Time To Fix The NFL?

[ranbethscards]

Timeline: Monday, January 3, 2011.

Issue: Time to fix the NFL

Good Morning Sports Fans!

The playoff picture is set and what are we hearing this morning? Mister Favre is in the news "hinting" at retirement. Oh crap, it's that time of year again, isn't it?

Let's put Mister "hey I'm gonna retire, but resign in the fall" on the back burner and talk about an issue that really has me upset this morning.

The playoff picture.

Put me down as a New York Giants HATER. Eli Manning will NEVER be the quarterback his brother is. But please realize that this is NOT an Eli Manning bashing thread, however Eli and his partners in crime, the New York Giants, are the reason for this "fix the NFL" thread.

In case you missed it, the Giants finished the year with a very respectable record of 10 wins and 6 losses, tied with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East Divison.....and the Giants miss the playoffs.

The Division WINNER (if you can call them that!) of the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks, finish the season with a very embarrassing record of 7 wins and 9 losses.

I don't care about the title of "Division Winner". The fact is, at 10-6, the Giants are obviously a much better team. (Note: Tampa Bay ended up at 10-6 and missed the playoffs also.)

It is truly an embarrassment to the NFL to have a 7-9 team in the playoffs.

FIX THIS. Not sure how, but when you have five (5) teams missing the playoffs with a record of 8 wins and 8 losses or better, and you have a team with 7 wins and 9 losses in the playoffs, something is wrong.

"Divison Winner".....that's a lousy excuse to use to allow a LOSING team into the playoffs.

Let the controversy begin!
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[gladdyontherise]

Well the Giants lost the division because Philly beat them twice, regardless of having the same record.

However, having a 7-9 team in is just silly

[ejiminee]

I both agree and disagree with this "problem".

It's sad that a team with a losing record will be in the playoffs but, as rarely as this happens, it won't be a problem very often.

On the other hand, if the Lions (go on, laugh) were in this position, I'd want them to have the chance to go all the way, even if everyone would call it a fluke or a miscarriage of justice or what ever.

I do see your point, but I'm willing to let it play out. The Seahawks are NOT going to be Super Bowl Champions anytime soon.

[jsab4807]

If you don't let a division winner get in because of a crappy record, then what's the point of divisions?

There's nothing to fix. The way the schedule is set up fits well into the 8 4-team divisions, and there's no reason to fix it because for the first time in NFL HISTORY a team with a losing record won a division.

Besides, even if the Giants or Bucs were in the playoffs, they don't have much better of a chance at winning the Super Bowl than the Seahawks do. Those teams MISSED the playoffs for a reason. Bottom line.

[Sports Collector]

There are two approaches the NFL could take

1). Reseed the teams, but the Seahawks still get into the playoffs but they don't get to host a game

2). Hey, this is the first time this has happened in 40+ years (even longer than that I think). It was just a fluke, might as well just ignore it

I would tend to lead towards option #2, but I wouldn't be upset at either one