Buffalo's strange obsession with 'tanking' and the disconnect it has created

By now, Buffalo Bills fans have heard on the radio and on the television the word “tanking” more times than they can recount.

So what exactly is a “tank” and what does “tanking” mean?

A tank, by loose definition, is a team’s attempt to deliberately put the franchise in a position to lose as many games as possible in order to solidify a top overall pick in the coming year’s draft.

The tank apparently originated in the NBA recently when poor-performing teams decided that they would rather have a better overall pick than try to salvage an unsalvageable season. Essentially, why try if you aren’t going to win and losing can bring you a potential super star.

In the 2014-2015 NHL season, the city of Buffalo’s beloved hockey team, the Sabres, executed the aforementioned tank for the 2015 NHL entry draft. The team ended up with a rising star in Jack Eichel and a potentially brighter future

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The idea of tanking has slowly crept its way into the minds of the hockey world and has now begun its transcendence into the NFL.

This NFL offseason, as pieces shifted and players joined new teams, momentum for a tank grew as fans of the New York Jets saw their franchise ship out major components of their team. The Jets let go of two starting receivers (Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker), a starting quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and even key players on the defense but left themselves with a sparse group of mediocre talent. The team was undergoing an overall rebuild and was banking on the next years draft to get them up to speed.

It’s yet to be seen but the moves made by the Jets management was either a calculated chance taken by the organization to increase the odds of a top pick or sheer incompetence by men who have worked in football the majority of their lives. I’ll let you decide.

When Buffalo fans saw this occurring and their teams outlook appearing bleak, they thought their team could be doing the same.

Sure, trading Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby seem like moves for the future but they’re taken out of context.

Watkins is a player who has been hampered by injuries and has an expiring contract in the offseason. Darby isn’t suited for zone coverage and the Bills management saw him as a weak spot in their secondary.

Although rational thought processes tend to lack in a watching your favorite team, many expected fans to understand the moves just a bit quicker than they did. Instead, a growing minority of fans have taken it upon themselves to continuously believe the team is tanking. They call every move a move for tanking and think the only thoughts going through Sean McDermott’s and Brandon Beane’s heads are about tanking.

Herein lies the problem and the disconnect.

Fans have begun to think that a sports organization is run like a fantasy football or Madden team. The problem is, the franchise doesn’t even think that way nor should they.

Eric Wood was interviewed on Good Morning Football on Tuesday and was asked to comment on whether or not the team was tanking.

What fans fail to realize is that football is involved in every person’s day-to-day job at One Bills Drive. They get paid for football related activities, whether it’s playing, coaching, or advising. These people have built their lives in football. Why on Earth would they want to fail at what they do?

Wood again touched on the direction of the team.

Inside the Buffalo Bills organization is incredibly different than the perceived appearance on the outside.

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have had to adamantly deny these claims of tanking since they were hired. The two haven’t orchestrated and been a part of a regular season Bills game together and people think they are tanking.

What Buffalo needs to do now is support the team more than ever and be patient, as hard as that seems. They need to trust the process that’s taking place and believe that good will come. Pretty soon, the playoff drought will be a distant memory.

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