FanPost

The Losing to Win Fallacy

In the past few months we have seen several people espousing a theory that for the Dolphins to become perennial Superbowl contenders, they must first become one of the worst teams in the league in order to take advantage of high draft picks. A fine idea in theory with one fatal flaw.

It doesn't work.

In reality, teams who find themselves picking early in the draft tend to be there for a while until they can eventually crawl their way up to the mediocrity we all want the Dolphins to get out of. In the 20 years since they were reinstated to the NFL, the Cleveland Browns have had 13 picks in the top 10 of the draft, including 4 first over all picks, and have had multiple first round picks on 6 occasions. Their record since 2000, 95-224-1. They've been to the playoffs once and had 2 winning seasons in that time, finishing bottom of their division 15 times. Even if you believe they have finally turned it around, (a stance that looks shaky after Sunday) that's 20 years of awful. Having high draft picks didn't help. Look at other teams like the Lions, the Raiders, the 49ers...these are names we are used to seeing early on draft day and none of them have been able to convert those high draft picks into Superbowl rings this century.

The problem is there has been far too much hype put on the draft. Yes, it's an incredibly important part of building a franchise but fans and pundits tend to talk about the players coming out in the first round as if they are finished products, they're not. They're kids fresh out of college who need help developing. Yes, sometimes a rookie can come in and become a leader very quickly, Baker Mayfield being the most recent example, but that is not the norm. So many first-round quarterbacks flame out because too much is expected of them too soon. They are expected to lead a franchise whilst they're still learning the speed of the game at the NFL level. Good teams, like Kansas City, build the team first and then bring in a young QB. They did so not by tanking but by trading up once they'd found the guy they wanted.

Because the only way to win regularly in the NFL, is to go out and try to win. Winning and losing are habits that develop over time. It's all about mentality...a team that used to winning will find ways to do so while a team that's used to losing will find ways to do that. It's why the Patriots can come from 25 points down in the Superbowl. Because they don't stop believing they can win. It's why a team as talented at as the Browns are on paper can go out lose by 30 to the Titans. Because once they go down, they stop believing.

Make no mistake, there is nothing to gain from the Dolphins losing 59-10 on Sunday. The more games we lose, the longer this rebuild is going to take. This is not the NBA. Tanking is not the answer.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.