Leader Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 3 minutes ago, Sasquatch said: Prolly no penalty for obvious tanking, but there may be some folks whispering about illegal gambling or some such horse-hockey. Philly played it like a "game of no consequence" at 1PM in which there were many playoff variables still to be decided - none of which included them. That wouldnt have bothered anybody. Only problem was that it was the very last game of the year - in prime time - and the W/L ramifications were all known. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leader Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 Tom Pelissero - The NFL’s longstanding position has been that it’s solely the club’s decision regarding who to play, for now long, etc. So while the circumstances tonight are unique, the Eagles aren’t the first team to play backups in Week 17, and the league historically hasn’t gotten involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leader Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 NY Post - Giants players watched with great interest and then intense horror as Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, trailing 17-14 early in the fourth quarter, pulled quarterback Jalen Hurts for seldom-used Nate Sudfeld, a move that showed how uninterested Pederson was in actually winning the game. The Eagles owed the Giants nothing, but you can be sure Judge and the Giants will remember how Pederson navigated his way into a loss and cost them a shot at the playoffs. If Washington had lost, the Giants would have become the first team in NFL history to go 6-10 and make it to the postseason. Instead, Washington plays host to the Buccaneers (11-5) in an NFC wild-card game and the Giants pack up and go home, missing out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeresAGuy Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 (edited) Yup, league hasn’t done anything because up to this point I think teams ar least gracefully glossed over it one way or another. The Eagles might have just ruined that luxury for everyone side. The optics on this dont look great it was bad enough I think to force the nfl to act on it. Edited January 4, 2021 by HeresAGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossibleCabbage Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 The last time there were significant allegations of tanking against a specific team, the NFL changed the rules for week 17 scheduling to force (presumably more meaningful) divisional games to be played in week 17. The problem the NFL had this year is that they didn't really have a "whichever team wins goes to the playoffs, the other team stays home" matchup (the Rams would still get in with a Bears loss, and the NFL wanted all those games that influence each other at the same time.) So the Eagles tank job takes place when everybody is watching. If this were a 1PM game, no one would care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malfatron Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Leader said: Philly played it like a "game of no consequence" at 1PM in which there were many playoff variables still to be decided - none of which included them. That wouldnt have bothered anybody. Only problem was that it was the very last game of the year - in prime time - and the W/L ramifications were all known. yep in the future, games like this wont be moved to the late game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossibleCabbage Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 29 minutes ago, Malfatron said: in the future, games like this wont be moved to the late game NFL was kind of in a bind that there wasn't a good choice for the SNF game anywhere. Ideally, you want games whose playoff implications depend on each other to be played at the same time- this is why GB, SEA, and NO were all in the late slot; the NFL doesn't want the Saints to decide to rest starters because the Seahawks already lost guaranteeing GB the 1 seed, for example. Going into the weekend, on the NFC side 3 division championships and 1 wild card were already locked up, the Cardinals needed to beat the Rams, the Rams needed to beat the Cardinals or have the Bears lose, and the Bears needed to win or see the Cardinals lose. On the AFC side, 3 divisions were up for grabs, but there were 5 teams hunting for 4 slots, all of them having a "Win or someone else loses" scenario. If the NFCE or AFCS games this week were switched, so IND plays TEN and DAL plays WFT then you'd have a good SNF game- since both teams could win the division by winning that game, but unfortunately the Titans played the Texans and the Colts played the Jaguars, while the Cowboys played the Giants and the Eagles played the Football Team. The best choice would have honestly been "don't have any game on SNF" but NBC would never agree to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malfatron Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 should have been a no snf for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leader Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 36 minutes ago, PossibleCabbage said: The best choice would have honestly been "don't have any game on SNF" but NBC would never agree to that. This ^^^ Although its not necessarily a true fix. Apply the same criteria to the PHIL/WA + NYG/DAL games - but play them simultaneously at 4PM. What difference is there should Philly decide its not going to go all out to win - while the Giants are playing **** to the wall because they need to win in order to have a shot at the playoffs. Only difference would be that Philly's "non-effort" would be better concealed - unless of course, they were to try the QB swap as occurred here! Doug Pederson didnt do himself any favors in his postgame interview...... He claimed "of course he was coaching to win" - and that Sudfeld - "who'd been with the team four years, deserved to get some snaps" - (???? why is that?) - when he'd been inactive in every previous game! Thats about as lame as they come and I expect him to be seriously lampooned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HyponGrey Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 3 hours ago, PossibleCabbage said: NFL was kind of in a bind that there wasn't a good choice for the SNF game anywhere. Ideally, you want games whose playoff implications depend on each other to be played at the same time- this is why GB, SEA, and NO were all in the late slot; the NFL doesn't want the Saints to decide to rest starters because the Seahawks already lost guaranteeing GB the 1 seed, for example. Going into the weekend, on the NFC side 3 division championships and 1 wild card were already locked up, the Cardinals needed to beat the Rams, the Rams needed to beat the Cardinals or have the Bears lose, and the Bears needed to win or see the Cardinals lose. On the AFC side, 3 divisions were up for grabs, but there were 5 teams hunting for 4 slots, all of them having a "Win or someone else loses" scenario. If the NFCE or AFCS games this week were switched, so IND plays TEN and DAL plays WFT then you'd have a good SNF game- since both teams could win the division by winning that game, but unfortunately the Titans played the Texans and the Colts played the Jaguars, while the Cowboys played the Giants and the Eagles played the Football Team. The best choice would have honestly been "don't have any game on SNF" but NBC would never agree to that. I called Houston vs Tennessee as the game that should have been the night game, and I would like to revel in how right I was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green19 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I don’t see the big deal. Giants, if you wanted in... maybe... don’t... rely on the eagle to get you there. just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HyponGrey Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 3 minutes ago, Green19 said: I don’t see the big deal. Giants, if you wanted in... maybe... don’t... rely on the eagle to get you there. just a thought. It's not a big deal. Denying it is stupid, because that makes it feel like you did something wrong. Only real thing is your players are pissed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeresAGuy Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 week 17 night games are going to have to be one of two things. A game for all the marbles, or a completely inconsequential game. "In between" games like this probably shouldnt be flexed anymore. Further enhancing that line of thought, it was was probably a bottom five game of football many of us have seen in our adult lives. That was just pathetic football. This game complicates it, but there are smart enough people whose careers are probably dedicated entirely to evaluating situations like these and who plays week 17 sunday night. This isnt something revolutionary, but it isnt something thats going to bring down the league. It was a good learning experience for the future, because a team did so blatantly something that was at least glossed over before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green19 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 45 minutes ago, HyponGrey said: It's not a big deal. Denying it is stupid, because that makes it feel like you did something wrong. Only real thing is your players are pissed. Well they are like most employees and are pissed with how their bosses handle situations. Fact is they should be pissed with their own performances and pissed that the guy the organization hitched their wagon/future on crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, and because of “business” that he (wentz) had to be trotted out their week after week when it was obviously not working. Honestly if I was on the eagles I would be like... yup this is how this season would end. Then hope that the organization has the right people in place to correct this mess before the 2021 season starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HyponGrey Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Green19 said: Well they are like most employees and are pissed with how their bosses handle situations. Fact is they should be pissed with their own performances and pissed that the guy the organization hitched their wagon/future on crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, and because of “business” that he (wentz) had to be trotted out their week after week when it was obviously not working. Honestly if I was on the eagles I would be like... yup this is how this season would end. Then hope that the organization has the right people in place to correct this mess before the 2021 season starts. They're more like "we were a freaking field goal down, and our coaches threw the win away. We wanted to win." You kind of risk losing the locker room. Edited January 4, 2021 by HyponGrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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