Tinkering with NFL playoff seedings

[Rasputin_Vol]

SI.com - Writers - Don Banks: NFL mulling changes to playoff format - Friday February 1, 2008 5:42PM

All hubris aside, the best thing I heard coming out of Goodell's annual address was that the NFL might tinker with its playoff seeding format. The league seems interested in trying to reduce the number of late-season games in which teams rest their starters because the outcomes have no bearing on the playoff races or seeds. By having it possible for a wild-card winner with a better record than a division champion to be seeded higher, the NFL could make more Week 16 and 17 games meaningful.

[duckman398686]

you beat me to it. i actually don't think this is that bad of an idea.

[milohimself]

It was a good idea in the NBA, and it's a good idea here.

[Chemvol]

This is a very reasonable idea.

[MoonDogLeft]

Personally, I'd like to see divisions done away with and simply have National and American conferences. Schedules can be played as if teams were still in divisions for the sake of maintaining rivalries, logistics, etc.

Why should a team winning a weak division get in the playoffs with an 8-8 or 9-7 record over a team that finished second or third in another division at 10-6?

Take the top six teams in each conference and play as they are doing now.

[Rasputin_Vol]

Originally Posted by MoonDogLeft

Personally, I'd like to see divisions done away with and simply have National and American conferences. Schedules can be played as if teams were still in divisions for the sake of maintaining rivalries, logistics, etc.

Why should a team winning a weak division get in the playoffs with an 8-8 or 9-7 record over a team that finished second or third in another division at 10-6?

Take the top six teams in each conference and play as they are doing now.

The rivalries in the NFC East and NFC North would be taken away from us. Not sure if that is a good idea.

[milohimself]

There's big-time rivalries in almost every division.