NFL playoff setup

O

ONEZERO

Guest
#1
#1
I personally do not like how the NFL has their playoffs set up. First off, there should be 16 teams rather than 12. There are so many teams that start off the season slow, but end it strong and since only 12 teams make the playoffs, they get screwed. And why do the 2 best records in each conference get a bye week in the PLAYOFFS? Yeah I know they had the best record and they should be rewarded for it, but why can't home field advantage be enough? If there weren't bye weeks for 4 teams, then there could be room for 4 more teams in the playoffs. One team from last year that really got affected by the limited amount of playoff teams allowed was the bills. They were what, 2 and 5 to start the season, but finished like 8 and 1 over the last 9 games. They were dominating teams including my niners which I remember the score being like 40-6(?). Now am I saying that they could've won the super bowl? No, but they deserved a shot in the playoffs.

Anybody else feel this way about the NFL's playoff set up?
 
BobbyJ_for3!

BobbyJ_for3!

Bench
#2
#2
I could see it changing for the better, but its not one of those "oh my gosh they NEED to expand it" kind of things for me.

It's more of, why not add a baseball wildcard team to the mix.

Instead of...

NCAA Football is completely skewed and screwed up all at once because there isnt a good postseason structure.

I know thats extreme, I'm just saying.

Plus, I really don't see it changing. Those extra 4 teams would probably get eliminated in the first round every year, and TV schedules and stuff like that might have some problems.

Also, teams like Buffalo, Baltimore, and Jacksonville that ended 9-7 aren't exactly the epitome of what the NFL is looking for in a playoff team. And that's in the AFC. If you added two playoff teams to last years playoffs in the NFC, you add 8-8 New Orleans and 7-9 Carolina. Given, I was rooting for Carolina to finish the season at 8-8 and get into the playoffs, but still. Sure, that's just one year, and I bet there are years that a 10-6 team missed out or several, but still.

Give me the top 6 teams from each conference and lets play some good playoff football.

No crappy New Orleans-Philly matchups so we can see Philly plunder the Saints ship. "Lopsided" isn't how I want to describe a playoff game, at least not more often than I already have to.

(Darn, I semi-switched sides in a single post...think of it as me agreeing but being the devil's advocate )
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#3
#3
ONEZERO said:
I personally do not like how the NFL has their playoffs set up. First off, there should be 16 teams rather than 12. There are so many teams that start off the season slow, but end it strong and since only 12 teams make the playoffs, they get screwed. And why do the 2 best records in each conference get a bye week in the PLAYOFFS? Yeah I know they had the best record and they should be rewarded for it, but why can't home field advantage be enough? If there weren't bye weeks for 4 teams, then there could be room for 4 more teams in the playoffs. One team from last year that really got affected by the limited amount of playoff teams allowed was the bills. They were what, 2 and 5 to start the season, but finished like 8 and 1 over the last 9 games. They were dominating teams including my niners which I remember the score being like 40-6(?). Now am I saying that they could've won the super bowl? No, but they deserved a shot in the playoffs.

Anybody else feel this way about the NFL's playoff set up?
Click to expand...
The last thing the NFL needs, IMHO, is to expand the playoffs. I want to see the best of the best, and it's already getting to the point where sometimes you don't even need a .500 record to get in. Playoffs should be for the cream of the crop. In fact, I'd rather see a playoff where if you don't have at least a .667 record, you don't get in.

;)
 
O

ONEZERO

Guest
#4
#4
If they aint gonna expand it, then shorten it... I just don't think that some teams deserve a bye week in the playoffs.
 
captain bill

captain bill

All-Star
#5
#5
There are A LOT of undeserving teams in the NFL that have made the playoffs. In the NBA it's not so bad, because the season is long and players play a lot of games and can play long series, so it wouldn't being doing a justice to have a short playoff run to the title. I like the way the NFL has things set up- every single game counts, it's a short season so there are never any throw away games, like in every other sport. It makes watching every game of the season interesting. I think a smaller playoffs would be even better for that, so that good teams don't just cruise along all season and play half-assed games, knowing that they can get away with one or two slipping by and still make it in. (well, last year that's how it was in the nfc, afc was actually competitive) I think the actual layout, schedule and byes can be a little ackward, but I like the idea of having byes for teams that play great. It adds extra incentive to those regular season games. I think reducing the POs to 10 teams might be good. There are only 32 teams in the league. 12 out of 32 in the playoffs is an awful lot.

And I'll say this for all sports: I hate conferences. Yeah, there is a lot of tradition, but when one conference is stacked it skews the playoffs. You never truly see the best games, the best competition and the best matchups. Divisions are one things, keep rivalries in tact and all, maintain a lot of competitive spirit, but having the conferences not play each other until the championship bothers me. Lots of teams go farther than they have a right to and others are cut short by the poor luck of a stacked conference.
 
Gary

Gary

All-Star
#6
#6
The Bengals would make it with their 8-8 record.. Don't we all want to see Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson!? :D I do! But then again it has been 10000 years since the Bengals were in the playoffs :(
 
T

thesanityannex

Guest
#7
#7
ONEZERO said:
They were dominating teams including my niners which I remember the score being like 40-6(?)
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You know I can't let this slide my friend, everyone dominated the Niners that year.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#8
#8
thesanityannex said:
You know I can't let this slide my friend, everyone dominated the Niners that year.
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You can put the salt shaker down, dear sanityannex. There's enough sodium in those wounds already...

;)
 
BobbyJ_for3!

BobbyJ_for3!

Bench
#9
#9
lol nice VF...

anyway, about the playoffs.... 12 out of 32 is an awful lot? we should talk about NBA playoffs then............

12/32 is a fine number...

and the bye weeks, altho maybe slightly unfair, ARE incentive for teams to do better than otherwise.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#10
#10
Actually I think 8/32 would be much better. But it's not ever going to shrink because playoff games mean more money for the teams and the league, etc.

The bye weeks aren't an incentive for anything. In fact, teams that are hot and on a streak HATE the bye weeks.

The idea of having multiple rounds of playoffs is not about anything other than the money, pure and simple. If it all boils down to the best two teams, that could be figured out without all the hoopla of playoffs, which often end up with other than the two best teams actually playing. It's just about the money...
 
BobbyJ_for3!

BobbyJ_for3!

Bench
#13
#13
BigWaxer said:
The NFL is perfect the way it is. Are you guys Raiders or Niners fans hoping to get in?
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What, are you Cowboy fans hoping to get in?

I know for a fact that the Raiders will make it in before the 'boys do. Even in the AFC.

The Cowboys don't have the offense to get anywhere. Julius Jones will get the lined stacked against him every play. As much as Parcells may like Bledsoe, he isn't the amazing QB he once was, and they don't have the o-line or receiver corps to have a respectable aerial attack.

Defenses can't carry a team. Not alone.

And yes, offenses can. Case in point, Indy.
 
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