NFL playoffs likely to expand to 14 teams in 2015

[Pats]

thats stupid, just change the division winners rule of home field advantage

[Passepartout]

Keep it like it is. Don't change it. Goodell has ruined a lot for the league IMHO! 

[Inqui]

Keep it like it is. Don't change it. Goodell has ruined a lot for the league IMHO! 

Goodell's just the owners' scapegoat mouthpiece. He speaks for the collective of 32 owners.

[JO_75]

I have the perfect solution to all of this. This solves all the problems brought up. Keep the playoff system the way it is......

 

6 teams from each conference. The playoffs can only expand to 14 IF BOTH the AFC/NFC have a 7th seeded team with double digit wins. This would in a way be a way to get a team with double digits in, except both conferences must have double digit wins as the 7th seed to make it work. If only one team does, then it is an uneven 13 teams. 

 

This would encourage teams to play more harder for wins and award them. Though at the same time, it keeps the current 12 team playoff format in tact and would only change if the two 7th seeds in each conference have double digit wins.

 

Example. Arizona still wouldn't have made it in. Since Pittsburgh was the AFC 7th seed, finished 8-8 and needed two more wins to ensure a 14 team playoff, it would have stayed at a 12 team playoff. 

[berad]

Goodell's just the owners' scapegoat mouthpiece. He speaks for the collective of 32 owners.

Yes!

People forget this when a 'proposal' comes out, just looking to bash Goodell. The owners keep him employed and they love him, especially when he takes the hits for them.

[Inqui]

Yes!

People forget this when a 'proposal' comes out, just looking to bash Goodell. The owners keep him employed and they love him, especially when he takes the hits for them.

Would have to be one of the sweetest jobs out there to be honest. What's his salary, something $14m a year I recall someone saying? Sign me up.

[The Raven]

I'm okay with this. Luke Jones of WNST tweeted that if we had a 14 team playoff system in the past five seasons, three 10-6 teams, four 9-7 teams, and three 8-8 teams would have made the playoffs.

 

I don't see a problem with that. I'm not for it, but I'm definitely not against it. 

[The_Patriot_Way]

There's already teams being eliminated in the final weeks of the regular season. You could even consider week #16 and #17 games "play offesque" for certain teams struggling to stay alive. This is just trying to back door in a longer season.

 

Everyone loves football but if you ruin it you ruin it.

[Bruce_Almty]

A 36-team league (and, thus, a 4 team expansion) makes the most sense. You would have 6 divisions, and each would all have 6 teams apiece. Also, expanding the league to 18 games would be wise, as it allows for each-and-every team's schedule to be formulaic (i.e. 10 divisional games, 6 teams from an opposing division, as well as two other games from an equal opponent in 2 other divisions). Actually, conferences might go away, altogether, if this were to happen.

 

But, I am the one who's being logical, here, though...

Teams can't fill a roster with quality players as is & you want to dilute the talent pool even more? There are at least 6 teams that can't find an NFL level QB now; adding 4 more teams will make things worse. And what philanthropic cities & citizens will be building billion dollar stadiums for these new teams? imo, your proposal needs more thought.

[display name]

Goodell is quoted by NFL.com as having said that this would be great for the fans, but everybody whom I know seems to be against it. If Goodell really cared about us he would leave the playoffs alone.

[JEEPercreepermd]

Im in agreement with the NFL expanding the schedule. Other contact sports that are just as physical play a much longer season and playoffs. There is no reason why the NFL can't. You have a ton of players that literally get paid a tick below 1M a year to do....nothing.

Oh and player safety? THEY signed up to play ball..they know the dangers, deal with it.

You don't hear many pitchers in baseball saying..ill only pitch x innings per season or else my shoulder will hurt when im old.

You don't hear goalies in hockey saying lets use tennis balls instead of a puck...

NFL players are a high and mighty bunch right now..They are entertainers, nothing more, nothing less.

The problem is that we fans put them on such a high pedestal..I don't know about you but I'd LOVE to get paid a few million bucks per year to work out, talk to reporters, travel, sign autographs, and play one game a week for a few months. I say lets see how good and tough these guys are

[D-Rey]

Goodell is quoted by NFL.com as having said that this would be great for the fans, but everybody whom I know seems to be against it. If Goodell really cared about us he would leave the playoffs alone.

It's not Goodell, its the owners. He can't change anything they don't propose or vote for.

[display name]

It's not Goodell, its the owners. He can't change anything they don't propose or vote for.

Yes but if he doesn't agree with them he could say so.

[berad]

Yes but if he doesn't agree with them he could say so.

He could be he probably wouldn't be commisioner for much longer lol. He's supposed to be their mouthpiece, so he has to go with them. It's up to the competition committee and/or NFLPA (not totally sure) to voice their opinions in favor or not.

[George70]

Stop messing around with the tradition.......

 

I couldn't agree more, friend.  Fourteen teams is just too much for me.

[JO_75]

Good News..... Playoff expansion talk has been tabled until the fall owner meetings in October. It was decided in the Spring Meeting that is taking place now that they will not vote on this today.

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/nfl/288056/playoff-expansion-not-coming-for-2014-season

[display name]

I honestly think that if they do expand I will no longer follow football. I may still post here on the Off-Topic section, but I cannot give money to a game that has been destroyed and degraded. Just about the ONLY reason my Goodell and the owners want to do this is to get more money. It is absolute greed.

Maybe Pollard and Cuban were right...

[Ravenatic20]

If they expand the playoffs it will be just like the NBA where just about everyone makes the playoffs.  This will make the regular season a lot less exciting and meaningful.  They would certainly lose money in the regular season but their net profit would still increase.  I would say I don't want that!

[AwakenTheDemon]

I'm neither for nor against expanded playoffs. We'll be looking at four more teams each post season, which would bring it to half the conference making the post season. We've all seen some good teams just narrowly miss out on the playoffs, and this would help get those "should have been in" teams there. 

 

As for cheapening the playoffs with a diluted pool similar to the NBA, I don't feel as if that'd be the case. There infinitely more parity in the NFL in comparison to the NBA, where the West is incredibly strong while the East is abysmal (The 8th Seed in the West would have been the 3rd Seed in the East this year). So we'd be getting more quality football games a year, as opposed to watching a week of dominant teams take teams who never should have made the playoffs to the woodshed.

 

So if it's 18 game season or a (slightly) expanded post season, I'll take the post season.

[Malkavian Raven]

I would go for the playoff expansion if it were changed to teams with the best seven records in each conference.  No more (or at least fewer) 8-8 or 7-9 teams in the playoffs having home games.

[flynismo]

If we MUST change one of the two, I'd rather see an 18 game season....and I do not like that one bit, mind you.

My reasoning is that it would strengthen the existing playoff pool, rather than diluting it by allowing half the freaking conference in.

But other than money, what is the point in fixing what isn't broke?

[Malkavian Raven]

If we MUST change one of the two, I'd rather see an 18 game season....and I do not like that one bit, mind you.

My reasoning is that it would strengthen the existing playoff pool, rather than diluting it by allowing half the freaking conference in.

But other than money, what is the point in fixing what isn't broke?

 

7-9... hosting a home game in the playoffs... while that isn't "broken", it is messed up.

 

And the NFL is a business; money is priority #1.

[rwc94]

7-9... hosting a home game in the playoffs... while that isn't "broken", it is messed up.

 

And the NFL is a business; money is priority #1.

I don't think that is messed up. It means that teams value winning the division and means that rivalry games are of more importance. Seahawks-49ers would be nowhere near the spectacle if both knew they could cruise to a home playoff birth with 11 wins even if they lost to the other.

 

I personally think the value of the division and the rivalries that encourages are good for the game, and there is no way that happens with less value being placed on winning the division.

 

If the 7-9 team is then so much worse than another club, they will lose in the first round of the playoffs.

[JO_75]

Well this is a pretty big bump but Goodell was asked about this during his Super Bowl Press Conference. Anyway, Goodell seems less optimistic about playoff expansion and he may finally understand why it would be bad for the NFL.

 

 

 

“The possibility of expanding the playoffs has been a topic over the last couple of years,” Goodell said. “There are positives to it, but there are concerns as well, among them being the risk of diluting our regular season and conflicting with college football in January.”

 

BINGO Goodell! It's what the fans have been saying when this was brought up. Playoff expansion makes the regular season less meaningful just like adding 2 more games and having 18 games. Being 16 games, every game matters every week. Plus after watching Arizona/Carolina in the playoffs, I'm really against playoff expansion and more for taking the 6 best records from each conferences. 1 & 2 would still have a bye, nothing would change except it is seeded via record who gets in and doesn't. 

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/30/roger-goodell-sounded-less-optimistic-about-playoff-expansion-friday/

[ravensdan]

No. All the division winners need to make it. It's too big a part of the sport. It's not as important to have two bad division winners like Carolina this year and Seattle a few years back. Who both won a game... As it is important to the winner of a good hard fought division. The AFC north is penalised enough with the seeding with so many perennial good teams. Let's not reward teams racking up wins against bad divisions anymore than they already are... New England...

[Corvus]

I really don't like this but I prefer it to an expanded regular season. I just fear it gets to the point where it's watered down like the first round of the NBA playoffs. 16 out of 30 teams make it there every year, ridiculous...

[Cville-Raven]

I really don't like this but I prefer it to an expanded regular season. I just fear it gets to the point where it's watered down like the first round of the NBA playoffs. 16 out of 30 teams make it there every year, ridiculous...

yup, now at least one 8-8 or 7-9 team would probably make the playoffs every year

[mg90]

yup, now at least one 8-8 or 7-9 team would probably make the playoffs every year

Romo likes this

[GrimCoconut]

Well this is a pretty big bump but Goodell was asked about this during his Super Bowl Press Conference. Anyway, Goodell seems less optimistic about playoff expansion and he may finally understand why it would be bad for the NFL.

 

 

BINGO Goodell! It's what the fans have been saying when this was brought up. Playoff expansion makes the regular season less meaningful just like adding 2 more games and having 18 games. Being 16 games, every game matters every week. Plus after watching Arizona/Carolina in the playoffs, I'm really against playoff expansion and more for taking the 6 best records from each conferences. 1 & 2 would still have a bye, nothing would change except it is seeded via record who gets in and doesn't. 

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/30/roger-goodell-sounded-less-optimistic-about-playoff-expansion-friday/

I see your point about not wanting the division winners in it with losing records. I will say even part of me agrees with you. The thing is, if you look at it without bias and simply evaluating it based upon what you see, it's kinda neat that the same crappy Panther team who barely made it into the playoffs beat the Cardinals (albeit they were bad and had many injuries) and also almost beat the Seahawks, a team currently in the Super Bowl. If it wasn't for a 4th quarter meltdown by the Panthers, we could see the Cam Newton or Aaron Rodgers show in Arizona tomorrow night. 

 

In that way, I think the division winners being in it makes it fun. It livens it up and gives you that X factor where things could go either way and anything can happen. That's where the magic of the NFL comes into the game. 

[52520Andrew]

I see your point about not wanting the division winners in it with losing records. I will say even part of me agrees with you. The thing is, if you look at it without bias and simply evaluating it based upon what you see, it's kinda neat that the same crappy Panther team who barely made it into the playoffs beat the Cardinals (albeit they were bad and had many injuries) and also almost beat the Seahawks, a team currently in the Super Bowl. If it wasn't for a 4th quarter meltdown by the Panthers, we could see the Cam Newton or Aaron Rodgers show in Arizona tomorrow night. 

 

In that way, I think the division winners being in it makes it fun. It livens it up and gives you that X factor where things could go either way and anything can happen. That's where the magic of the NFL comes into the game. 

 

Don't forget this...

 

 

Plus it would make divisional games kinda meaningless in a way, at least it keeps things interesting for more teams.