Random NFL talk

[jarntt]

Nah. Division titles don’t matter. Conference championships matter. Super Bowls matter. Would you rather be a wildcard and win a Super Bowl or win your division and lose in the playoffs?

Of course, but in the order of things your first focus is to win the division. That doesn't mean you settle for that

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

But is an 11-6 team that was in a division with two horrible teams and had four easy wins because of it more deserving of a home game than a 10-7 team that was in a division with three other 10-7 teams who all split their games evenly because they were all good? No one is saying a 7-9 team even deserves the playoffs.

Again we can't break down the strength of weakness of each divison every year before we seed. Strength of schedule is for college, it should be obvious that an 11 win team regardless of their schedule proved they were better than any 7-9 win team so we should place a value on those regular season wins and reward teams for winning them.

And yes several posters were in fact saying not only is a 7-9 team worthy of a playoff appearance they are arguing they deserved a home game based on the argument that they won their division.

 

[fightinfunbags]

But is an 11-6 team that was in a division with two horrible teams and had four easy wins because of it more deserving of a home game than a 10-7 team that was in a division with three other 10-7 teams who all split their games evenly because they were all good? No one is saying a 7-9 team even deserves the playoffs.

Yes they are. They had a better record.

 

[fightinfunbags]

Of course, but in the order of things your first focus is to win the division. That doesn't mean you settle for that

Winning a division is a secondary goal and is only important in the context that it is a possible, but not guaranteed, means to an end.

 

[jarntt]

Again we can't break down the strength of weakness of each divison every year before we seed. Strength of schedule is for college, it should be obvious that an 11 win team regardless of their schedule proved they were better than any 7-9 win team so we should place a value on those regular season wins and reward teams for winning them.

And yes several posters were in fact saying not only is a 7-9 team worthy of a playoff appearance they are arguing they deserved a home game based on the argument that they won their division.

So you want to write off the scenarios that work against your opinion? It's not about breaking down the weakness of the division. No one is saying the league should sit in a room and decide the seeding each year. It's about deciding ahead of time what is best. You want a home game. Stop bitching and go win your division. That's what sports are about not coddling the whiny babies who feel slighted by the rules that have been around forever in sports.

And No one is arguing a 7-9 team is better. That is what I'm saying., It's an outlier. Should they get the home game? Yes. They won their division. It's a dumb freak thing, but that happens some times. A better record doesn't always mean a better team like in 2023 when TB blew out the Eagles and Hou blew out the Browns even worse even though they had worse records. They were clearly the better teams.

 

[fastforward]

There are 3 options:
1) Seed purely by record.
2) Seed by winning a division and then seed the remaining teams by record.
3) Somewhere in-between, which recognises a 13-4 non division winner deserves home field advantage more than a 8-9 champion but says a 10-7 division winner deserves it more than an 11-6 wild-card.

All options have advantages and drawbacks. The NFL prefers clear and obvious decisions over subjective or formulated outcomes. I'd prefer option 3 but I understand i'm in a very small minority. Given the other choices i'd rather stick with playoff seeding as it currently is*.

* with the caveat that a potential #8 seed with a .600, (or better), record also gets in - negating the #1 seed's 1st round bye.

 

[Clayton]

There are 3 options:
1) Seed purely by record.
2) Seed by winning a division and then seed the remaining teams by record.
3) Somewhere in-between, which recognises a 13-4 non division winner deserves home field advantage more than a 8-9 champion but says a 10-7 division winner deserves it more than an 11-6 wild-card.

All options have advantages and drawbacks. The NFL prefers clear and obvious decisions over subjective or formulated outcomes. I'd prefer option 3 but I understand i'm in a very small minority. Given the other choices i'd rather stick with playoff seeding as it currently is*.

* with the caveat that a potential #8 seed with a .600, (or better), record also gets in - negating the #1 seed's 1st round bye.

I just like the divisional chokepoint personally. The better team not winning their division being disrespected by going on the road in the playoffs is a perk to the system not a flaw imo.

That said, if its purely by record then so be it. Being deserving and actually having the best odds of winning a title are two different things. I don't think any of these 3 options really changes the quality of the playoffs that much except maybe making slightly fewer upsets in the first round over a long period of time. Less madness.

 

[jarntt]

 

[fastforward]

I just like the divisional chokepoint personally. The better team not winning their division being disrespected by going on the road in the playoffs is a perk to the system not a flaw imo.

That said, if its purely by record then so be it. Being deserving and actually having the best odds of winning a title are two different things. I don't think any of these 3 options really changes the quality of the playoffs that much except maybe making slightly fewer upsets in the first round over a long period of time. Less madness.

For the most part any team affected by a potential change in playoff seeding was likely looking at having to play their 2nd and 3rd playoff games on the road anyway.

Ultimately you have to look at the maximum possible seeding alteration created by a seeding system change. Seeding purely by record potentially upgrades a #5 seed to the #2 seed and potentially downgrades a #4 seed to the #7 seed. The #4 to #7 alteration doesn't really concern me as it likely only affects the 1st game. The #5 to #2 alteration probably affects the 1st & 2nd game.

From a neutral tv audience perspective having the 10-7 division winner host the 12-5 wild-card is more appealing than having the 12-5 team at home.

 

[Clayton]

From a neutral tv audience perspective having the 10-7 division winner host the 12-5 wild-card is more appealing than having the 12-5 team at home.

Even removing the TV audience I think the home team being the underdog in the playoffs is an exciting dynamic because you have the crowd on the side of the underdog. The Beast Quake game seems like the first that comes to mind. A 7-9 Seattle home team ended up beating an 11-5 Saints team and it had an iconic play that had the underdog home team winning.

Ultimately an "irrelevant" game in determining the champion but still an all-time classic.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

So you want to write off the scenarios that work against your opinion? It's not about breaking down the weakness of the division. No one is saying the league should sit in a room and decide the seeding each year. It's about deciding ahead of time what is best. You want a home game. Stop bitching and go win your division. That's what sports are about not coddling the whiny babies who feel slighted by the rules that have been around forever in sports.

And No one is arguing a 7-9 team is better. That is what I'm saying., It's an outlier. Should they get the home game? Yes. They won their division. It's a dumb freak thing, but that happens some times. A better record doesn't always mean a better team like in 2023 when TB blew out the Eagles and Hou blew out the Browns even worse even though they had worse records. They were clearly the better teams.

I've made my argument and don't feel like repeating the same argument.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

It's kind of funny to think they banned stick'em and there was a stigma attached to guys like Lester Hayes for using it, but these gloves are league and used by everyone

dont forget this guy

I think he bathed in it LOL

but to your point.
No doubt these gloves are light years advantageous over stick em

 

[Brees#1]

View attachment 397742

View attachment 397743

This isn't the NBA. The Lions still would have lost.

 

[Brees#1]

Honestly I'm going to miss the worst division winner getting the home game matched up against the best wild card in rd1. For starters, you actually are putting some level of fear in not winning the division which makes the regular season matchup matter more. Secondly, often the best wild card is a team that benefitted from playing a weaker OOC schedule and the division winner with the worse record actually plays them well.

The real atrocity is the 7 seed. I think we've only gotten one good 7 seed in its existence and I dont think we've had one good game from the 2-7 matchup unless I'm blanking on something.

Well there's another that's about to make it exciting.

 

[Brees#1]

View attachment 397866

In his dorm room? The twins lived in college?

 

[jarntt]

dont forget this guy

I think he bathed in it LOL

but to your point.
No doubt these gloves are light years advantageous over stick em

Lester Hayes was the guy I remember most. Heck I guess all the Raiders!

 

[fightinfunbags]

Lester Hayes was the guy I remember most. Heck I guess all the Raiders!

View attachment 397965

They couldn’t wait for the off season so they could masturbate again.

 

[jarntt]

They couldn’t wait for the off season so they could masturbate again.

I was wondering how he ever even got that cup out of his hand. I don't even want to think about that...

 

[jarntt]

There needs to be a little bit of a higher chance of successful recovery than last year