Don't trust “The Process”
As many of you might know, unfortunately, I am a lifelong suffering, miserable, completely negative Philadelphia 76er fan. Honestly, I wasn’t born this way. The 76ers were made contemptible from years upon years of personnel mistakes, starting in my early fandom years with first-round pick center/forward Al Henry of Wisconsin. When Henry was called and told he was picked 12th overall by the team, he thought they were joking. He hung up the phone, called his coach, and both of them laughed. He lasted two years in the NBA.
The Sixers passed on Paul Pierce in favor of Larry Hughes, traded Brad Daugherty for Roy Hinson, and the list goes on and on. Then “The Process” made me even madder, not because they were losing, but because they were misevaluating all the high picks, from Nerlens Noel to Jahlil Okafor to Markelle Fultz. It never ends and continues today. So, when I hear fans scream for their favorite team to “tank,” I shake my head and tell them NFL teams don’t have to tank; it happens naturally.
With only 13 NFL teams currently having above .500 records, you could make a case for most non-qualifiers to tank and get a quarterback. Are any of the remaining 19 teams going to win a Super Bowl? Tampa is the seventh seed in the NFC at 3-3 with zero chance to win a Super Bowl. They might make the playoffs, but winning three playoff games is as unrealistic as the 76ers making me their general manager. (If called, I would accept.).
You could make a case for the Bengals as one of the non-playoff 19 teams that could make the Super Bowl and win, if they can fix their offensive line and keep Joe Burrow healthy. Other than the Bengals, who else? The Jets? Please. The Rams? No way. The Vikings? Nice game last night, but no.