eagle eye

I've been thinking about this for quite a while now.

The divisional system really gets to me. Like its actually possible that in one season the four best teams in the NFL could be in one division. I think its an unfair system because of that.

Every team plays 16 games per season at the present time. So why not just have the NFC and the AFC? Every team in each conference plays each other once and the best six qualify for the playoffs. Ties on a home one year, away the next year basis, 8 of each per season of course. You can use most of the tiebreakers that already exist in case of ties.

Has this been discussed before? I can't find a thread about it.

aurakilla

well that woulda helped us last year.................but i think playing the jets bills and dolphins twice a year helps the pats record stay better tehe

efin98

Two things wrong with that:
One, you lose a game by that reasoning. 16 teams in the conference and each team playing the other teams in the conference once means they play 15 games.
Two, what do you do about seeding? Tie breakers? Homefield advantage?

To me that line of thinking is essentially undoing the 1970 merger by removing all the interconference games, you also remove the home and home aspect of the divisions and you also undo 77 years of history. It doesn't make sense to do it just because every few years one team gets screwed out of a chance to play in the playoffs.

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eagle eye

My bad, you would lose a game(shudders at the thought of it) as for the history thing, that is not a concern. Tiebreakers would take some working out, but a basic one would be that if you beat a team you are ahead of them, clearly there would have to be many more.
Having said that losing a game is a no no for me. How did I make that mistake? rollseyes to himself

fnordcircle

Terrible idea that would sacrifice half of the fun and drama of the final weeks of the season for little gain.

Having half of the league still have a mathematical shot at a playoff berth is way more interesting for fans and better for ratings than having only 5 or 6 teams in the hunt for a playoff spot.

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Pats726

I like the idea of rivalry with teams..and that would disappear with another non-divisional system...for football it really works OK...

RoughingthePasser

Remember....not so long ago we had INDY in the AFC East.


Imagine if they never left the division.

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NEGoldenAge

Even after the Pats have been left out of a weak playoff field with an 11-5 record because of divisons...... I still prefer the divison system.

Ryan

Maybe they could schedule 1 AFC vs. NFC game per year? Or if they do extend the schedule make it 2 or 3.

I don't mind divisions, but I actually like this idea. I think it makes it a little harder to get into the playoffs and would do a better job of truly separating the good teams from the mediocre teams. If a team has to play everyone in their conference, there can't be any dodging the good teams and getting in based on an easy schedule. It puts everyone on an even level.

I don't think the rivalries would disappear at all either. Look at NE/Indy. When Indy left the East they actually became a bigger rival. All it takes are a few big games between two teams over the course of a year or two to get rivalries going.

ctpatsfan77

Really, if they want to "add excitement," what the NFL should consider is guaranteeing that the last 2-3 weeks consist of nothing but divisional games. That would ensure that 30 of 32 teams (everyone except IND and TEN ) would take them seriously.

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