Heh... NFC South, and a possible ironic Seattle - New Orleans redux

It just dawned on me...

The way things are, this morning, it could very possibly shake out that the Saints enter the PlayOffs, 4 weeks, hence, as diabolically undeserving 7-9 Divisional Champs...Yet "earn" an Home Field, and host...Oh, shall we say...The "Defending" Super Bowl Champion SeaHawks??? Le Mode Beast??

Might happen although the Saints aren't looking too good lately. I expect the Seahawks will probably enjoy their pre-Mardi Gras time on their Bourbon Street vacation if this happens.

Seattle's D is in full beast mode right now. I'm not sure I see them dropping any of their remaining games and they do own the H2H against the Cardinals (who they play in week 16 again).

I don't understand the Saints this season. It's been some collapse for a talented team.

Off The Grid said:

It just dawned on me...

The way things are, this morning, it could very possibly shake out that the Saints enter the PlayOffs, 4 weeks, hence, as diabolically undeserving 7-9 Divisional Champs...Yet "earn" an Home Field, and host...Oh, shall we say...The "Defending" Super Bowl Champion SeaHawks??? Le Mode Beast??

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That would be so ironic!

Question is, would this force some type of re alignment, or rule change from the league? It deserves consideration.

New England Pride said:

Question is, would this force some type of re alignment, or rule change from the league? It deserves consideration.

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7-9 won't, especially since it will be seen as some sort of cyclical "balance" benefitting the Saints (who got screwed by it last time). If they happen to get in at 6-10 though, something needs to be done IMO. Even if it's just a minimum number of wins needed to host a playoff game. They can still get in, but they don't get to host, something like that.

New England Pride said:

Question is, would this force some type of re alignment, or rule change from the league? It deserves consideration.

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Not really. Nor should it.

Personally, I feel that the Hawks are in Full On Beast Mode and are 50/50 to rise from #05 Seed to #01...And that the Cardinals are 50/50 to go from #01 with 3 weeks to go missing the PlayOffs all together!!

You could probably get 10-1 or even 25-1 on either'f those Bets!!

What I found really odd was that until yesterday's games, the entire NFC South was still in contention for the division title, and at the same time all four teams were also still in contention for the number one overall pick in the draft - with just four games left to play.

After Sunday's loss to Detroit the Bucs are eliminated, but Carolina - who is four games under .500 with three games left to play - is still technically alive to win the division.

I've been complaining so much over the years about this foolish eight 4 team division setup that I've become weary from it. I shall go on though.

I'm tired of seeing so many people miss the point when they say that the home field game is the problem. There's no way on God's green earth that a 7-9 team belongs in the playoffs at all because they had a better record than only three other teams of the 32 in the NFL. That is preposterous. The home game just adds to the stupidity.

Besides being unfair to the teams (and fans of those teams) who have a better record and possibly/likely beat that 7-9 team, it's unfair for the lucky team that will get to play that 7-9 team instead of the superior team(s) at home watching. It creates an unfair balance due to luck of the draw.

I can't wait to see a team really get screwed by it. The fact that it will be an NFC team is the cherry on top of the sundae as far as I'm concerned. And the best part is, it could be a 6-10 team and they'll knock out Dallas, Philly or Detroit, who could be at 11-5 or 10-6.

I've got my popcorn ready.

ausbacker said:

Seattle's D is in full beast mode right now. I'm not sure I see them dropping any of their remaining games and they do own the H2H against the Cardinals (who they play in week 16 again).

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Let's remember their last 3 qb's they played. - Sanchez, Stanton, Kapernick and that struggling SF offense that got shutdown by the Raiders.

If you wanted to be completely fair then you could have two conferences and no divisions, with a schedule where you play every team in your conference once, then one game against a team from the other conference that finished in the same place in the standings the previous year. That makes 16 games, an equal number home and away, and everyone has the same schedule with the exception of that lone non-conference game.

The problem with that scenario is that fans would not have nearly as much interest in their favorite team as they do now with the current setup. Rivalries are created by playing three teams twice every year, and competing against them for a division title. You have four times as much of a chance of finishing first; that creates a lot more interest in your team than finishing fourth or fifth does.

In the off season the concept of improving from third of fourth place to first or second is more realistic; that gives fans of those teams hope and again generates more interest. It wouldn't be the same if fans saw their team that finished in 12th or 13th place.

Having a mediocre team win a division occasionally is a small price to pay for having almost every fanbase thinking that their team has a chance to improve enough to win the division or make the playoffs or make the next season. That's possible with an eight four-team division setup; it wouldn't be the case if the current setup was scrapped.

Even more ironic: the rise of "Beast Mode" started from Lynch's "Beast Quake" against the Saints in the 2011 Wild Card game (after the 2010 season). That team was Seattle team was 7-9.

The Brandon Five said:

Even more ironic: the rise of "Beast Mode" started from Lynch's "Beast Quake" against the Saints in the 2010 Wild Card game (after the 2010 season). That team was Seattle team was 7-9.

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Well, yeah, dude...

That Win ~ against the "Defending" Champ Saints ~ was sort of the point of the whole Thread!!

Feast of Beastocity.

Off The Grid said:

Well, yeah, dude...

That Win ~ against the "Defending" Champ Saints ~ was sort of the point of the whole Thread!!

Feast of Beastocity.

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Beastocity? Is that like the reciprocal of verticity?

I've been a huge supporter of the current playoff format. I like the 12 team playoffs, adding another two teams would water it down, not a fan of reseeding either. That being said, I now think a small tweak should be made to the playoff format.

Division Winners always gets to host a playoff game at home and will seed 1 thru 4 as per normal.
However, to be a division winner you must finish with the highest record in your division and finish with a winning record.(9-7 or higher)

If a division fails to have a division winner with a winning record then the remaining division winners will seed 1 thru 3. There will then be 3 wild card teams who will seed 4 thru 6 based on best record. 1st and 2nd seed still get their bye, 4th seed gets to host a playoff game.

Division winners should always host a home playoff game and seed higher than wild card teams, it's the prize for winning your division. I just think you should finish with a winning record to win your division.

Off The Grid said:

It just dawned on me...

The way things are, this morning, it could very possibly shake out that the Saints enter the PlayOffs, 4 weeks, hence, as diabolically undeserving 7-9 Divisional Champs...Yet "earn" an Home Field, and host...Oh, shall we say...The "Defending" Super Bowl Champion SeaHawks??? Le Mode Beast??

Click to expand...

Home field advantage isn't much of a help for the Saints as they've lost the last four at home which takes some doing.

yopats said:

Let's remember their last 3 qb's they played. - Sanchez, Stanton, Kapernick and that struggling SF offense that got shutdown by the Raiders.

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Fair enough to take into consideration, but going into Philly to take on the fastest and one of the most productive offenses in the entire league and holding them to peanuts is pretty impressive.

the saints have lost 4 in a row at home......

IllegalContact said:

the saints have lost 4 in a row at home......

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If only Brother Manx had already pointed that out.

Oh...

Wait a moment...

He did!!