Biased NFL Scheduling

[ravidubey]

I've posted this elsewhere, but I think it deserves notice. It's an advantage to be playing at home in decisive final regular season games with the playoffs on the line. If you're going to schedule divisional games to end the season, then at least flip home and away games for teams or don't do it at all.

NY Giants
2007 NE Patriots
2008 @Minnesota
2009 @Minnesota
2010 @Washington
2011 Dallas
2012 Philadelphia
Home Finals: 3/6 overall 2/3 divisional

Philadelphia
2007 Buffalo
2008 Dallas
2009 @Dallas
2010 Dallas
2011 Washington
2012 @NY Giants
Home Finals: 4/6 overall 3/5 divisional

Washington
2007 Dallas
2008 @SF
2009 @Chargers
2010 Giants
2011 @Philadelphia
2012 Dallas
Home Finals: 3/6 overall 3/4 divisional

Check this out... how can this be called anything but a scheduling bias?

Dallas
2007 @Washington
2008 @Philadelphia
2009 Philadelphia
2010 @Philadelphia
2011 @New York
2012 @Washington
Home Finals: 1/6 overall 1/6 divisional

WTH? I thought Tags was long gone.

 

[erod]

We just played five home games in the last six games. Huh?

 

[Future]

This is ENTIRELY based on ratings and dollars. Some might see an anti-Cowboys agenda, but really its just the NFL cashing in on Dallas' popularity.

 

[phildominator]

If we play Week 17 vs the Giants in Arlington, check that one up to anti-Cowboys conspiracy as well.

 

[Tabascocat]

16 teams can possibly face the same problem. It is what it is and I don't think there is a conspiracy, it is just the way it worked out.

We did just play 5 out of 6 at home late in the season, that is an advantage.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

This is ENTIRELY based on ratings and dollars. Some might see an anti-Cowboys agenda, but really its just the NFL cashing in on Dallas' popularity.

I could care less about the NFL's intentions when they make these decisions, it's the results that bother me.

 

[Doomsday]

Im sure the competition committee will get right on this.

 

[Future]

I could care less about the NFL's intentions when they make these decisions, it's the results that bother me.

fair enough...I'm not saying I agree with the way it has played out, just that I don't think it should be attributed to a conspiracy.

 

[ravidubey]

fair enough...I'm not saying I agree with the way it has played out, just that I don't think it should be attributed to a conspiracy.

It's clearly intentional to cash in on the Cowboys' popularity. But because they keep making the same decision it's hurt the franchise over time.

IMO the game and fairness needs to come first.

Jerry Jones loves pimping his team, but he needs to stand up for them.

 

[The Quest for Six]

have you seen the home record for Cowboys since they moved to Arlington...

 

[Hoofbite]

Counting divisional games is useless.

They all are now.

Not to mention a divisional game is a chance to take the division.

 

[viman96]

The Cowboys and every other team have 15 opportunities to make the last game irrelevant.

 

[cowboyfan4life2]

We just played 5 out of 6 at home, and we have no home field advantage at all, I prefer playing on the road these days.

 

[FiveRings]

Thinking the league is against your team is the dumbest thing I've heard. Someone said that to me in the NHL playoffs too, what a joke. Goddell just wants all teams competitive and lucrative, he and no league officials have no favorites, just greed.

 

[ravidubey]

Thinking the league is against your team is the dumbest thing I've heard. Someone said that to me in the NHL playoffs too, what a joke. Goddell just wants all teams competitive and lucrative, he and no league officials have no favorites, just greed.

I prefer not to ignore 5 out of 6 games being played on the road at divisional opponents. 5 of those 6 games had or will have playoff consequences (though the 2007 game ended up only important for Washington) and in each of the games already played the home team won. Every. One.

The scheduling of the divisional games at the end is absolutely intentional. That they force the Cowboys to visit in that situation over 80% of the time is the bias.

 

[Rynie]

Isn't the schedule decided by a computer program?

 

[FiveRings]

I prefer not to ignore 5 out of 6 games being played on the road at divisional opponents. 5 of those 6 games had or will have playoff consequences (though the 2007 game ended up only important for Washington) and in each of the games already played the home team won. Every. One.

The scheduling of the divisional games at the end is absolutely intentional. That they force the Cowboys to visit in that situation over 80% of the time is the bias.

Any why would they do that Mr.Conspiracy?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Five of our last seven at home and we're getting screwed?

We already played this team at home on Thanksgiving on a short week. If either team had a scheduling advantage this year, it was us.

 

[ravidubey]

Isn't the schedule decided by a computer program?

Partly. The NFL wants to place most of its marquee matchups at the end of the year and schedule as competitive a playoff-affecting a Sunday Night schedule as possible.

They also began scheduling divisional games at the end of every season, if not the last game then close to the end. Every division has a winner, and most divisions are contested. This creates drama and revenue.

It's not random, divisional games are intentionally scheduled to end the year if at all possible.

All good.

Any why would they do that Mr.Conspiracy.

Holy crap that was a turd-like thing to post. There is no conspiracy, it's simple reality. 5 out of 6 heavily contested games with the playoffs on the line have been scheduled with Dallas as the visiting team.

They were scheduled to create drama and in Dallas' case for money. It needs to stop as it puts Dallas at a competitive disadvantage. Every road team in that situation lost.

If a team is on the road in a week 17 divisional game, to be fair they need to be at home the following season in the same or similar game or don't schedule divisional games in the final week.

Five of our last seven at home and we're getting screwed?

We already played this team at home on Thanksgiving on a short week. If either team had a scheduling advantage this year, it was us.

Dallas started with several games on the road, including the first two games. That had a lot to do with Dallas starting 3-5. There is no advantage within a single season overall. Every team will have hard years and every team will have easy years. That will even out.

But this particular scheduling disadvantage has a real impact-- in 3.5 of the 6 games the loser would miss the playoffs entirely (the .5 being Washington in 2007).

From 2007-2011 with playoff seeding on the line in the final game every NFC East road team lost. It's literally like a playoff road game. Except scheduled in advance, not randomly, and 80% of the time not in Dallas' favor.

Being on the road is bad enough. Being on the road against the team you are competing against definitively for a playoff spot is brutal.

If this game happens three weeks ago, it's not the same.

 

[Illini88228]

There is no league agenda against the Dallas Cowboys. The league wants to make money, and there is NOTHING on earth they would like better than for Dallas to be great again. Think of all the fair-weather fans who would suddenly gobble up merchandise. Dallas fans sound stupid when they whine about bias. It's like the Yankees complaining that MLB is out to get them. It's non-sensical. It's confirmation bias at work. You remember the evidence that supports your conspiracy theory, and forget the evidence that doesn't.