Beastmode

[quote=ScottF;267884]Most of the profits are shared but I don't believe all the stadium profits are.
I see your point about a playoff team not selling out the stadium, it happens but more often than not they do sell out. All I know is that the owners don't want to change the playoff criteria to go with wins vs division records and when they want something it comes down to money.

arsaint

NFL may have to adjust seeding for sure after this year. You have the same scenario in the AFC with the exception that the weak conference leader is currently 7-5 instead of 6-6.

With two teams of ATL, NO, NYJ and NE probably going 11+ wins and have to travel to a team at or slightly above .500 does need addressing (and always has).

IMO, division winners should get a spot, but not necessarily a home game...

arsaint

My one exception to what I said would be if the two teams had played during the year and the weak division winner won over the wildcard with the better record.

In that case, I would say let the division winner host even though their record was worse...

ScottF

Interesting-

Modification proposals

Since the 2002 expansion to 8 divisions, there have been calls to expand the playoffs to 14 teams. Proponents of expansion note the increased revenue that could be gained from an additional two playoff games. They also note that the 12-team playoff system was implemented when the league only had 28 teams and six divisions (of 4 to 5 teams each). With expansion to 32 teams aligned in eight four-team divisions, there has been an effective loss of access to the playoff structure for wild-card teams and greater access to teams in weak divisions (for instance, in 2008, the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals clinched playoff berths with only 8 wins each [though Arizona later earned a ninth by season's end], but the New England Patriots, with 11 wins, failed to secure a wild card spot).
The opposition to such a move notes that an expansion of the playoffs would "water down" the field by giving access to lower-caliber teams. Opponents to expansion further point to the NBA Playoffs and the NHL playoffs where 16 of 30 teams qualify for the post season, and there is often a decreased emphasis on regular season performance as a result.[17][18]

After the 2007 playoffs saw two wild card teams with better records (Jacksonville Jaguars and eventual Super Bowl XLII champions New York Giants) go on the road to defeat division winners (Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively) during Wild Card Weekend, the NFL explored another proposal to change the playoffs so that the team with the better record would host the game, even if that meant a division winner went on the road. The NFL's Competition Committee withdrew the request later that offseason,[19] with Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay mentioning that they wanted the idea to simply get a discussion going. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a strong opponent of the rule change, believing that "if you win a division, it's good for your fans to know you will have a home game.

my real problem with ths 8-8 division winner is this: you play in a crappy division, and the best you can do is 8-8? You have 6 games against really bad teams, and again, 8-8 is your best. That doesn't deserve a home game.

TheOak

There are a lot of fans that do not want to go to a home play off game to see a 7-9 team get crushed.

iceshack149

I would be disgusted if the Saints had an 11-5 record and missed the playoffs while an 8-8 team hosted a home playoff game.

fhotard

I've not liked the overtime scoring rule change, I don't like the idea of the league expanding and adding more teams, or adding more regular season games. But I really like the idea of adding maybe two more wildcard teams to the playoffs (one more for each conference). Like others mentioned, it would really stink to watch a team with 10 or more wins sit at home while a team with only 8 wins gets into the post-season by winning the division title in a weak division.

RaginCajun83

It would be sweet revenge to beat the Falcons in Atlanta in the playoffs that is if they don't pull off HFA .... as long as they make the playoffs I'm fine with that then its a whole new season and like Rudy T said never underestimate the heart of a champion

darstep

and it is very possible for us to be missing with an 11-5 record. Tears won't even matter.

xan

Ya'll are worrying about things outside the control of the Saints this season. It makes for distracting convo, but realistically, irrelevant.

Aside from the Western Division winner, all the NFC teams making the playoffs are good bets to win it all. Each team has flaws, but I think that they're all evenly matched. I also don't think that home field will matter that much given the top 6 team's road records.

It's all going to come down to health at the end. Who's got more of it where.