Tuesday, December 30, 2008

NFL Playoffs Need Revamping

The first round of the NFL playoffs is usually my favorite sports weekend. It’s the time we find out which teams are just happy to be there – and which are real Super Bowl contenders ready to move on to the two top conference seeds. However, this year’s match-ups find me scratching my head regarding the NFL playoff structure.

First, I question how a team tied for the third best record in the NFL, and a better record than four teams in the playoffs, doesn’t make the 12-team cut.  The 11-5 Patriots are sitting home while we’re forced to watch the likes of San Diego (8-8), Arizona (9-7), Philadelphia (9-6-1), and Minnesota (10-6).  Secondly, how do the Chargers at 8-8 get home field advantage over the 12-4 Colts, or the 9-7 Cardinals get to host the 11-5 Falcons?

The NFL’s four divisions per conference is the first problem. It rewards teams in weak divisions and hinders the quality of depth in stronger divisions. By doing so, it lessens the importance of the regular season. This year is a prime example with two pathetic teams from the NFC and AFC west divisions in the tournament.

However, even if you’re happy with the qualification structure, teams in the playoffs should be seeded by record. Allowing San Diego to host Indy is crazy. The Colts are tied for the second best record in the league. That should be worth something.

This weekend I look for all the visiting teams to move on to the next round, with Minnesota the only home team with a shot at a W. However, it probably won’t matter, as the two top seeds in each conference should end up playing for a Super Bowl berth.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

posted by Don Gilbert at 8:55 am  

11 Comments »

  1. I love how “writers” every year say that the top two seeds in the conference will be in the Championship games. When has that EVER happened? Indy, San Diego and Baltimore all have a shot at knocking off Pittsburg and/or Tennessee. I see the winner of the Indy San Diego game in the AFC Championship game. While the Falcons could knock off either Carolina or New York.

    Comment by Matt — December 30, 2008 @ 10:54 am

  2. Matt … this is why Blogs are great. Everyone can have an opinion! Quit bitching and just offer YOUR picks…

    Comment by Delmartian — December 30, 2008 @ 11:47 am

  3. The four divisions can taint the playoff picture, but I mostly agree with the seeding suggestion. The Colts should definitely be hosting a playoff game.

    Comment by MrMet — December 30, 2008 @ 11:57 am

  4. That is the beauty of it the Colts needed to win their division to get a home game. Do you really think being on the road will stop them? The playoffs are fine. This season is not the norm. If you say there are too many divisions then I would agree. That is a greed issue though. Do we really need the two extra playoff teams per conference? No, but that financial cash cow has already been decided, so move on. The Patriots are a great team that didn’t make the playoffs. It is not the first time that has ever happened. It is a good thing not bad. It would be better still if just division winners were in the playoffs like it used to be.

    Comment by Carl Braun — December 30, 2008 @ 6:16 pm

  5. Bad teams in bad divisions are rewarded for mediocre play. The system needs to be revamped.

    Comment by D.Blue — December 30, 2008 @ 7:44 pm

  6. There’s no problem with the number of teams in the playoffs, just how they’re seeded. Also, maybe a rule that a division winner must have a winning record to get in - or the spot goes to the team in the conference with the next best record.

    Comment by BigD — December 31, 2008 @ 9:46 am

  7. One more try. When you say bad teams in bad divisions shouldn’t be rewarded, it really isn’t their fault and this does go in cycles. The same division that is bad now was once great and vice versa. I do not see how you can punish a division winner. I think you are over rating the seedings. The Giants just won a Super Bowl as a wild card entirely on the road. The Cardinals in baseball recently won a World Series with an average record and in the supposedly weaker National League. Sometimes you just have to play the games regardless of seeds. Is anyone truly not picking the Colts over San Diego because they are on the road?

    Comment by Carl Braun — January 2, 2009 @ 4:01 pm

  8. Don …. you first round picks were off, but it surely shows that the NFL system needs changing. The Colts playing in San Diego should not have happened. Same to be said for Atlanta at Arizona.

    Comment by Delmartian — January 4, 2009 @ 10:35 am

  9. Boring games this weekend. That’s because there were some bad teams in the playoffs.

    Comment by NYY-7 — January 5, 2009 @ 7:19 am

  10. HA! Guess that game will shutup those morons who said that the Chargers didn’t deserve to be there! Have a good offseason, Peyton! You should go golfing with Bill Bellicheck!

    Comment by SD — January 5, 2009 @ 8:55 pm

  11. SD … just because Chargers won doesn’t mean they deserved to be there. No one said San Diego doesn’t have talent - just that 8-8 in the worst division in the league doesn’t impress anyone. Without pitiful Denver choking, Chargers wouldn’t have been there.

    Comment by MrMet — January 6, 2009 @ 4:41 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

Powered by WordPress