Playoff seeding

[George Cumby]

Keep in mind that the reform proposals still give the juiciest reward to division winners - an automatic birth in playoffs. And the top two division winners get byes. Teams are still gonna fight to win division just as before.

The fix is in home field advantage. You shouldn't have a 6-10 team getting home field over a 12-4 team, that is silly. It's really a minor adjustment to existing system.

Solid point and well taken.

[ThunderDan]

I'll take it a step farther. I hate that they reseed the teams after the wild card weekend. If you are the 6th seeded team and knock off the number 3 seed you should get to play the 2 seed just like the 3rd seed would have if they won. You shouldn't punish the 6th seed and make them play the 1 seed at their place for winning.

[Guiness]

I'll take it a step farther. I hate that they reseed the teams after the wild card weekend. If you are the 6th seeded team and knock off the number 3 seed you should get to play the 2 seed just like the 3rd seed would have if they won. You shouldn't punish the 6th seed and make them play the 1 seed at their place for winning.

+1. Has anyone ever played in a single elimination tournament that does this?

[pbmax]

A division comprised of four 6-10 teams has three times the out-of-division victories of a division comprised of a 10-6 team and three 2-14 teams.

Are you changing your mind again?

[pbmax]

I'll take it a step farther. I hate that they reseed the teams after the wild card weekend. If you are the 6th seeded team and knock off the number 3 seed you should get to play the 2 seed just like the 3rd seed would have if they won. You shouldn't punish the 6th seed and make them play the 1 seed at their place for winning.

I actually like this idea withOUT the changes Harlan proposes. I think a home game is the best reward for the Division winners. After that, all bets are off.

The NFL will not like re-seeding though, because its harder to seek tickets for possible playoff games.

[Guiness]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...l-possibility/

[Cheesehead Craig]

Division winners should get in, but seed it all by record and I agree that once it's set, keep it that way. You don't see this re-seeding shit in March Madness (the greatest tourney ever)

[pbmax]

ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk 16m16 minutes ago
NFC playoffs could see a 5-11 team in and a 12-4 team out http://wp.me/p14QSB-9DGy

I haven't read the Peter King article that I *KNOW* is behind this, but I can feel the weight of accumulated wisdom shifting under my feet. They are going to screw around with the playoffs within the next two years. Guaranteed.

And it will be as dumb and convoluted as the overtime rules. Plus the Cowboys will get in every year when they are 8-8, like how Notre Dame is always in a Bowl Game regardless of how terrible their team is.

[mraynrand]

NFL has always had an element of pro-wrestling to it.

[pbmax]

Worse than I feared, it will be Packer fans with the pitchforks, torches and new playoff rules in a Visio flowchart.

Using ESPN’s NFL Playoff Machine, I found a scenario that saw the Packers finishing at 12-4, losing the NFC North tiebreaker to the 12-4 Lions, and then losing the NFC wild card tiebreaker to the 12-4 Cowboys and 49ers.

Green Bay fans would be livid if that happened, although that scenario is a long shot. However, there are plausible scenarios that have an 11-5 team missing the playoffs while a 5-11 team wins the NFC South.

From above link to Pro Football Talk.

[MadScientist]

ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk 16m16 minutes ago
NFC playoffs could see a 5-11 team in and a 12-4 team out http://wp.me/p14QSB-9DGy

I haven't read the Peter King article that I *KNOW* is behind this, but I can feel the weight of accumulated wisdom shifting under my feet. They are going to screw around with the playoffs within the next two years. Guaranteed.

And it will be as dumb and convoluted as the overtime rules. Plus the Cowboys will get in every year when they are 8-8, like how Notre Dame is always in a Bowl Game regardless of how terrible their team is.

If this happened, I think a number of the votes here would change.

However in 2010 a sub 500 team (Seattle) hosted, and beat, the Saints. That paved the way for the Packers vs Bears championship game.

[mraynrand]

Packers benefited last year by hosting game with 8-7-1 record.

how exactly did they benefit?