What happens if/when a 6-10 team makes the playoffs?

[bluejerseyjinx]

You mean the #6 seed, right.

But to answer your question:




That's why.

Yes, sorry, I mean't to say #6 seed. I was jumping the gun a bit because there proposing adding more playoff teams. The point I was trying to make is, as a rule we always reward division winners no matter the record. What I don't agree with is rewarding them with a home playoff game to start out with. Like hockey, reseed according to record after all divisions are decided.

Yeah, I'm well aware of that rule, and I got what you were saying. The point I was trying to make is that any rule that allows a crappy team to even make the playoffs in the first place is an extremely flawed rule.

I don't feel it is flawed at all. Division winners still deserve to be in the playoffs.

[sixerswillrule]

Yes, sorry, I mean't to say #6 seed. I was jumping the gun a bit because there proposing adding more playoff teams. The point I was trying to make is, as a rule we always reward division winners no matter the record. What I don't agree with is rewarding them with a home playoff game to start out with. Like hockey, reseed according to record after all divisions are decided.

Yeah, I'm well aware of that rule, and I got what you were saying. The point I was trying to make is that any rule that allows a crappy team to even make the playoffs in the first place is an extremely flawed rule.

I don't feel it is flawed at all. Division winners still deserve to be in the playoffs.

Because...?

Yeah, the rules are the rules, and as they stand right now now, division winners "deserve" to be in the playoffs. Everyone knows that. This is a discussion of why.

Based on actual football playing ability, I don't see how anyone can argue that a subpar team deserves to be in the playoffs simply due to having a better record than the three other subpar teams who happen to be in the same division. The playoffs are supposed to be a selection of the league's best. Being the best from a tiny sample size of 4 teams is meaningless.

Yes, I get that having divisions keeps teams in the hunt longer and thus leads to more revenue for the league. Because that's the bottom line, significant changes will probably never be made. I know that. Every other argument that I've heard is nonsense, though. It's a flawed system. The end result of a bad team making the playoffs while a much better team misses the playoffs is a flaw, period. There's no argument against that.

[High 5]

If you didn't want to hear opposing arguments then you shouldn't have made the thread. A sub-500 team has only made the playoffs once and it resulted in an exciting upset and one of the greatest runs in NFL history. We'll see what happens this year, but I have a (bad) feeling the Saints will finish with 8 or 9 wins.

[El Turco]

if niners are the third best team in their division, they don't deserve to be involved in a fight to become the best team in nfl.

[sixerswillrule]

If you didn't want to hear opposing arguments then you shouldn't have made the thread. A sub-500 team has only made the playoffs once and it resulted in an exciting upset and one of the greatest runs in NFL history. We'll see what happens this year, but I have a (bad) feeling the Saints will finish with 8 or 9 wins.

I said that I've yet to hear any good opposing arguments (either in this thread or elsewhere), other than the argument about money. Wanting to hear (good) opposing arguments is why I made the thread. I just don't see any other ones.

Also, it's not necessarily just about a sub .500 team making it. The Chargers made it at 8-8 in 2008 while the 11-5 Pats sat out. Ridiculous as well.

[CentralQB5]

It doesn't matter how bad a teams record is, as long as they win their division then a playoff appearance is the reward. Something does need to be done though about the hosting in the first round. I think its absurd that if Atlanta or NO went 6-10 would be able to have some type of "home field advantage" It sucks for a team like Seattle, SF, Dallas or even Detroit that at this point would have to travel for winning 10 or 11 games. I say if you don't win your division with at least 8 wins than you can't host a playoff game. You can be in the playoffs but you are either the 5th or 6th seed.

[CentralQB5]

Yeah, I'm well aware of that rule, and I got what you were saying. The point I was trying to make is that any rule that allows a crappy team to even make the playoffs in the first place is an extremely flawed rule.

I don't feel it is flawed at all. Division winners still deserve to be in the playoffs.

Because...?

Yeah, the rules are the rules, and as they stand right now now, division winners "deserve" to be in the playoffs. Everyone knows that. This is a discussion of why.

Based on actual football playing ability, I don't see how anyone can argue that a subpar team deserves to be in the playoffs simply due to having a better record than the three other subpar teams who happen to be in the same division. The playoffs are supposed to be a selection of the league's best. Being the best from a tiny sample size of 4 teams is meaningless.

Yes, I get that having divisions keeps teams in the hunt longer and thus leads to more revenue for the league. Because that's the bottom line, significant changes will probably never be made. I know that. Every other argument that I've heard is nonsense, though. It's a flawed system. The end result of a bad team making the playoffs while a much better team misses the playoffs is a flaw, period. There's no argument against that.

ts a flawed system that most likely won't get fixed. However you can't knock a team for winning their division and thats every teams goal at the beginning of the season is to just simply win their division and get a chance to play in the playoffs. Once the playoffs start its a "New Season and everyone starts off at 0-0" and yes just like others have stated like we saw a few years ago when the Saints traveled to the 7-9 Seahawks and lost. Anything can happen once and if you get in.

[nbafan38]

falcons and saints both winning this week means a 6-10 team making the playoffs is very unlikely. Saints are a very strange team, at times they look pretty good, at other times they look awful.

[JustBlaze]

if niners are the third best team in their division, they don't deserve to be involved in a fight to become the best team in nfl.

This what people keep saying when it comes to this topic..it's always about who deserves to be in the playoffs. "If you win your division, you deserve to be in the playoffs" but no one can really say WHY..other than that's just the way its always been and people don't like change.

Its just as easy to say that if a team can't win more games than they lose then they don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

Sports are heavily based on traditions, so much so that people hate change..even if their reasons for not changing lack any logical reasoning (7 or 8 win team from a horrible divison so obviously deserves to be in the playoffs over a 10 or 11 win team from a really good divison) "It's just the way it is"

If it was the other way around, and it's always been set up so that the 6 teams with the best record make the playoffs, and people suggested, "Hey, let's give each division winner an automatic spot in the playoffs regardless of their record" All these same people that are against changing it now would probably be up in arms about a team with a worse record not deserving to be in the playoffs over a team with a better one.

[High 5]

People like divisions. They like the yearly home/away rivalries. That's the reasoning and it's perfectly logical. I also don't think removing divisions would create as much fairness as you think. There are 32 teams and only 16 games. Some teams would get royally screwed with tougher schedules. You would have to then remove inter-conference play to make it fairer (or cut it to 1 game), and no one wants that either.

The NBA has almost meaningless divisions and instead everyone whines about how much tougher the West is than the East. People are always going to find something to complain about.