Buy/Sell, the NFL should go to 4 8-team divisions.
- Thread starter patdog
- Start date
Buy. I think the teams should be ranked over the course of the season.
Then at the end, the rankings could be put in a computer formula based off strength of schedule and overall record. Then the Super Bowl would be the #1 vs. #2 team. Teams #3 through #10 could then play in various exhibition games leading up to the Super Bowl. They could rename it the "Bowl Championship Series" or something similar. It would make the whole regular season more important, like playoffs every week!
**added for the sarcastically challenged.
Then at the end, the rankings could be put in a computer formula based off strength of schedule and overall record. Then the Super Bowl would be the #1 vs. #2 team. Teams #3 through #10 could then play in various exhibition games leading up to the Super Bowl. They could rename it the "Bowl Championship Series" or something similar. It would make the whole regular season more important, like playoffs every week!
**added for the sarcastically challenged.
Sell. Dominate your division of 3 opponents and you're in the playoffs. Nobody has control over what schedule you play or how hard your opponents are. There's already 2 wildcard spots.
Why bother even playing the season? Sometimes the better team loses a game against a lesser team. Computers are unreliable too. Let experts in sports media decide who is best before a game is even played. That way at the end of the season we can have #1 versus #2 without the statistical noise of only a dozen or so games being played. Even if #2 wins the game, we can still say that #1 is really still the best team.
Oh, and **
Oh, and **
What difference does it make if there's 4 division winners and 2 wild cards or 2 division winners and 4 wild cards? Other than the second option give the better chance of getting the 6 best teams in the playoffs.
Because then your division games don't matter. The wildcard is there so that if someone plays in a tough division they still have a chance to make the playoffs.
Take the NHL for example. They have fewer divisions and shitloads of wildcards...and nobody gives a **** who wins the divisions.
Let's say you're right. Why stop there? Let's take your idea to the extreme and do away with conferences. Everybody lumped into a pool and the top 12 teams go to a ranked playoff based off where they were. Then nobody cares about the regular season at all.
Take the NHL for example. They have fewer divisions and shitloads of wildcards...and nobody gives a **** who wins the divisions.
Let's say you're right. Why stop there? Let's take your idea to the extreme and do away with conferences. Everybody lumped into a pool and the top 12 teams go to a ranked playoff based off where they were. Then nobody cares about the regular season at all.
Winning a division that only have 4 teams is a pretty pathetic thing to celebrate. Especially if that division is the NFC North or East. Too many cheap, meaningless "championships." Nobody really cares about winning a division anyway. The goal is to win the Super Bowl.
...and in order to get to the super bowl, you should have to win your division. Not make a list of teams that met a certain criteria for wins or losses because they played an easier schedule. This is exactly what's wrong with march madness.
Winning a division shows you've had a better season than 3 other football teams. Making the 4th wildcard tells me you scraped by or coasted to get to the playoffs.
Winning a division shows you've had a better season than 3 other football teams. Making the 4th wildcard tells me you scraped by or coasted to get to the playoffs.
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How about this: Just as you say, no "regular season" should be played. Teams should be ranked according to their performance in the prior year draft. I'm thinking there should be some sort of "star ranking" assigned to incoming talent, allowing each team to have a final ranking. The two highest ranked teams play in the Super Bowl. This will eliminate all that pointless "winning on the field" nonsense and focus on what really matters: hype and press coverage.
And of course, in the spirit of fairness, teams should be allowed to reassess and reassign star values to the players they've ALREADY drafted, because, you know, that just makes a lot of sense.
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That's right. It's no different than the NCAA playoff formats that have been proposed with all of the conference winners having a shot.
The only thing I would change is the seeding to the NBA model. Saints or Cards would ultimately get a higher seed than Philly. Sad to reward a team like the Bears or Eagles home field while better teams must go to them.
Winning the division's reward should be playing in the playoffs... Not getting a home game. If you want home field, win.
Winning the division's reward should be playing in the playoffs... Not getting a home game. If you want home field, win.
Injuries tanked the NFC North.. The Bears have a top 5 scoring offense in the league, but their front 7 was ravaged by injury and their best overall defender (Peanut Tillman) as well as Cutler.. Rodgers in Green Bay. Same for Dallas. Their offense is top 5 in scoring but their front 7 was decimated by injury as well. Philly has the 2nd best scoring offense and the best RB in football this year.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around your argument. The 49ers, who have lost just 4 games(all to playoff teams), may not even make the playoffs this season. Meanwhile, the Bears who are 8-7 and just got blown the 17 out last night, may waltz into the postseason due solely to playing in an awful 4 team division. You don't find anything wrong with this?
I'm with you that division titles should mean something, but I also think that limiting the divisions to just 4 teams creates a ridiculous imbalance within the league. Just expand them, and it would resolve everything
I'm with you that division titles should mean something, but I also think that limiting the divisions to just 4 teams creates a ridiculous imbalance within the league. Just expand them, and it would resolve everything