Major flaw in the playoff format

[brdmaverick]

OK, so I know my post isn't really 'anything new' as this will come up from time to time, but I think I have a perspective that will show just how bad it is...…..

I HATE that every division winner gets a home game. Oftentimes the top wild card teams will have a better record than the worst division winner.

Well, the NFL (L)East offers a new low.

I mean, think about it. When a team goes 7-9 or 8-8 and makes the playoffs that means all of the below...….

1.) The team is bad to mediocre
2.) The division is BAD (because all teams the same or worse records)
3.) The winning team played 6 GAMES against those terrible opponents and STILL only ended up with the record they have


Let's put it this way, if the playoffs started today the NFC East "champ" would not only have a losing record, but 9 out of 10 wins from the division would have come from divisional matchups.

That's right, the NFC East has a combined record of 2-18-1 when playing outside the division. Can you say PA-THET-IC!

And yet they will be the four seed.


IF you have to give them a playoff spot, remove the home field guarantee and seed them in the 7 spot (that I could live with).

End rant

 

[mgteich]

The only solution to your issue to get rid of divisions. Divisional rivalries have been important for decades. The 2 advantages to the winner are a home game and being in the playoffs.

I greatly LIKE the way it is.

 

[brdmaverick]

The only solution to your issue to get rid of divisions. Divisional rivalries have been important for decades. The 2 advantages to the winner are a home game and being in the playoffs.

I greatly LIKE the way it is.

That's not the ONLY solution. I'm suggesting keep them in the playoffs but eliminate the guaranteed home game.

 

[XLIX]

You should get a reward for winning your division. If any team thinks they are being treated unfairly, STFU and win your division. The once-every-5-years situation of a sub-.500 team hosting a playoff game does not merit an overhaul of the system.

 

[Family]

This has been a long running argument.

Even if every few years there is an unfair result, I am for keeping the integrity of The Division Championship.

If you don['t win your division, you don't deserve a home playoff game, even if there are easy divisions.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

“Playoffs?!?!?”

 

[DropKickFlutie]

NFC East is worse than Alabama and Clemson. Maybe even Michigan

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[Ring 6]

That's not the ONLY solution. I'm suggesting keep them in the playoffs but eliminate the guaranteed home game.

Seeds are earned by winning your division. I think that’s a fair rule. After all wild cards teams are supplemental playoff berths.

 

[Ring 6]

You should get a reward for winning your division. If any team thinks they are being treated unfairly, STFU and win your division. The once-every-5-years situation of a sub-.500 team hosting a playoff game does not merit an overhaul of the system.

Hasn’t it only happened once ever?

 

[TheRainMaker]

The only solution to your issue to get rid of divisions. Divisional rivalries have been important for decades. The 2 advantages to the winner are a home game and being in the playoffs.

I greatly LIKE the way it is.

Because players/coaches are constantly moving in today's NFL, there aren't any true rivalries anymore despite what the networks are telling you when hyping a game.

I wouldn't mind the change.

 

[brdmaverick]

Hasn’t it only happened once ever?

I'm not sure there has been sub 0.500, but I know the 8-8 Chargers were hosting a playoff game in 2011 while our 11-5 Patriots were home watching (and yes, I realized my revised plan still wouldn't change the Pats being home that year)

 

[brdmaverick]

Because players/coaches are constantly moving in today's NFL, there aren't any true rivalries anymore despite what the networks are telling you when hyping a game.

I wouldn't mind the change.

You know, I never thought of it like that, but that's a very good point.

Something tells me Cam and Flacco didn't feel the burden of a New England - New York rivalry in their recent matchup.

 

[XLIX]

Hasn’t it only happened once ever?

A 7-9 team has done it and a 7-8-1 team has done it. So if we assume it happens this year, it’ll still be even less frequent than my once every 5 years guess. I suppose that’s 3 times in 19 years of the 8-division format so it would have been more accurate for me to say once every 6 1/3 years on average.

 

[jmt57]

If I am not mistaken only two sub-.500 teams ever won a playoff game.


I definitely remember the Saints having to travel to Seattle and lost when Marshawn Lynch ran over them. (Ironically I believe the Saints also made the playoffs as a division winner getting to host a home game another time, with either a 7-9 or 8-8 record). In the week leading up to that playoff game I recall a lot of fans and writers being upset at the format, that an 11-win team had to go on the road against a club with such a worse record.

And a few years ago Carolina won the NFC South with Cam Newton as their QB. I think they lost about five in a row mid season, then went on a big winning streak and won the division by a half a game due to a regular season tie (or was it a tiebreaker?). The Panthers then beat another wild card team that was around 11-5, can't remember who.

Of course there was also a lot of talk about the 2008 11-5 Pats, but that was in regards to two 8-8 or 9-7 division winners; one in the AFC and one in the NFC. I recall the most talk was about the NFC team, Arizona, whom the Pats had crushed by about five touchdowns when they played that season.

.

 

[everlong]

I'm not sure there has been sub 0.500, but I know the 8-8 Chargers were hosting a playoff game in 2011 while our 11-5 Patriots were home watching (and yes, I realized my revised plan still wouldn't change the Pats being home that year)

Where they upset the 12-4 Colts and a 9-7 Arizona team that the Patriot's mauled in the snow went to the SB.

The 2010 7-9 Seahawks also upset the 11-5 defending SB champion Saints.

 

[sb1]

Stuff like this has benefited us too. One time 12-4 Jags had to visit the 10-6 Pats on wild card weekend and lost. That was 2005 and Pats were not really a great team that year.

 

[Pape]

It's never bothered me that division winners get a home game... it's a fair way to set up the playoffs... There are a few inequities now and again, but for the most part it works... There's only been 2 sub .500 division winners and a handful of 8-8ers since the 4 division/2 conference set up was put in place in 2002...

I dread the NFL changing the playoff format trying to fix a system that really isn't broken... God knows what Herr Goodell would come up with trying to monetize the post season even more than it already is...

Reseeding could work, but they'll find some way to screw it up given half a chance... Would rather stick to what works for the most part...

 

[brdmaverick]

Stuff like this has benefited us too. One time 12-4 Jags had to visit the 10-6 Pats on wild card weekend and lost. That was 2005 and Pats were not really a great team that year.

And while I wouldn't be happy with the Pats having to go on the road, I'd be ok with the logic of it.

Did you guys know that in the NBA the team with the better record gets home court advantage, evne if that team is NOT the higher seed?

I remember this almost came into play once where the 3rd division winner was the 3 seed and almost had a worse record than the 6th seed. It didn't end up that way, but almost did.