Playoff secured - opinions on tanking to improve chances?

[MEuRaH]

About 10-15 years ago I had a chance to lose to my opponent, giving him a win and the last playoff spot over the highest-scoring team in the league. I purposely threw the game and lost. I played that same opponent in the first round of the playoffs and lost. Had I played to win instead, I would have won the first round of the playoffs.

Don't throw games. It'll stick with you for years if you do and lose in the playoffs. Trust me.

[CGW]

Another scenario - I'm in 3rd playing the guy in 4th. Whoever wins gets 3rd and whoever loses gets 6th. We play each other regardless week 1 of the playoffs (3v6). If I throw the game, I get a higher draft pick if I happen to lose to him next week. Tempting, but only because there's about 6 teams in this league who are blatantly tanking.

[Ice]

I detest tanking for any reason.

Tanking is a low class move and a league killer.

[jonf86]

About 10-15 years ago I had a chance to lose to my opponent, giving him a win and the last playoff spot over the highest-scoring team in the league. I purposely threw the game and lost. I played that same opponent in the first round of the playoffs and lost. Had I played to win instead, I would have won the first round of the playoffs.

Don't throw games. It'll stick with you for years if you do and lose in the playoffs. Trust me.

You made the right move. All you can do is put your team in the best position to succeed. Just because it didn't work out doesn't mean it was the wrong decision.

In a more general sense, if there are no rules against a move like this, I would suggest you do whatever you think is in your team's best interest.

[WhatWouldDitkaDo]

I would not do that for three reasons:

1. Even if it's not officially against the bylaws, it's a moral gray area and poor sportsmanship / etiquette.
2. Fantasy is unpredictable. It's very possible the team you want to play against blows up the week you face them.
3. Bad karma

[Pac_Eddy]

I detest tanking for any reason.

Tanking is a low class move and a league killer.

How do you define tanking? A or B?

A. Setting a lineup meant to lose by benching good players

B. Trading away older players for draft capital and/or prospects

[Ice]

I detest tanking for any reason.

Tanking is a low class move and a league killer.

How do you define tanking? A or B?

A. Setting a lineup meant to lose by benching good players

B. Trading away older players for draft capital and/or prospects

Really?

Come on man! You know or should know rebuilding teams require assets to trade.

[davidxhorn]

This is a question as a commissioner.

We are encountering a new scenario for me. 10-team league, 6 teams make the playoffs. Currently, the #1 seed is 11-1 and scoring 40+ more ppg than anyone else. Steamrolling people. So, coming into the final week of our season, he has already secured his Bye Week, and has nothing to play for.

He is playing against the current #6 team, who is 6-6, and has JuJu and James Conner out. If this tean wins against the #1 team (highly unlikely), he is in the playoffs. If he loses, he falls to 6-7 and misses the playoffs, but subsequently opens the door for 2 other potential playoff teams that could be 6-7.

In our group chat, the #1 seed mentioned that it would strategically benefit him to throw the game, so that he would let the weaker team in the playoffs, giving him a better chance of winning out. Not negligence, not tanking, just for strategy, he says. Our league rules don't account for this at the moment.

To make it harder, I am one of the potential "outside looking in" teams at 6-7, so if I make a ruling that favors me, it seems sketchy. I personally don't think that it would be an "ethical" move, but then again, it isn't much different than nabbing a player off waivers just so others can't get him, which I view as strategy. Can I please have you thoughts on this?

[Pac_Eddy]

I detest tanking for any reason.

Tanking is a low class move and a league killer.

How do you define tanking? A or B?

A. Setting a lineup meant to lose by benching good players

B. Trading away older players for draft capital and/or prospects

Really?

Come on man! You know or should know rebuilding teams require assets to trade.

Yeah, I know. But there's a guy in this thread that doesn't. He says both are tanking.

[purplepride28]

How do you define tanking? A or B?

A. Setting a lineup meant to lose by benching good players

B. Trading away older players for draft capital and/or prospects

Really?

Come on man! You know or should know rebuilding teams require assets to trade.

Yeah, I know. But there's a guy in this thread that doesn't. He says both are tanking.

If you thought I meant that both scenarios are tanking you misunderstood me, it’s just an example of how it works in our 16 team/salary league structure. Everyone polices eachother. Or at least all the teams with their fingers crossed hoping for other teams with better draft spots to win games and you lose them. If something doesn’t seem right with their lineup 15 minutes before game then texts, call email blasts are being sent to that owner.
What I do think is a form of tanking in our league though is selling players for penny’s on the dollar because nobody’s interested and you want them off your team so you don’t have to start them. For example the guy in
The that sits at the 1.2 pick as we speak traded lev bell for a 7th round pick on the deadline to a contender. He was playing the potential 1.3 pick that week and would had won if he had bell in the lineup.
In our league Usually a RB like bell would go for a first round pick to a contender even if he was in the last year of his salary. At the very worst I could see someone trading him for a 2nd round pick this year with the lesser production.
Hell I got a 2nd round pick for AJ green right at the deadline from a contender, Bell has to be worth at least that.
So yeah not getting remotely close to fair value for players just to get them out of your lineup to me is a form of tanking. It also give the buyer of bell a better roster for basically nothing. So there’s more then one person gaining from this. And at the very least 2+ people getting screwed by this move.

[Pac_Eddy]

If you thought I meant that both scenarios are tanking you misunderstood me, it’s just an example of how it works in our 16 team/salary league structure. Everyone polices eachother. Or at least all the teams with their fingers crossed hoping for other teams with better draft spots to win games and you lose them. If something doesn’t seem right with their lineup 15 minutes before game then texts, call email blasts are being sent to that owner.
What I do think is a form of tanking in our league though is selling players for penny’s on the dollar because nobody’s interested and you want them off your team so you don’t have to start them. For example the guy in
The that sits at the 1.2 pick as we speak traded lev bell for a 7th round pick on the deadline to a contender. He was playing the potential 1.3 pick that week and would had won if he had bell in the lineup.
In our league Usually a RB like bell would go for a first round pick to a contender even if he was in the last year of his salary. At the very worst I could see someone trading him for a 2nd round pick this year with the lesser production.
Hell I got a 2nd round pick for AJ green right at the deadline from a contender, Bell has to be worth at least that.
So yeah not getting remotely close to fair value for players just to get them out of your lineup to me is a form of tanking. It also give the buyer of bell a better roster for basically nothing. So there’s more then one person gaining from this. And at the very least 2+ people getting screwed by this move.

I think what that guy who traded Bell did is a legitimate strategy, which is why I don't consider it "tanking". It's rebuilding.

I think it's a huge mistake that he didn't get more for Bell, but I'd rather tear a team all the way down & load up on draft picks than be stuck as the 5th or 6th best team for the next five seasons.

I guess I am on a one man mission to try to get people to stop using the term "tanking" when someone is tearing down & rebuilding a team vs setting a fraudulent lineup. Those two are not related and the latter is so unethical that it can destroy a league.

[purplepride28]

If you thought I meant that both scenarios are tanking you misunderstood me, it’s just an example of how it works in our 16 team/salary league structure. Everyone polices eachother. Or at least all the teams with their fingers crossed hoping for other teams with better draft spots to win games and you lose them. If something doesn’t seem right with their lineup 15 minutes before game then texts, call email blasts are being sent to that owner.
What I do think is a form of tanking in our league though is selling players for penny’s on the dollar because nobody’s interested and you want them off your team so you don’t have to start them. For example the guy in
The that sits at the 1.2 pick as we speak traded lev bell for a 7th round pick on the deadline to a contender. He was playing the potential 1.3 pick that week and would had won if he had bell in the lineup.
In our league Usually a RB like bell would go for a first round pick to a contender even if he was in the last year of his salary. At the very worst I could see someone trading him for a 2nd round pick this year with the lesser production.
Hell I got a 2nd round pick for AJ green right at the deadline from a contender, Bell has to be worth at least that.
So yeah not getting remotely close to fair value for players just to get them out of your lineup to me is a form of tanking. It also give the buyer of bell a better roster for basically nothing. So there’s more then one person gaining from this. And at the very least 2+ people getting screwed by this move.

I think what that guy who traded Bell did is a legitimate strategy, which is why I don't consider it "tanking". It's rebuilding.

I think it's a huge mistake that he didn't get more for Bell, but I'd rather tear a team all the way down & load up on draft picks than be stuck as the 5th or 6th best team for the next five seasons.

I guess I am on a one man mission to try to get people to stop using the term "tanking" when someone is tearing down & rebuilding a team vs setting a fraudulent lineup. Those two are not related and the latter is so unethical that it can destroy a league.

Trust me I’m totally on the rebuild train with selling off assets is a strategy and not tanking. Maybe in your league structure a 7th is worth something but in ours it’s as close to useless as you could get. We literally have practice squad spots a rookie draft. Then a auction draft then 8 rounds of regular draft. People literally give away 7ths and 8ths to go home early lol

[elvisn]

It's a tough one. You should always set your lineup with the best of intentions. If you're making a decision you wouldn't normally make in the hope you lose to help you at a later stage then you're playing the wrong game. This goes like a thousand times more for free leagues.

If you're genuine then there's no harm dropping a stud for a lesser player, take Amari Cooper against the Pats last week as an example, he got 0 points, you could have started almost anyone else and came away better off on the week. None of us know who will score the most points.

So we can just hope owners act in the best interests of the league and act in a way that they would want others to act if the roles were reversed.

If you want to tank to get better picks, then sell your assets to make your team worse. Don't be resting studs in plum matchups.

[Ice]

How do you define tanking? A or B?

A. Setting a lineup meant to lose by benching good players

B. Trading away older players for draft capital and/or prospects

Really?

Come on man! You know or should know rebuilding teams require assets to trade.

Yeah, I know. But there's a guy in this thread that doesn't. He says both are tanking.

Didn't catch that but rebuilding is different given value must be present to make any deal.

Some leagues will have trade deadlines, others will use potential points for draft positions for non playoff teams.

IMO tanking is as easy to spot as a team in a legitimate rebuilding process.

[megager]

This is a question as a commissioner.

We are encountering a new scenario for me. 10-team league, 6 teams make the playoffs. Currently, the #1 seed is 11-1 and scoring 40+ more ppg than anyone else. Steamrolling people. So, coming into the final week of our season, he has already secured his Bye Week, and has nothing to play for.

He is playing against the current #6 team, who is 6-6, and has JuJu and James Conner out. If this tean wins against the #1 team (highly unlikely), he is in the playoffs. If he loses, he falls to 6-7 and misses the playoffs, but subsequently opens the door for 2 other potential playoff teams that could be 6-7.

In our group chat, the #1 seed mentioned that it would strategically benefit him to throw the game, so that he would let the weaker team in the playoffs, giving him a better chance of winning out. Not negligence, not tanking, just for strategy, he says. Our league rules don't account for this at the moment.

To make it harder, I am one of the potential "outside looking in" teams at 6-7, so if I make a ruling that favors me, it seems sketchy. I personally don't think that it would be an "ethical" move, but then again, it isn't much different than nabbing a player off waivers just so others can't get him, which I view as strategy. Can I please have you thoughts on this?

If there is no rule against it I'm not sure you can do much and being commish with vested interest is tricky.
But I would suggest that it lead to a rule change next year. I'd also say that such a move will sour others and you never know the down stream effect I terms of dynasty e.g less trust, less likely to trade etc.

But i do t think any harm to say that it does compromise integrity of the playoff process.

If he does it I'll bet he won't win league. Karma will get him