Tank for Trevor?
By Noah Powell
Tanking: to make no effort to win; to lose intentionally.
Majority of the time we see this done only in the NBA to help teams guarantee a lottery pick. The most recent example comes from the Golden State Warriors. They made 5 straight finals from 2015-2019, winning 3 of them, and seemingly threw away this last season due to a couple of injuries to their best players. They were successful in their tank as they came away with the number 2 overall pick and drafted a player that will solidify their already established dynasty for years to come.
Now although it's been joked about and quietly murmured for years it appears that high scale tanking has officially reached the NFL…we think.
Let's backtrack to Sunday afternoons game between the New York Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders. This game was a must-win for the Raiders, but the Jets just seemed to have their number the entire time. This was their opportunity to finally get into the win column and avoid the dreaded 0-16 season. The Jets took a late 28-24 lead with 5:24 left to play then a series of interesting events took place. These events can also be known as “The Tank”.
Step 1: The Raiders drove down the field with the help of some questionable defensive holding calls on the Jets secondary on third and fourth downs. But still, the Raiders were not able to put any points on the board even though they reached the Jets 9 yard line. The game remained 28-24 Jets.
Step 2: With 1:37 to play, the Jets seem to make no true attempt to gain a first down and go 3 and out, punting the ball to the Raiders.
Step 3: Down 4 with no timeouts left, 35 seconds on the clock, and on their own 39-yard line, you could say the Raiders’ backs were against the wall. The Raiders were able to get to the Jets 46 with 19 seconds left. Then the unthinkable happens. For those who never played football or don’t have a super deep understanding in this defensive situation, there are certain things you just can’t let happen. The most important rule is not to let anything, I mean ANYTHING, get behind you because ultimately you're just defending the end zone. If you tackle them short the game is basically over because they have no timeouts and no time to run another play. So what did the Jets do? They let Nelson Agholor get behind them, and he was wide open in the end zone but Derek Carr missed the throw. 13 seconds left now. In most cases after the near-fatal mistake teams would be sure not to let that happen twice in a row. You would think. The Jets come out in a Cover 0 and send 7 pass rushers. This left an undrafted rookie corner one-on-one, with no safety help, with not only the number 1 drafted wide receiver in the NFL draft but the guy who nearly broke the NFL combine 40-yard dash record with a 4.27 40. So tell me what you think happened? Raiders throw the deep ball to Henry Ruggs and they win the game.
Tank successful.
Jets fans rejoice everywhere as they almost secure the number 1 pick to draft the franchise-changing quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson. To further show how egregious this tank really was, ESPN Stats & Info tweeted that in the last 15 seasons there were 252 pass plays that matched this same situation, and the Jets were the first defense to ever send 6 plus pass rushers.
Now after what may be the worst play call in NFL history, the Jets seem to be attempting to cover up their tank. For one, veteran safety Marcus Maye spoke postgame and had some comments about accountability for the call.
I understand that it’s the players’ responsibility to listen to their coaches’ calls. But if this wasn’t a tank and the team truly wanted to win, wouldn’t you think that professional football players would know to check out of that call and protect the end zone?
Greg Williams was fired for his efforts against the Raiders. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
Lastly, the Jets fired their Defensive Coordinator, Gregg Williams, who made the call yesterday. 15 seasons. 256 plays of the same scenario. I still can not believe that this wasn’t intentional and would not be the least bit surprised if Gregg Williams got a secret severance package for helping the Jets in that situation. If that’s not the case, and this was a real attempt at a victory, this Jets organization may be the worst in NFL history.
Tank or no Tank, Jets fans it looks like your dream of Trevor Lawrence in Green will be coming true very soon.
Noah is a sports writer for La Tonique.
