NFL to Vote on Expanding the Playoffs?

[don137]

The Dallas Morning News reports a plan to increase the playoffs by one team in each conference for the 2003 season may be up for a vote next week at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, the New York Daily News reported. The 32-team NFL has remained at six playoff teams per conference since 1990, when there were 28 teams.

http://www.ffmastermind.com/bits/hot.shtml

[Buffarama]

I really have to agree with this. Since the extra division is in place, there are only two wildcards. Frankly I like the old 3 division layout better.
I have no idea how you add one more team without really screwing the whole thing up though.

[Halbert]

Yeah, how would they do the brackets? I just tried to draw it out and every option seems ugly.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Odd numbers everywhere. Maybe just one team with a first round bye?

[Patrick76777]

It's easy, I've thought of it before.

Wild Card Round
Top seed gets a bye. 7 plays 2, 6 plays 3, and 5 plays 4.

Divisional Round
Lowest seed remaining plays team 1 and the other two winners play each other.

Championship Game
2 winners of the Divisional Round.

[don137]

That's what I was thinking Mr. Miyagi. One team having a bye. I am all for it. After seeing what happen last year where teams in a weak division had good records and made the playoffs and more deserving teams not make the playoffs there should be room for one more team. The two toughest divisions in the AFC only had two teams in the playoffs where the two weakest divisions had 4 teams in the playoffs. I don't think that was a coincidence.

[Halbert]

Originally posted by Patrick76777
It's easy
Oh man, you're right. WTF was I thinking?

OK, no more martini's before breakfast.

[superbills]

I also concur. They need to fix this system. The playoffs should be about the best teams having a chance to advance and the current system leaves too many good teams on the outside looking in.

The scenerio with the one bye team seems most viable, unless we just skip this whole wildcard business altogether and go to 8 teams per conference and do a no-bye playoff from there, similar to the NHL and NBA. Given the number of teams in the NFL now, this could work, IMO.

[Patrick76777]

I think 8 teams is too many. That's half the teams making the playoffs. 7 may be too many, but I think 6 is too few. and since we can't have 6.5, I say we go 7

[casdhf]

I like it the way it is. Its not Hockey, you're supposed to earn a spot, not earn your way out of one.

[Halbert]

The more games the better.

[superbills]

Originally posted by casdhf
I like it the way it is. Its not Hockey, you're supposed to earn a spot, not earn your way out of one.

Yeah, but look at last year as an example of teams (such as those in our own AFC East for example) who had excellent years only to play themselves into the offseason because mediodcre teams like the Browns, Colts and Steelers snuck in. If any of those 3 teams had to face the Jets, or any other prospective teams that would have made it in from the AFCE if the system were different, they would have been crushed. The current system keeps too many good teams out. I still like eight.

[superbills]

Originally posted by Halbert
The more games the better.


I agree :up:

[simpletask400]

keep it 6 teams

[lordofgun]

The 7-team plan seems the perfect solution, IMO.

[Earthquake Enyart]

:homer: mmmmmmmmmm Playoff Tripleheaders the first weekend. mmmmmmmmmmmm

[Patrick76777]

that's what I was thinking 6 games in the opening weekend. Pure Gluttony.

[Cntrygal]

One of the NFL's most enlightened acts was going from one wild-card team in the playoffs to two. One of its most nonsensical moves was going from two wild-card teams to three.

Embracing a second wild-card team in 1978 had the mark of genius, increasing manyfold the number of teams with postseason possibilities. It was Don Weiss, longtime ranking lieutenant of the late Pete Rozelle, who hit upon this stroke, and he should be celebrated for it.

Admitting three wild-card teams in 1990 represented overkill. Two also-rans were quite enough. The postseason should not be a come-one, come-all sort of thing, except it is to Lamar Hunt, who has proposed (along with somebody from the New England Patriots) that the NFL go to a 14-team playoff format.

more... (http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/magee/20030323-9999_1s23nflcol.html)

[colin]

The 7 team idea is good.

[Tatonka]

i think the more teams make the playoffs, the better it is for the fans...

fans dont really feel involved with their team till they get to cheer for them through a playoff or superbowl loss.. /gulp