10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

[BillsImpossible]

That does not make any sense to the 10-6 Eagles and 8-8 49ers.

Wins are the hardest thing to come by in the NFL.

So why do division winners matter more than overall wins?

Would anyone mind watching the Bills play the Texans in the, "2nd AFC Wild Card Game?"

Would anyone mind watching the Eagles play the 49ers in the, "2nd NFC Wild Card Game?"

Playoff expansion is going to happen in 2015.

http://www.nfl.com/standings

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

My argument to why this is an OK thing.

The Eagles couldn't win their division. They also couldn't beat out 2 other teams who also couldn't win their division. Why should they be in the playoffs?

[imbondz]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

I like the way it is. I love that a 7-8 division winner can make the playoffs. win your division you're in, no questions asked.

[Ingtar33]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

I like the way it is. I love that a 7-8 division winner can make the playoffs. win your division you're in, no questions asked.

remember it was a 7-9 seahawk team that beat the defending super bowl champ saints in seattle on wildcard weekend.

[Historian]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

I think it's sad.

I like the way hockey seeds the teams.

[swiper]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

I didn't like when expansion drove the NFL to go to 4 divisions per conference. I liked three divisions per conference better.

[JohnnyGold]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

Ive heard that next season, the NFL expanding to 7 playoff teams per conference is a near certainty.

[Typ0]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

poor division records might be more indicative of the teams in the division being evenly matched than weaker teams.

[Meathead]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

Ive heard that next season, the NFL expanding to 7 playoff teams per conference is a near certainty.

how would that work, one team with a bye?

i never liked even two teams getting a bye, having only one would be highly unfair imo

[JohnnyGold]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

how would that work, one team with a bye?

i never liked even two teams getting a bye, having only one would be highly unfair imo

There would still be 4 divisions, each would send a winner to the playoffs. The remaining three teams with the highest win pct. would get in as well. Wildcard weekend would be triple headers on both Saturday and Sunday--1pm, 430pm, night game. Those games would be
#7 seed @ #2 seed / # 6 seed @ #3 seed / #5 seed @ # 4 seed
Following wild card weekend, the NFL would reseed the teams so the #1 seed would play the lowest seeded, wild card weekend winner. All matchups would stay in-conference until the super bowl.

And, (in my opinion) that system would be MUCH LESS "unfair" than the current system.

As it stands now, the prize for winning your division is hosting a playoff game. But what separates the third seed from the second seed? In the modern-day NFL, you get a bye for finishing second in your conference. It would be much more intriguing if only 1 team got a bye... truly the best team in the conference. It would add so much significance to the regular season from BOTH angles... more teams fighting for that 7 seed on the bottom, and the race to be the best in the conference would be amazing to watch... winning the regular season would give you such an extreme advantage over your conference opponents: the NFL would solidify it's hold (as if it doesn't already) on having the most important regular season of any of the major sports.

To me, this playoff expansion is exactly why the NFL is a great model for forward thinking business practices... take something that's "perfect" and make it "more perfect."

The NBA is still trying to figure out how long to make their games lol.

[better days]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

If the division winner does not make the playoffs because of a poor won lost record, they might as well do away with divisions.

I like the way things are now.

[ticatfan]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

poor division records might be more indicative of the teams in the division being evenly matched than weaker teams.

Or had a poor start and came on strong at the end. You can have a 8-8 team that is the hottest team at that time. The CFL has a crossover to try and keep the best in the playoffs. My ticats went to the grey cup at 9-9 against the 15-3 stampeders and lost on the last play of the game. Now people want to go one division, but the problem with that is teams on the botton will know early if they are out of the playoffs and that could hurt seat sales in the last half.

[DynaPaul]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

That's life in the NFL but the Panthers are probably cannon fodder in the Wild Card round anyway with Smiling Scam Newton behind center.

[better days]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

Or had a poor start and came on strong at the end. You can have a 8-8 team that is the hottest team at that time.

Exactly. If an IMPORTANT player is injured that could affect a teams record.

Once that injured player is healthy again, that team becomes GOOD again.

[better days]

Re: 10-6 Eagles Miss The Playoffs While The 7-8-1 Panthers Get A Wild Card

That's life in the NFL but the Panthers are probably cannon fodder in the Wild Card round anyway with Smiling Scam Newton behind center.

Probably so, but this is not just about this year.

I think it is IMPORTANT that Division winners play in the playoffs no matter their record.