9-7 or less teams should not host a playoff game

[leeblair]

The NFL should institute guidelines governing situations in which 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 teams win their division, while teams with better records are often forced to settle for a wild card berth, or miss the playoffs altogether due to competing in stronger divisions.
There should be a requirement that any team should have to win 10 games in order to host a playoff game, and even then only be allowed to host teams with 11 wins or less.
Also, any team that wins 10 games in a season should automatically be in the playoffs. The NFL could add wild card games to accommodate such teams.
But it is unfair for a team like the Cowboys or the Eagles to potentially host a 12-13 win team that became a wildcard team because they played in a tougher division.

 

[blueblood70]

been discussed to death and it doesnt happen enough to warrant change, win your division, thats the bonus....

BTW if that 12-13 win team cant go on the road and beat a team they are supposed to be heads and tails better them, then that proves the seeding should stay the same..

 

[jaythecowboy]

The NFL should institute guidelines governing situations in which 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 teams win their division, while teams with better records are often forced to settle for a wild card berth, or miss the playoffs altogether due to competing in stronger divisions.
There should be a requirement that any team should have to win 10 games in order to host a playoff game, and even then only be allowed to host teams with 11 wins or less.
Also, any team that wins 10 games in a season should automatically be in the playoffs. The NFL could add wild card games to accommodate such teams.
But it is unfair for a team like the Cowboys or the Eagles to potentially host a 12-13 win team that became a wildcard team because they played in a tougher division.

I disagree with that unless they changed the schedule so everyone played each other.

 

[HungryLion]

the Rule is fine the way it is.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

Don’t like something start whining.

 

[OmerV]

The NFL should institute guidelines governing situations in which 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 teams win their division, while teams with better records are often forced to settle for a wild card berth, or miss the playoffs altogether due to competing in stronger divisions.
There should be a requirement that any team should have to win 10 games in order to host a playoff game, and even then only be allowed to host teams with 11 wins or less.
Also, any team that wins 10 games in a season should automatically be in the playoffs. The NFL could add wild card games to accommodate such teams.
But it is unfair for a team like the Cowboys or the Eagles to potentially host a 12-13 win team that became a wildcard team because they played in a tougher division.

But then what do you do if a team is 9-7 division winner is in a tough as hell division from top to bottom, and a 10-6 wild card team is in a powder puff division? Or if the 9-7 division winner has one of the toughest schedules in the NFL and the 10-6 wild card has one of the easiest?

No matter the method of choosing home field advantage in the playoffs, there will always be variables that make things seem unfair, and those can change from year to year, and there is no set system that can cover for all variables. Accordingly, the NFL can only come up with a system and stick with it. Giving the division winners the home field advantage over the wild card teams seems like a reasonable way to go.

 

[Carson]

Win your division

if not, shut up

 

[Idgit]

Disagree. Division wins matter. Not all schedules are the same, and not all 9-7s are worse than 10-6s.

 

[Whyjerry]

The league has tinkered enough with the rules and every change has made the game worse. They need roll a few back. No need to change the playoff format.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The NFL should institute guidelines governing situations in which 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 teams win their division, while teams with better records are often forced to settle for a wild card berth, or miss the playoffs altogether due to competing in stronger divisions.
There should be a requirement that any team should have to win 10 games in order to host a playoff game, and even then only be allowed to host teams with 11 wins or less.
Also, any team that wins 10 games in a season should automatically be in the playoffs. The NFL could add wild card games to accommodate such teams.
But it is unfair for a team like the Cowboys or the Eagles to potentially host a 12-13 win team that became a wildcard team because they played in a tougher division.

there is strong sentiment for that...but not sure if that's fair or not.....schedule and strength of your schedule varies from year to year. if you have a strong division, and they beat each other up and they go against another strong division that year, and then a team at 10-6 has had a really schedule and yet made playoffs as a wild card, why should they host a 9-7 division winner that had a tougher schedule.....and we dont' want to get into the college playoff scenario and take into the formula the mystical "strength of schedule".....

there is arguments to be made.

 

[gmb1]

It's bad enough they're proposing a 17 game season. Leave it alone! No more changes!

 

[CooterBrown]

To follow that reasoning to its logical conclusion: why have "Divisions" or "Conferences" at all? Take the top 12 seeded teams and create a playoff bracket.

Of course the reason it isn't done that way is that rivalries and extra pressure in otherwise meaningless games generates more fan interest and television revenue. Until about a month ago Commander and Giant fans still had faint hope that their team could go on a winning streak and make the playoffs by winning the division. What kind of TV ratings would this Sunday's game between Dallas and Philadelphia have if it were not for the current format? Based on past history, the ratings on Sunday will be huge. If it were a meaningless game, that would not be so. The current format keeps the money flowing in. And I think it is obvious to all of us that money is far more important than "fairness" when it comes to the NFL.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

They could do away with divisions and just have the teams with the best records make the playoffs. It would be a major change. I think the league did it that way at one point.

 

[leeblair]

But then what do you do if a team is 9-7 division winner is in a tough as hell division from top to bottom, and a 10-6 wild card team is in a powder puff division? Or if the 9-7 division winner has one of the toughest schedules in the NFL and the 10-6 wild card has one of the easiest?

No matter the method of choosing home field advantage in the playoffs, there will always be variables that make things seem unfair, and those can change from year to year, and there is no set system that can cover for all variables. Accordingly, the NFL can only come up with a system and stick with it. Giving the division winners the home field advantage over the wild card teams seems like a reasonable way to go.

I would agree that a division winner at 9-7 should host a 10-6 wildcard team, but, beginning with a threshold of 9 wins or less, any division winner with less than 10 wins should not be allowed to host a wildcard team with 2 more wins than they have.
For example- a 9-7 division winner would travel to play an 11 win wildcard team.

 

[HungryLion]

Divisional matchups and divisional rivalries are consistently the highest anticipated and most watched games during the regular season.

The league shouldn’t do anything to limit the importance of regular season divisional match ups.

 

[erod]

True, but they'll never change it. Drums up too much conservation.

If you don't like it, win your division. That's what the league will say to complainers. It's a good point.

Still doesn't make it right though.

 

[jazzcat22]

The only way to eliminate such oddities is to have no divisions at all.
The top 6, or 8 if expanded get in. No more rival games just a rotational schedule each year to where you don't play a certain 4 teams that year. Do not play the same team twice either.

However...then their will be someone that whines...well the 7th and 8th NFC team is better than the 5th and 6th AFC team why aren't they in the playoffs....

It is set up this way for good reasons. Keep it the same.

 

[Jake]

The NFL should institute guidelines governing situations in which 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9 teams win their division, while teams with better records are often forced to settle for a wild card berth, or miss the playoffs altogether due to competing in stronger divisions.
There should be a requirement that any team should have to win 10 games in order to host a playoff game, and even then only be allowed to host teams with 11 wins or less.
Also, any team that wins 10 games in a season should automatically be in the playoffs. The NFL could add wild card games to accommodate such teams.
But it is unfair for a team like the Cowboys or the Eagles to potentially host a 12-13 win team that became a wildcard team because they played in a tougher division.

Yes, the NFL should knee jerk to every anomaly. For example, the PI challenge rule. That's worked extremely well.

 

[viman96]

Nope. Leave it as it is. Division matters and it helps LEVEL the playing field and take into account for teams in terrible divisions (Pats or 49ers back in the day) to easily get to 10+ wins.

 

[aikemirv]

It is really an atypical year where the wildcards sit at 11-3 and 10-4.

You don't change things because of one weird year!