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

[Starforever]

Funny, never heard this talked about other teams this much. The Dallas Cowboys are the catalyst for all things dumb, in the NFL.

Paying Zeke was the precedent, even though others did it before him.

Dak's contract, seems to be the precedent, even though he hasn't received a dime.

Our division is crapped on, even though the AFC East, has been straight trash for years.

I know there has been talk, but Dallas, is scrutinized and newsworthy every single day.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

This is typical behavior of a miserable person. Never happy with anything. Let's say words for example. Offended at a word? Then change the word. Problem is, the word still describes the same thing, so the same people will soon again be offended by it and you have to change it again.

Another example is the NCAA Bowl versus playoff system. People were not happy with the Bowl system rankings, so they did a 2 then 4 team "playoff". Not only are people STILL not happy with 4 team selection, but teams #5-8 aren't happy. Would a 64-team football playoff suffice? Not if you are #65. UCF is still mad they didn't their shot at the big boys a few years ago.

So now...suddenly, winning your division, but playing a "better team" at home is offensive. Miserable, bitter, egotistic people always trying to fix things that aren't really broken.

 

[Flamma]

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..

Both points is exactly what I was going to say. IMHO this is where the thread should have ended.

 

[Creeper]

What if 3 teams finish as division winners with 9-7 records? What if a team has a QB injury and starts slow but then wins out to win the division with a 9-7 record? There are so many scenarios that would blow up this idea that division winners with bad records can't host home games.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Funny, never heard this talked about other teams this much. The Dallas Cowboys are the catalyst for all things dumb, in the NFL.

Paying Zeke was the precedent, even though others did it before him.

Dak's contract, seems to be the precedent, even though he hasn't received a dime.

Our division is crapped on, even though the AFC East, has been straight trash for years.

I know there has been talk, but Dallas, is scrutinized and newsworthy every single day.

This! Funny this talk never came up for the gnats before winning the 2 SB.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

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.

Dear, dear. Someone awoke on the wrong side of the twin bed!

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

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.

Or, good fellow, we should stop wringing our hands and obsess on something else, like hunger, or lack of proper holiday décor.

 

[Proof]

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.

exactly. The random (few) times that a weak division winner isn’t the best representative doesn’t override the overwhelming good of using division winners

 

[ultron]

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.

Stop crying, if you win your divison you should host a playoff game. Five teams have been 8-8 or below and won their division, those teams are 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs. Horrible officiating is much more of a problem than a 9-7 or 8-8 team hosting a playoff game. Fix the officiating like college football did and the Cowboys would've won 10 or 11 games this year

 

[CB61]

You make a good point but division winners always host a playoff game plain and simple unless the NFL changes the whole playoff format and from what I've read that's not an option right now

 

[OmerV]

If it were a tough division, then it is likely those teams would win more games outside of the division and be better than 9-7.

A winning record is tolerable. I don't care for a team that wins a division with a 7-9 or 8-8 record and still gets to host a playoff game. You get rewarded for beating division rivals who clearly aren't that good. If they were good there would be a team with a winning record. This kind of stuff rarely happened in previous formats. Ever since the current 8 division format came around it happens more often and this year another 8-8 division winner could appear. In the current system, a team could theoretically win their division with a 6-10 record or even worse depending on tie breaker scenarios.

It is broke. Anytime a team with a losing record is in the playoffs, that is a broken system. If you still want to reward a team for winning a crappy division, then let them in the playoffs, but go on the road if there is a wildcard team with a better record.

Maybe, maybe not. The rule change being talked about here is meant to deal with unlikely, but still possible situations. What good would it be to change to something that still allows for unlikely, but possible situations?