Roger Goodell: Playoff expansion a possibility for 2015 The NFL's competition committee opted against a recommendation last March that would expand the playoff field in the near future. Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear Tuesday during the NFL Fall Meeting that the issue is back on the table. Thousands shared stories telling us why they love football in a contest to win a trip to Super Bowl XLVIII. We chose 10 finalists. Now you choose the winners. The possibility of adding two teams to the postseason is one of the "priorities" for the competition committee in 2014, Goodell said. "If expanding the postseason would allow other teams to get into the dance, and they have the potential of going on and winning the Super Bowl," Goodell explained, "that's a good thing for fans, that a good thing competitively." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...dell-playoff-expansion-a-possibility-for-2015
I've said it before and I'll say it again: nothing would make the end of the NFL regular season more exciting than having fans of a 7-9 team watching the late games on Sunday hoping their team can still make the playoffs.
Shit, you could include all 32 teams in the postseason and eventually the worst team is going to have a magical run and win it all. Does that mean they belonged? I'll take "How to make the regular season less meaningful" for $500, Alex. Given a choice, I'd go to division champs only, as there are now four in each conference and it would make more sense. This is about nothing but money. IMO what's needed here isn't more excitement*, but a system that continues to reward regular season excellence. Four wild card teams have won the Super Bowl per wiki (Pittsburgh is among them) but that doesn't mean I think the spot ought to remain in place. If it's just 32 teams playing for a tournament that 16 of them are going to make, it devalues the reg season somewhat. I've been arguing for years that the NFL needs to get rid of some of the whiz bang kapow factor anyway. Sit down, drop some of the bright colors and graphics on the set, and talk like you're in someone's living room a least every once in a while, ffs. As long as the presentation markets a child's toy, folks will treat it as such. Goodell, you gonna protect the shield, protect the damn shield. Take a page from soccer and make it more than a diversion from life- make it part of life, like vegetables and church. *I do think they did great in arranging scheds so that the divisions were still up for grabs late in the season. But that isn't the same as adding on more tourney spots.
For the record I was being extremely sarcastic. Perhaps so much so that I accidently backed into a category like "earnest" or "sincere" by mistake. But the last thing any sport that I can think of off the top of my head needs is more teams in the playoffs.
Agreed. I did quote you, but I don't have a huge issue with your saying it, because 7-9 has made the playoffs in the system we have now. I'm really just just airing a general grievance with the idea that "more playoff games = better" and that "excitement" is or ought to be the main reason we watch sports. I think we should care more than that.
The question to the $100 answer is, "What is by only sending division champs to the playoffs?" 4 wild-cards is cool. If some 7-9 or 6-10 team makes it to the playoffs its highly likely to be as a divisional champ anyway. And under the current system, the champ of such a sad division would have to go through an extra round against a top wild-card team at least.