After Wild Card Weekend, the Home Teams Should Be Ashamed of Themselves

[Deus Irae]

1. The Bengals did what the Bengals always do, and they did it with a backup QB.
2. The Packers, an elite team for years, finally played like the Packers, against a team who's corner play was weak enough that the G.B. receivers could get open. Styles make fights, and styles make games.
3. Minnesota lost to the two time reigning conference champion, and they lost because they missed a chip shot FG. Minus that miss, they win the game.
4. The Texans were the weakest team in the playoffs, but changing the playoff format because of the 4-5 matchup alone would be ridiculous. If the 4 seed is such a weak team that it consistently loses, there's no reason to change the format, since the format is already weeding out that weak squad.
   
5. Two of the matchups featured teams with fewer wins beating teams with more wins, so regular season win totals were clearly not going to be the difference.

In short, the home teams actually did about what would have been expected by anyone looking at the matchups, mostly for reasons that had nothing to do with specific win totals. I knew that someone in the media would bring up the playoff format. There's always got to be at least one who goes there, after all.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

After this column, Bob George should be ashamed of himself.

Just because it bears repeating.

 

[moejr]

Maybe HFA is not as crucial as we once thought.

 

[Patsrock]

NBA went to a playoff format this year where division winners are no longer guaranteed a playoff spot.

NBA has had that division winner gets a top 4 seed but not home court advantage in the playoffs if playing a with a better record but lower seed.

 

[Deus Irae]

NBA went to a playoff format this year where division winners are no longer guaranteed a playoff spot.

NBA has had that division winner gets a top 4 seed but not home court advantage in the playoffs if playing a with a better record but lower seed.

And that's done nothing to fix the NBA playoff problem.

 

[meatface]

The Texans are in the worst division in football so it stands that a crappy team will get a home game and lose. What's the problem? "Deserve has nothing to do with it!" You either win your division or you leave your fate to all the other teams in the conference. I personally think it's a great way to reward division winners.

Agreed, I do still that the Texans may be one of the worst playoff teams in awhile. And that's including the 7-9 seahwaks

 

[Tunescribe]

#Shamegate

#Bobgeorgegate

I'm normally not one to pile it on, but damn -- I've never seen anyone as consistently bad at what they're trying to do as Bob George. EVERY column he issues here starts from a premise that either is insultingly absurd or simply innocuous. Then he proceeds to overwrite circuitously. It truly is embarrassing.

 

[TommyD4207]

NBA went to a playoff format this year where division winners are no longer guaranteed a playoff spot.

NBA has had that division winner gets a top 4 seed but not home court advantage in the playoffs if playing a with a better record but lower seed.

The NBA's problem is that more than half the league makes the playoffs. If they pared it down to 12 teams from 16, the playoffs would improve dramatically.