NFL Owners Talking About Expanding The Playoffs In 2015

[BillsImpossible]

14 teams in the playoffs instead of 12.

7 teams from each NFL Conference out of 32 total.

Some fans think NFL playoff expansion would result in a watered down product. But the NFL is an incredibly close league now in terms of talent.

That's one reason why I think it's a good idea.

Another is because the Arizona Cardinals went 10-6 last year and didn't make the playoffs. That's just not right.

Same goes for the 2008 Patriots that went 11-5 and didn't make the playoffs. Something is very wrong with that.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10946640/examining-biggest-questions-surrounding-impending-nfl-playoff-expansion

1. How would it work?Each conference would have seven playoff spots: four division champions and three wild-card teams. Several formats have been discussed, but the likeliest would give a first-round bye to the No. 1 seed and pit the remaining six teams against one another in a crowded wild-card weekend.
Structuring six playoff games in a short span has proved one of the most complicated facets of the reorganization. In January, Goodell said the league was considering several options.
The simplest is three games on Saturday and three on Sunday. Another suggestion has been one on Friday, two on Saturday and Sunday and the final one on Monday. A possible compromise: three on one of the weekend days, two on the other and one on Monday night. Presumably, the winner of Monday night's game would get a Sunday assignment for the divisional round to provide fair preparation time.

[BLeonard]

That's 43.75% of teams in the playoffs... Nearly half. I personally don't like it.

Yeah, you have years when a 10-6 team gets left out, but win your division and you don't have that problem. On the flipside, you're likely gonna have more 8-8 and 7-9 that now get in more often than you'd be leaving 10-6 or 11-5 teams out.

We all know that it's little more than a money grab for the NFL, which is the real reason they are wanting to do it.... Has zero to do with the "competitive standpoint."

-Bill

[BillsImpossible]

That's 43.75% of teams in the playoffs... Nearly half. I personally don't like it.

Yeah, you have years when a 10-6 team gets left out, but win your division and you don't have that problem. On the flipside, you're likely gonna have more 8-8 and 7-9 that now get in more often than you'd be leaving 10-6 or 11-5 teams out.

We all know that it's little more than a money grab for the NFL, which is the real reason they are wanting to do it.... Has zero to do with the "competitive standpoint."

-Bill

What is wrong with making more money?

If the NFL owners vote to expand the playoffs, AND drop 1 preseason game, would you be more on board?

From a competitive standpoint, I think the league would be more interesting to watch.

[Meathead]

i like more playoff teams but i dont like only one bye team per conference. seems like too much of an advantage for just one team

just make it 16 teams in the playoffs, four div winners and four wcs per conference. that way its four rounds and no byes. so what if half the teams are in the playoffs, the seeding will make low seeded teams very rarely beating top seeded teams on the road so theres still a big advantage to getting one of the top seeds

[BLeonard]

What is wrong with making more money?

Well, the NFL could probably make more money by moving the Bills to LA, Toronto, or London... You behind that idea, too?

I'm not against making more money, per se, but I'm not in favor of expanding the playoffs to do so. Just like I'm not in favor of the Bills being moved to another city so the NFL can make more money.



If the NFL owners vote to expand the playoffs, AND drop 1 preseason game, would you be more on board?

A: They won't do that, as they make money for the preseason games, too.
B: If they did, which again, they won't, I'm still not for it. We don't need nearly half of the league in the playoffs. The NBA and NHL do that already and IMO, it's overkill.



From a competitive standpoint, I think the league would be more interesting to watch.

The times that a team with a .500 or worse record getting in as a 7 seed would exceed the times that a team over .500 would get in... People had a fit when Seattle won the division at 7-9... 7-9 or worse teams getting in would become much more common if a 7th team per conference was added.

If you can't crack the .500 mark, you shouldn't be rewarded. This isn't College Football, where every team over .500 gets to play in a Bowl game.

-Bill

[bleve]

cripes.

Will everyone get a participation trophy too?

[Night Train]

cripes.

Will everyone get a participation trophy too?

and ice cream at Dairy Queen with the Soccer Mom of the Year.

[X-Era]

I'm going to rant here.

I can't understand what the friggin players problems are. They are supposed to want to win and to love the game of football. Yet at every turn they are trying to reduce how much they actually play it. Sure extra pre-season games are useless. But more regular season games? If you love football and want to play the game you would want to play it more. And expanding the playoffs means one more damn game and even that is unacceptable.

What the hell is their problem?

Worry about injury and wear and tear? Become a professional knitter than. It's friggin football. It's a violent sport. The one you supposedly love so much that you wanted to make it a career.

I know it's an over-simplification but it seems like an if then statement...

IF you truly love football THEN you want to play more of it.

Want it instantly fixed... change the player contracts so they get paid by the game.

[X-Era]

On the OP:

I actually probably would not like it. Sure a perennially mediocre team like the Bills would have a shot now. But, it would become like the NBA where teams with no real shot at winning it all are in the playoffs.

And maybe in a way it takes away from the accomplishment. Being a playoff team should be something that requires a lot to earn. That few teams achieve. Just would seem to make the accomplishment worth more.

I mean I still feel like the SB Bills were elite and that no team has been as good for as long before or since. 4 straight Super Bowls is an incredible feat and one that I hope will never be repeated. But on the flip side, adding a few more grabage teams to the playoffs probably won't water down the challenge of repeating it either.

[Historian]

Polian used to say that those Bills SB teams should be credited with playing an extra season given all the playoff appearances, etc.

[better days]

I am for expanding the playoffs myself. And if a team with a sub .500 record gets in, so be it.

Every year there are good teams that have bad seasons due to injury, the schedule etc.

One more meaningful game of football to watch before the season ends, I'm in.

[Mr. Pink]

I think they should go back to 3 divisions with 3 division winners and one wild card.

Have the truly elite teams ONLY in the playoffs.

Of course it'll never happen because the NFL really only cares about money not the product.

[EDS]

Watering down the playoffs sucks for everyone except the owners.

[Ed]

This idea that the playoffs will be watered down and bad teams will get in if you add one team from each conference is just false. The last time a team finished 7th in its conference and was below .500 was in 1990. The Cowboys finished 7th in the NFC with a 7-9 record. That means for the last 24 seasons in a row all 7th seeds have finished .500 or better with a bunch of teams winning 10+ games and not making it. By adding just one team from each conference, you're much more likely to see a 10 win team get the last wildcard spot than a 7 win team.

The Seahawks made it a few years back at 7-9, but that's because the NFC West just happened to be terrible that year. You could have reduced the playoff teams that year to just 4 division winners and the Seahawks still would have gotten in.

All you're really doing is making the #2 seed host an extra wildcard game instead of getting a bye. I like the idea of the #1 seed being that much more valuable and getting to watch an extra couple games on wildcard weekend. Is watching the #2 seed play an extra game really watering down the playoffs that much?

[Turf]

Expanding the playoffs may be the only way we get in, so let it go. It also has a great Cinderella effect. Two extra games? Not a big deal.

[better days]

Watering down the playoffs sucks for everyone except the owners.

I doubt the fans of the teams that get in an expanded playoffs would agree with you.

[EDS]

I doubt the fans of the teams that get in an expanded playoffs would agree with you.

As a Bills fan I have every interest in actually seeing the Bills play playoff football but I like the fact that it is currently an exclusive club.

[Mike13]

Same goes for the 2008 Patriots that went 11-5 and didn't make the playoffs. Something is very wrong with that.

Seems fine to me.

[jimmifli]

I'm against anything that might end the Bills' playoff unbeaten streak.