jrock2890

RIght.... so an 0-14 team can win the Super Bowl?  Are you high?

The playoff system, for better or worse, kept a lot of us captivated again this year. The only team that has some righteous indignation for being passed over this year is New England. No other team has a legitimate gripe.

Adding more play-off teams means adding more weeks/games. While that prospect sounds good at first, with it comes more injuries and fatigue. In the end the best teams should compete at their optimum levels of abilility and skill. Even with its flaws, the present system accomplishes this.

When the NFL divided the teams into 8 divisions of four, they created this very scenario.

I remember the NHL playoffs used to have four divisions; the Norris, Smyth, Adams & Patrick. It used to be a 1-12 seeding, then a 1-16 seeding when the league went from 17 - 21 teams. The balanced schedule,along with the #1 playing #16 setup all but guaranteed the better teams made the postseason, and also advanced in the postseason. NHL expansion finally stopped at 30 teams, but meantime they had to create 6 divisions - more divisions, more division winners, more of a chance that a division winner has a lousy record.

It's exactly what the NFL has been going through. Used to be 28 teams in 6 divisions. Now its 32 teams in 8 divisions - more divisions, more division winners, more of a chance that a division winner has a lousy record.

I think that it would be very hard to have "fair" schedules for each team, just because of the divisional games and the fact that you can't predict Exactly how all the NFL teams will do, for instance, people thought the cowboys, jags, chargers could all be SB contenders, come mid season, they all have average records, not to mention that trades and injuries can cuse major problems for a team. It just isn't possible for there to be a even and fair way to make the sched. Rico, but i see where your getting at.

As for changing the playoff system, yea right now it seems upfair, but it is one of the most fair playoff schems out there. Division leaders are usually the leaders because they have a winning record against the other 3 teams within their division, not often do you see teams who have a poor record in their divison, win it. It just so happens this year that the Rams and Seahawks performed poorly, i dont think anyone though they would do that bad. Is it completely fair that New England may get ousted with Arizona may get in? no, not completely, but if your able to beat out the 3 other teams you play the most, regardless that should count for something. This year just turned out to be an off year in terms of total fairness of playoff spots, but you know what, that is afterall what makes the game exciting.

At least there isnt a BS computer spitting out postseason hopes...

How about this?  You get an automatic bid for winning your division if you are one of of the top 3 division winners by record.  The division winner with 4th best record can get bumped if there is any other team in the conference with a better record.  That would entice these teams whom have "locked up spots" not to coast in the last few weeks which affects other teams and their playoff chances.

Just a thought.