How will you 'fan' the rest of the way - pray for wins or hope to lose out?

Win out or lose out?

  • I always want to win the game

    Votes: 28 47.5%

  • This team is done - losing out is better for the team.

    Votes: 28 47.5%

  • Other (comment please)

    Votes: 3 5.1%
  • Total voters
    59
Players talk all the time about putting their play on tape, either for the staff of the team they’re on or for their prospective employers to see.
 
Kel Varnsen said:
No game in the NFL is meaningless to the players and coaches. Every game is a chance for players to gain experience. They see new things, have different looks thrown at them, new coverages, blitzes, route combinations, etc. If you are Ertz, Wagner, and Miller (probably a few more), yeah you've probably seen it all before. The rest of team, every snap is an opportunity to learn. Now, there are times that coaches decide there is nothing to be gained by having players play. Usually that's the last game when guys rest for the playoffs or rest for next season. Additionally, injuries late in the year are treated with more care if you are not a playoff team. But the coaches have a responsibility to the guys on the team to do what it takes to win the games. That means putting their best players on the field and putting them in position to win. They also have a responsibility to teach the players how to play the games. That includes playing hard for the whole game and the whole season. To play hard and fight even when things don't go the way you want them to.

So yes, while as fans we may see a game as meaningless, to the players and coaches and the front office, every game has meaning. This is their job and their jobs hang on every game.
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You’re right about the importance of experience and habit. I would add guys care about stats and records too, and for good reasons ranging from contract incentives to Hall of Fame credentials. Mostly it’s the simple fact the competitive games are played to win, anybody who thinks otherwise is in the wrong business. Fans paid for tickets and jerseys, guys are trying to earn contracts and roster spots, and so on.

Tanking has always been repugnant to me, but at least I could understand the point when we didn’t have a quarterback, now it’s just ridiculous. Maybe it is a coping mechanism, you’re more likely to get your wish if you hope we lose.
 
The roster is very short on game changers. Not always, but you usually find those guys earlier on in the draft. It has been a lost season ever since the beatdown in Dallas. Factor in the boatload of injuries and I am not sure what a few more wins here and there does for this team heading into 2026 from a momentum standpoint. Quinn is going to be here regardless of how we fare down the stretch. The roster - that is surely going to change with several expiring veteran contracts that very likely won’t be brought back. 2025 confirmed that the team is further than many thought from a real Super Bowl run. We need a bit of a reset in terms of priming this roster to be a consistent winner for the next ten years and that always begins and ends with the draft. The higher you pick, the more flexibility you have. Not cheering or happy for losses, but when we are down to the likes of Chase Edmonds and the Robbie Chosens of the world on the active roster, a large part of me wants to fast forward to the offseason.
 
Kel Varnsen said:
No game in the NFL is meaningless to the players and coaches. Every game is a chance for players to gain experience. They see new things, have different looks thrown at them, new coverages, blitzes, route combinations, etc. If you are Ertz, Wagner, and Miller (probably a few more), yeah you've probably seen it all before. The rest of team, every snap is an opportunity to learn. Now, there are times that coaches decide there is nothing to be gained by having players play. Usually that's the last game when guys rest for the playoffs or rest for next season. Additionally, injuries late in the year are treated with more care if you are not a playoff team. But the coaches have a responsibility to the guys on the team to do what it takes to win the games. That means putting their best players on the field and putting them in position to win. They also have a responsibility to teach the players how to play the games. That includes playing hard for the whole game and the whole season. To play hard and fight even when things don't go the way you want them to.

So yes, while as fans we may see a game as meaningless, to the players and coaches and the front office, every game has meaning. This is their job and their jobs hang on every game.
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Those are all great points. But it won't change anything for me - if they lose in Madrid, that effectively makes the post-season impossible. At that point, the best thing for the future of the franchise is for them to lose out.
 
Boone said:
Those are all great points. But it won't change anything for me - if they lose in Madrid, that effectively makes the post-season impossible. At that point, the best thing for the future of the franchise is for them to lose out.
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This is the bottom line. Everyone can ‘fan’ in whatever fashion helps them cope with this disaster of season, but in the end the better draft pick is the best scenario for the future. I will still root for wins every week but the losses won’t hurt because of it.
 
I'll confess I am surprised by the poll results, I figured it would be a more even split.
 
Hmm, didn’t realize there was a pole there. I’m not that surprised. I got a lot of blowback for advocating for tanking two years ago. When it ended up working and we got Jayden, I would’ve thought some people would change their view a little bit. I get it though, it’s a little bit different when you need a QB versus already having one.
 
I’m looking for us to win whilst getting as much experience for the youngsters as we can. After the break we need to transition from Wagner & Ertz etc. I won’t be down on them if we lose and get the youngsters experience and we see some improvements that can be built on for next year. That said I am a little concerned with the value of that experience they gain if the blowouts continue.
 
I still would rather see them win than lose. There is no guarantee that anyone we pick will be good.

But I do see both sides and feel no ill will towards those on the tanking side either.
 
I really wanted us to win and was cheering for our big plays….

But I’m ok with the final result in OT knowing that Matt Gay’s miss probably enables us to take that generational Edge Rusher like Micah instead of the next Emmanuel Forbes.
 
Petey hodge said:
But I’m ok with the final result in OT knowing that Matt Gay’s miss probably enables us to take that generational Edge Rusher like Micah . . .
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. . . or Chase Young.

The draft is a crapshoot, and tanking is stupid, but at least it helps some people cope with being losers I guess.
 
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HTTR said:
Hmm, didn’t realize there was a pole there. I’m not that surprised. I got a lot of blowback for advocating for tanking two years ago. When it ended up working and we got Jayden, I would’ve thought some people would change their view a little bit.
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Maybe it worked out, but how sure are we that we would have been worse off with Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy, or Bo Nix? Or better yet, what if we had gone with my preferred strategy of signing Baker Mayfield in free agency and drafting a guy like Joe Alt or Malik Nabers? I like Jayden, but you don’t have to lose on purpose to put together a good team.
 
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Faithful Fan said:
. . . or Chase Young.

The draft is a crapshoot, and tanking is stupid, but at least it helps some people cope with being losers I guess.
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I agree... but it's been proven that a meaningless play that the NYG made in 2023 to to beat us made the difference between them having the pick to get Jayden and us.

When we're battling for Top 5 picks, the order matters amigo.
 
“ but it's been proven that a meaningless play that the NYG made in 2023 to to beat us made the difference between them having the pick to get Jayden and us.”

And how is that working out for us?
 
This season is over. Hopefully we pick high enough to get the premier pass rusher in the draft.
For me, it's not about deliberately losing as it is about playing the youngest dudes both for evaluation as well as experience. The fact that Yankoff and Bates both had passes thrown their way but not Sinnott implies no confidence in him. Jaylin Lane looks great when targeted - put him on the field as much as possible. Same for Newton and Maghee. Maybe Medrano as well. I would much rather lose with Peters era draft picks taking their lumps than squeezing out another meaningless win or two with our vets.
 
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