Playoffs need altering!

[DogFace]

What if we were 7-9 but won the division, but yet weren't allowed in the playoffs, because it was the worst record for playoff teams, so we are ousted from a team finishing 8-8.

Because of your driving habits I can't trust anything you say.

 

[jazzcat22]

Because of your driving habits I can't trust anything you say.

Let me drive the bus, we may make it in a 5-11. LOL. Or won't at 0-16...LOL

But I would go off course and run it over the Eagles, in the left or right lane, but will just go down the middle on them.....

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

If they Cowboys would ever win the division with a sub .500 record, we'd all be praising the system for letting us sneak in. Once a team is in, anything can happen.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I don't see any changes coming other than the leagues desire to add a team to the post season. Division winner have always gone in and that is not going to change. If they were going to do that they would just do away with divisions all together and just have 16 teams in the NFC and 16 in the AFC and take the top 6 from each conference

We will see 18 game seasons with 1-2 games international per year first.

 

[Doomsday101]

We will see 18 game seasons with 1-2 games international per year first.

I doubt that at least until the new CBA. As for the international they had 3 games overseas this year and I expect that will continue

 

[HappyOnions]

Format is fine the way it is...


This year is just an annomoly

 

[Direwolf63]

If they Cowboys would ever win the division with a sub .500 record, we'd all be praising the system for letting us sneak in. Once a team is in, anything can happen.

Wrong. It would be just as wrong for the Cowboys to get in the playoffs with 6 or 7 wins as it would be for anybody else.
I'd be embarrassed if the Cowboys were in the playoffs with a 6-10 record while another team with an 11-5 record missed out.

 

[Hostile]

The NFL needs to redo the playoffs system. Division winners must have atleast a .500 record, if not, they just need to allow the 6 best teams! It's an embarrassment to the league and the game to have anyone from the NFC south in and an 11-5 team (potentially) out!

I disagree. Yeah the NFC South winner probably doesn't deserve a spot, but I'd rather it be tough to get in than automatic.

If we end up 11-5 and miss the playoffs we have nothing to hang our heads about.

Obviously I want 12-4 and the playoffs, but what I want and what is are not guaranteed to be happening.

 

[Direwolf63]

If we end up 11-5 and miss the playoffs we have nothing to hang our heads about.

No, but the NFL does.

 

[StarBoyz83]

I agree. Its going to be lame whether its dallas or arizona or Detroit sitting at when and the falcons or saints are in!

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

What if we were 7-9 but won the division, but yet weren't allowed in the playoffs, because it was the worst record for playoff teams, so we are ousted from a team finishing 8-8.

There would be riots. Rules are rules. Is it silly? Yes. But this is one of those years where a sorry team will make it in the post season. It sucks but we all know if it was the Cowboys 6-10 and won the division we'd want them in there.

Records mean nothing in the post season. Let's not forget the 7-9 Seahawks.

 

[Chuck 54]

No Way!....silly to complain when it bites you in the butt. It is what it is, and it works. If you aren't going to go with division winners and wild cards, you might as well get rid of divisions all together and play a plethora of games against all comers and just select the best records....even then, it still sometimes comes down to a team playing lesser opponents.

The system isn't broken just because we miss the playoffs.

 

[KJJ]

I am for anything that still keeps the division important, but does not over reward for a poor division.

If you're going to keep the division important and maintain division rivalries you have to reward the winner of each division with a playoff spot. If the league is going to determine playoff spots by a teams record then they would have to do away with divisions. The plan is to add 2 more playoff teams which will increase the odds on 500 and losing teams making the playoffs.

 

[SDCowboy]

What if we were 7-9 but won the division, but yet weren't allowed in the playoffs, because it was the worst record for playoff teams, so we are ousted from a team finishing 8-8.

If we were 7-9 we shouldn't be in the playoffs either.

 

[SDCowboy]

If you're going to keep the division important and maintain division rivalries you have to reward the winner of each division with a playoff spot. If the league is going to determine playoff spots by a teams record then they would have to do away with divisions. The plan is to add 2 more playoff teams which will increase the odds on 500 and losing teams making the playoffs.

I've long been in favor of getting rid of divisions and just having conferences. "Rivalries" don't do much for me and they barely still exist anyway in today's NFL. I'd rather regularly play different teams than the same three teams, 6/16 games.

 

[KJJ]

I've long been in favor of getting rid of divisions and just having conferences. "Rivalries" don't do much for me and they barely still exist anyway in today's NFL. I'd rather regularly play different teams than the same three teams, 6/16 games.

Divisions and rivalries have been apart of the NFL forever it's going to be hard for the league to break away from what has been such a tradition over the years. The current system certainly has flaws when you can have a 7-9 team make the playoffs like Seattle did a few years ago and have teams like NE in 08 and Denver in 85 miss the playoffs with 11-5 records.

Your fate is basically determined by the strength of your division. The Cowboys have had opportunities to make the playoffs the past 3 seasons entering the final week with only 8 wins due to playing in a weak division. We saw a 10 win Cardinals team miss the playoff last year due to playing in a strong division.

It will be interesting to see in the coming years what changes the NFL makes to the playoff system but adding 2 more teams to the current system is going water down the playoffs with at least one losing team having an opportunity every year to make the playoffs.

 

[SDCowboy]

Divisions and rivalries have been apart of the NFL forever it's going to be hard for the league to break away from what has been such a tradition over the years. The current system certainly has flaws when you can have a 7-9 team make the playoffs like Seattle did a few years ago and have teams like NE in 08 and Denver in 85 miss the playoffs with 11-5 records.

Your fate is basically determined by the strength of your division. The Cowboys have had opportunities to make the playoffs the past 3 seasons entering the final week with only 8 wins due to playing in a weak division. We saw a 10 win Cardinals team miss the playoff last year due to playing in a strong division.

It will be interesting to see in the coming years what changes the NFL makes to the playoff system but adding 2 more teams to the current system is going water down the playoffs with at least one losing team having an opportunity every year to make the playoffs.

Regardless of where we finish, I don't think a team with a losing record has any business being in the playoffs. The league's archaic divisional system isn't helping anything. And I honestly don't think the league would have issues if they moved away from it. The one thing the NFL does right is it continuously evolves as times change.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Coming at this time, this sounds like nothing more than sour grapes. Where was all this talk before? Sorry, no excuses.

I've been talking about this since Seattle got into the playoffs with a measly 7 and 9 record (in about 2009 or 2010 I think). No team that cannot muster a winning record deserves to go to the playoffs. I agree with the OP. Any division winner with an 8 and 8 or worse record should be disqualified for the playoffs while the league creates an extra wild card for a team with a better record. We might see an NFL South team in the playoffs with a 6 and 10 record. That would be absurd.

 

[KJJ]

Regardless of where we finish, I don't think a team with a losing record has any business being in the playoffs. The league's archaic divisional system isn't helping anything. And I honestly don't think the league would have issues if they moved away from it. The one thing the NFL does right is it continuously evolves as times change.

I don't think a losing team should make the playoffs either but it's very rare when it happens. If they add 2 more teams to the playoffs which seems to be the plan then that will open the door for losing teams to qualify. They asked Goodell not long ago if the NFL would move away from divisions and he didn't seem in favor of that. I think the league would have issues moving away from divisions but some revisions need to be made that reward all teams with good records.

It's certainly isn't fair to see an 11 win team miss the playoffs and a 7 win team qualify due to the conference or division they play in. The changes we've seen over the past several years have been to do with rule changes. They haven't tweaked the playoff system since 1990. The link gives you a brief history of how the NFL's playoff system has evolved over the years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_playoffs

 

[Hostile]

No, but the NFL does.

I'm not so sure I agree with this. In 2008 the Patriots were 11-5, missed the playoffs and I don't remember any of us being all that upset about it.

Why is it different just because we root for Dallas?