One of these teams will be the Division champ and get a 1st round bye while some 11-5 or 10-6 team will miss the playoffs. Will this type of disparity cause the NFL to be proactive and come up with something that is truly fair? Somebody's got to be the Division champ and that should get them into the playoff (even though this year none are deserving). But where's the justice if some 10-6 or 11-5 Wildcard team has to go on the road to play a team that they're 3, 4 or even 5 wins better? IMO, the better record stays at home while the dog has to travel...Division champ or not. What's your take on what Roger & Co. could do (if anything) to improve how the playoffs are conducted?
Goodell would probably make things worst than what they are. Re-seeding the teams by rank wouldn't be too bad. I don't think they should add teams to the playoffs like they probably going to next year.
Easy, less or no divisions. Either just a straight up top 6 conference ranking, or do an East and West in each conference, top 3 teams from each go to the playoffs, boom done. In either scenario, maybe keep the N/S/E/W format in name only for scheduling and rivalry purposes (ie: The 49ers would still face the Cards, Rams and Hawks twice a year every year), but winning the "South", for example, wouldn't mean anything but bragging rights unless you held a top 3 or 6 record.
Two conferences. Play each team once in the conference, play one team from the opposite conference that was ranked the same as you the previous year. 16 games. Top-6 go to playoffs. Tiebreaker is simple because everyone played head to head. No need to go any further than that. simplest way to do it. Rivalries are still there for one game. New rivalries may come about. Otherwise, keep it how it is and win your division witches!
I don't think they will get rid of divisions. Too much history with the rivalries. It's already being discussed to re-seed the teams by record once the playoffs start. Belichick has been a strong proponent for that change.
I dont think you should get rid of the divisional champ "auto" birth. However I think there needs to be a 9 or 10 win limit. If no team in the division gets to 9 or 10 wins, your division loses that birth
Wait you mean I didnt just have an original brilliant solution earlier in this thread? Well, son of a hitch.
Right now there's a better than average chance that the Eagles will be 11-5 and watching the 7-9 or 8-8 Saints (or one of the other NFC South powerhouses) and their first round bye from the comfort of their living rooms. Bullshirt! The sanctity of the divisions is a freakin' joke. The Cards used to be in the NFC East, the Falcons and Saints in the NFC West and the Seahawks were in the AFC. The NFL can realign things however they want and fans won't give a shirt as long as their team wins. If a Patriots/Jets or KC/Oakland rivalry is so important then fine...schedule those games. But the notion that they have to be in the same division to have meaning is a joke. I like @86WARD 's idea of two conferences and taking the top 6 or 8 teams from each. Will it happen...no way. Reseeding will probably happen next year after the upcoming debacle.
I still disagree. I can't see the league getting rid of the division champ berth. About the only thing I think they will do is expand the number of playoff teams from 12 to 16.
Keep it like that, division champions get a playoff berth...but the best records should get the home games. New Orleans getting a home playoff game with a 7-9 record is bullsh!t. We already saw it a few years ago with Seattle.
Well....it's official. The winner of the NFC South will either have a record of 7-9 or 7-8-1....and it's not going to be New Orleans. Either the Panthers or the Falcons will get home-field advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs. Anyone who doesn't think that's an advantage need look no further than the 2008 Cardinals and their Super Bowl run. They limped into the playoffs finishing 2-4 in their last 6 games and the 11-5 Falcons had to come here for the Wild Card game. The Cards got hot at the right time, but it was far from being fair that Atlanta had to travel in the first round. It was fair that the 9-6-1 Eagles had to come here for the Conference Championship, but every Cards fan knows the odds of them making it to the Super Bowl would have been greatly diminished without the benefit of home-field advantage in the first round. What's happened in the NFC South this year just might be the impetus necessary for the NFL to change the structure of the playoffs....at least they'd better. That either the Panthers or the Falcons will be rewarded with home-field advantage for being the best-of-worst in their division has just got to end.