW to "set our priorities" fore NEXT year.  Ugh.  That's not football.  Football is the toughest game in the world and it's played by guys who value winning above all else.  I don't think you can just suddenly switch gears and start to win on command.  

     So, what do you think, Browns Nation?  Is it ok to play kids to set your draft priorities rather than trying to win every game you can?   Or, what happens if we suck it up, put the veterans back in the lineup and actually win some games?  If we are 10th in the draft, probably all the "franchise' types will be gone.   

      Are we okay with potentially missing out on a top qb in the draft to win meaningless games?  Or do you play to win, no matter what?