NFL Could Change How It Seeds Playoff Teams Starting in 2011.

[sycodmn]

Division doesn't mean much, anyway. Oakland has a very good chance of being undefeated in the AFC West, and may not be division champions.

[kehlis]

I too am opposed to them changing the structure they currently have.

It may not work ideally every year (or for years in a row) but these things tend to work themselves out and I do think winning your division should mean something.

And besides that, if a better 11-5 team has to go on the road in the opening round against an 8-8 home team shouldn't they be expected to take care of business anyway? To me, that's on them if they lose, not because they are playing on the road.

[ImTellinTim]

Quote: Originally Posted by tdawg3782

Not sure how it would work with the schedule but I like this idea.

You play 10 division games, and assuming they go to the 18 game schedule, you rotate between playing groups of 4 teams from the old divisions. What you lose is the 2 positional games. I'm not saying it would work out that great, but it's just an idea.

[tdawg3782]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImTellinTim

You play 10 division games, and assuming they go to the 18 game schedule, you rotate between playing groups of 4 teams from the old divisions. What you lose is the 2 positional games. I'm not saying it would work out that great, but it's just an idea.

Going with an AFC West/AFC East and NFC West/NFC East set up and using an AFC West team you play everyone in the AFC West division once. That's 7 games. You could then play the positional games from the AFC East/NFC West/NFC East because I like the positional game idea. That's 10 games. Then play 4 other AFC East games, 2 NFC East games and 2 NFC West games. That's 18. With 7 coming from the AFC West, 5 from the AFC East and 6 coming from the NFC (3 West/3 East). I might have hurt my face typing this but I think its works out.

[Speedy]

Quote: Originally Posted by snepp

An 8-8 team "winning" a division = taking care of business A 12-4 team not winning a division = not taking care of business Got it. Spoiler

Seriously...The 12-win team will still have the extra round/game to get to the SB but at least they are rewarded for the regular season with a home playoff game. If an 9-7 NFC West division winner plays @ 11-5 NFC East wild-card team I see no problem with that.

[mestevo]

Wow, so this is something that not reasonable, but things like dumping divisions and decades long rivalries and clumping teams into new large divisions is? If you preserve the division schedule then what's the point of clumping them together? Winning your division = playoffs.

This is overdue, this along with the second half of the season schedule being division-heavy will minimize throwaway games by teams who have clinched spots, and instead will be working to keep their spot in the playoff hunt.

This isn't an overreaction to a bad division, the NFC West is just this years poster child for a change that has been suggested a number of times in the past handful of seasons.

[ImTellinTim]

Actually, my idea would preserve the home and home with the current divisions and spawn some new secondary rivalries with the division teams you play once a year (alternate home and away each season). It's kind of like having two divisions in one. Like I said, just an idea. I wouldn't even like my own idea that much after actually thinking it through.

[FlyingFinn]

I don't think winning a division means anything when you are in a division that doesn't have a team with a winning record. Why should an 11-5 or 10-6 team miss the playoffs just because they play in a division with the best team in football.

The NFL should just give the 6 best teams in each conference a playoff spot and seed them by record.