plasticman
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In 1969 two competing professional football leagues, the NFL and the AFL merged to form the NFL we know today.
The AFL teams were all put into one of two conferences called the AFC. Because there were more NFL teams than AFL teams, some of the NFL teams were also put into the AFC conference These included the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The rest of the NFL became the NFC, including the Cowboys.
So, all together, there was 26 teams, 13 in each conference.
Each conference had 3 divisions, East, West, and Central. Since there were 13 teams, two divisions had 4 teams and the other had 5. The Cowboys were in the NFC East, a division of 5 teams. Besides the 4 present members, there was the St. Lewis Cardinals.
At this time the season was 14 games long. The playoffs were composed of the 3 division champions and 1 Wildcard, the team from each conference with the best 2nd place record. The #1 seed hosted the wildcard team in the divisional round of the playoffs. There was no wildcard round.
Today we have a 17 game season and compete against 3 division opponents. Imagine a larger division shrunk into a smaller season. There was no such thing as a "meaningless" last regular season games.
The fact that the Cowboys went to the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons from 1966 to 1974 is even more impressive when you consider that only 8 of 26 teams or 30.7% went to the playoffs. Today it is 14 of 32 teams or 43.8%.
There was also no overtime. Division championships were constantly decided by a half game or a tie-breaker. In 1974 all three NFC division champions plus the wildcard teams finished the season with matching 10-4 records.
In 1975 the Dallas Cowboys were the first wildcard team to reach the Super Bowl.
In 1976 the NFL added two more teams, the Bucs and Seahawks and so the western divisions also had five teams.
In 1978 the league expanded the regular season to 16 games. They also added an additional wildcard team to each conference and added a round of playoffs, the "wildcard' round. Originally, the two wildcard teams in each conference would face each other for the right to play the #1 seed in the divisional round. Therefore, all division champions received a bye while the wildcard games, one in each conference, were played.
In 1990 the NFL added a 3rd wildcard team to each conference. In this format, the two division champions from each conference with the best record had a bye. The remaining 3rd place division champion entered the wildcard round and so there were two wildcard games per conference for a total of 4 for that playoff round. This meant that there were a total of 12 playoff teams for the season or 40% of the teams.
In 1995 the league added two more teams, the Jaguars and Panthers. Each of the 6 total divisions in the NFL now had 5 teams.
For three seasons, 1999-2001, the NFL was slightly unbalanced with 31 teams as the Cleveland Browns was given an expansion team to replace the previous Browns now renamed the Baltimore Ravens. During this period, the AFC had 6 teams in their central division.
As a result of the Houston Texans expansion team bringing the total; number of teams to a symmetric 32, the leagues' structure was changed in 2002 to the format we now know
With the addition of a 17th game and only four teams in each division, the result has been to diminish what used to be the most important regular season game, the last one.
When you have four teams competing for 17 games there is a much higher probability that a team is going to distance themselves from the rest of the competition. Clinching a division before the end of the season back in the early 70's used to be a rarity. It is now the norm. In fact, it is now quite common that almost all division winners and even some wildcard spots are set before the 17th regular season game.
And so, the league has inadvertently turned game #17 into a preseason game scenario in most cases. Playoff bound teams rest their most important players while stalling their momentum and eliminating most of the excitement that should come in a season ending week.
Meanwhile, those teams that are eliminated from the playoffs ae acutely aware that winning the remaining games can be a detriment to the value of their draft. The strong temptation exists to make winning less of a priority despite the fact that other teams may depend on the outcome of that game to be in the playoffs.
The NFL has gone too far in this playoff inclusion process, diluting the quality of those games as well as the exclusivity of making the playoffs. It seems as though almost every team with a winning record, even 9-8 reaches the playoffs. Due to each division having only four teams, there is also the possibility that division champions end their season with a losing record.
It's obvious that the owners will never decrease the number of playoff rounds and playoff games. Therefore, what can be done to make the league more competitive at the end of the season while increasing the quality of the playoffs?
The owners should strongly consider changing their structure once again. Each conference should have two divisions of eight teams. The playoff teams could be composed of the division winners along with the five teams in each conference with the best records. The division champions with the best record in each conference would get a bye in the wildcard round. This would effectively eliminate losing teams from reaching the playoffs. The probability that all eight teams in a division will have a losing record is exponentially small.
With eight teams competing for the same division title, their increased competition should help to insure that the final week of regular season play is, not only relevant, but the most exciting, meaningful, and capable of generating the most memorable and classic games in history.
The AFL teams were all put into one of two conferences called the AFC. Because there were more NFL teams than AFL teams, some of the NFL teams were also put into the AFC conference These included the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The rest of the NFL became the NFC, including the Cowboys.
So, all together, there was 26 teams, 13 in each conference.
Each conference had 3 divisions, East, West, and Central. Since there were 13 teams, two divisions had 4 teams and the other had 5. The Cowboys were in the NFC East, a division of 5 teams. Besides the 4 present members, there was the St. Lewis Cardinals.
At this time the season was 14 games long. The playoffs were composed of the 3 division champions and 1 Wildcard, the team from each conference with the best 2nd place record. The #1 seed hosted the wildcard team in the divisional round of the playoffs. There was no wildcard round.
Today we have a 17 game season and compete against 3 division opponents. Imagine a larger division shrunk into a smaller season. There was no such thing as a "meaningless" last regular season games.
The fact that the Cowboys went to the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons from 1966 to 1974 is even more impressive when you consider that only 8 of 26 teams or 30.7% went to the playoffs. Today it is 14 of 32 teams or 43.8%.
There was also no overtime. Division championships were constantly decided by a half game or a tie-breaker. In 1974 all three NFC division champions plus the wildcard teams finished the season with matching 10-4 records.
In 1975 the Dallas Cowboys were the first wildcard team to reach the Super Bowl.
In 1976 the NFL added two more teams, the Bucs and Seahawks and so the western divisions also had five teams.
In 1978 the league expanded the regular season to 16 games. They also added an additional wildcard team to each conference and added a round of playoffs, the "wildcard' round. Originally, the two wildcard teams in each conference would face each other for the right to play the #1 seed in the divisional round. Therefore, all division champions received a bye while the wildcard games, one in each conference, were played.
In 1990 the NFL added a 3rd wildcard team to each conference. In this format, the two division champions from each conference with the best record had a bye. The remaining 3rd place division champion entered the wildcard round and so there were two wildcard games per conference for a total of 4 for that playoff round. This meant that there were a total of 12 playoff teams for the season or 40% of the teams.
In 1995 the league added two more teams, the Jaguars and Panthers. Each of the 6 total divisions in the NFL now had 5 teams.
For three seasons, 1999-2001, the NFL was slightly unbalanced with 31 teams as the Cleveland Browns was given an expansion team to replace the previous Browns now renamed the Baltimore Ravens. During this period, the AFC had 6 teams in their central division.
As a result of the Houston Texans expansion team bringing the total; number of teams to a symmetric 32, the leagues' structure was changed in 2002 to the format we now know
With the addition of a 17th game and only four teams in each division, the result has been to diminish what used to be the most important regular season game, the last one.
When you have four teams competing for 17 games there is a much higher probability that a team is going to distance themselves from the rest of the competition. Clinching a division before the end of the season back in the early 70's used to be a rarity. It is now the norm. In fact, it is now quite common that almost all division winners and even some wildcard spots are set before the 17th regular season game.
And so, the league has inadvertently turned game #17 into a preseason game scenario in most cases. Playoff bound teams rest their most important players while stalling their momentum and eliminating most of the excitement that should come in a season ending week.
Meanwhile, those teams that are eliminated from the playoffs ae acutely aware that winning the remaining games can be a detriment to the value of their draft. The strong temptation exists to make winning less of a priority despite the fact that other teams may depend on the outcome of that game to be in the playoffs.
The NFL has gone too far in this playoff inclusion process, diluting the quality of those games as well as the exclusivity of making the playoffs. It seems as though almost every team with a winning record, even 9-8 reaches the playoffs. Due to each division having only four teams, there is also the possibility that division champions end their season with a losing record.
It's obvious that the owners will never decrease the number of playoff rounds and playoff games. Therefore, what can be done to make the league more competitive at the end of the season while increasing the quality of the playoffs?
The owners should strongly consider changing their structure once again. Each conference should have two divisions of eight teams. The playoff teams could be composed of the division winners along with the five teams in each conference with the best records. The division champions with the best record in each conference would get a bye in the wildcard round. This would effectively eliminate losing teams from reaching the playoffs. The probability that all eight teams in a division will have a losing record is exponentially small.
With eight teams competing for the same division title, their increased competition should help to insure that the final week of regular season play is, not only relevant, but the most exciting, meaningful, and capable of generating the most memorable and classic games in history.