we should play to win at all costs or lose for higher draft pick

As a new fan, the very fact that this question is being asked demonstrates the greatest flaw in the draft system, rewarding teams for losing, which in turn invites the option of deliberately losing in the hope it brings a positive. I fully understand the idea of the draft in principle is to keep the playing field as level as possible but despite that and the salary cap, the disparity across the league seems high.

In the NRL there is no draft system and bottom of the table teams fight tooth and nail to avoid earning the "wooden spoon", a title given to the competition's whipping boys. Instead of a race to the bottom, you see poor teams battle like crazy not to finish last, which sometimes leads to some great games even from s**tty teams, as there is no reward, just humiliation, in losing.

But it is what it is. I believe in spite of the possible gains, a team should always do what they can to win, uphold the pride of the club and the pride they have in themselves as professional sportsmen. Losing or giving up should be anathema to any pro athlete.

Id say play to win. The team is prob gonna try to win so theres nonreal point in hoping they lose.

I just wanna see guys get better and get more pt.

Play to win baby, the draft is such a crap-shoot anyways, there's no guaranteed picks no matter what spot your'e choosing from.

Is the question - do I want the players to play to win or play to lose

Or

Do I want the results to be a win or a loss

I want the players playing to win. I want to see effort and improvement. If that translates to wins I will be happy for the players.

But as a fan, at this point I want the losses. Because 7-9 or 6-10 is just the type of moral victory this pathetic FO would use to justify its own existence for another year or more.

Whether we draft 1st or 15th is irrelevant. Great players can be found anywhere in between and we enough picks to move up if need be.

To each, his own. It's not really a philosophy worth arguing over.

For this fan, I want the team to win every week. If they happen to lose, at least there's that silver lining of a better draft pick. Otherwise, play hard and for the win.

Originally posted by Zealot:
As a new fan, the very fact that this question is being asked demonstrates the greatest flaw in the draft system, rewarding teams for losing, which in turn invites the option of deliberately losing in the hope it brings a positive. I fully understand the idea of the draft in principle is to keep the playing field as level as possible but despite that and the salary cap, the disparity across the league seems high.

In the NRL there is no draft system and bottom of the table teams fight tooth and nail to avoid earning the "wooden spoon", a title given to the competition's whipping boys. Instead of a race to the bottom, you see poor teams battle like crazy not to finish last, which sometimes leads to some great games even from s**tty teams, as there is no reward, just humiliation, in losing.

But it is what it is. I believe in spite of the possible gains, a team should always do what they can to win, uphold the pride of the club and the pride they have in themselves as professional sportsmen. Losing or giving up should be anathema to any pro athlete.

The only people that ask this question are the fans and media. The NFL (aka Not For Long) is simply too cutthroat for a coach, GM or the players to purposely lose for a draft spot. Coaches are routinely let go mid season for losing games, players are benched and cut at the drop of a hat if they don't perform, they are playing for their livelihoods. So good luck trying to get them to take a few games off so that the team can get a higher draft pick on a new guy that might be coming in to take their job next year.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
Another key point, IF Blaine Gabbert shows he can be a stop-gap at worst at QB, it gives us more options in the first. I prefer to avoid QB altogether in the first and second rounds and strictly go BPA. There will be some major talent available at DL and OLB which are the two key positions I think we need to fill to make our defense one of the best again. Add in a decent ILB and we have the potential to be top 5 in a year or two.

Serious question
Top 5 team or draft pick?

I wouldn't care if we were 3-12 going into the last game. I would still want a f**king win and a 4-12 record.

However IMO round one of the draft should be a lottery. After that they can go back to the standard ranking system for rounds 2-7.

Originally posted by boast:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

before this game, everyone was mad that we were losing.

WTF people

i know, right?!?!

Zoners gonna zone. I stop questioning the consistency around here a long time ago, you can drive yourself nuts trying to figure out things like that.

Play to win. Period.

Originally posted by OldMort49:

Baalke would trade the top pick for two 3rd rounders and a 7th in 2017.

So, what trades has Baalke done that lead you to say this? Because for most people this is one of his strengths.

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by OldMort49:
Baalke would trade the top pick for two 3rd rounders and a 7th in 2017.

So, what trades has Baalke done that lead you to say this? Because for most people this is one of his strengths.

Anybody can trade high picks and end up with more lower round picks. It depends who you draft with those picks. Baalke hasn't drafted good players when trading around and trying to get more picks.

Play to win so the younger players develop.
Then, let the draft position fall where it may.
I'd rather have five young players hit their stride than to pick five slots higher.


The draft is important, but not as much as in other sports, where you need to get that once-in-a-decade player.
Plus, the 49ers' blueprint doesn't necessarily require outlier talents to succeed. They want physical guys that run the ball and stop the run. There are plenty of players that can fit that mold. One of the above average ones is bound to be there when we pick.
Not saying Goff is unnecessary, just that the baseline scenario is still helpful.

Plus, it's not that easy tanking in the NFL. You still have to gameplan and it'd be a pretty big conspiracy to fake a player's injury without the entire team knowing.
They could try opening up the playbook and throwing Kaepernick in there, but they run the risk of injury and a spastic offense won't really help the young guys develop that consistency.

Originally posted by jreff22:

Does winning one or two additional games keep the current staff employed?

Not firing these idiots and losing out on premiere talent would really suck.

This. As much as I hate losing, I'd take one horrific season to ensure a new staff is brought in so it's only one horrific season.

Not just about a draft slot, the draft is a crap shoot. The thought of Jimmy t and his staff getting another year scares the hell out of me.