I'm pretty happy with the NFL playoff format, though I think winning your division shouldn't win you a home game, just a playoff spot and your record determines seeding.
NFL 2021
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We don't hear teams complain about playing Monday then the next Sunday.
it's the Thursday night games that need fixed.
Sounds like what they do in the Australian Football League.
Anyway, it is no secret that the NFL wants to add two more teams to the playoffs, eliminating the bye. The issue is they are one time slot short. With a game on Monday now, that means one game could go in the 1 ET slot on Saturday, but where to put the other one is the issue.
Anyway, it is no secret that the NFL wants to add two more teams to the playoffs, eliminating the bye. The issue is they are one time slot short. With a game on Monday now, that means one game could go in the 1 ET slot on Saturday, but where to put the other one is the issue.
9:30a ET on Sunday, from London. But, only if JAX ever makes the playoffs
Easier said than done. Football (football proper) fixtures in Dec/Jan are packed! And the NFL doesn't want to compete with the EPL, FA Cup, etc...9:30a ET on Sunday, from London. But, only if JAX ever makes the playoffs
I'm no Miami fan but that was the dumbest firing I've seen in a long time
Couldn’t agree more. You win your division you automatically qualify for the postseason (otherwise what’s the point of having divisions), BUT you are not guaranteed a home game.
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No reason to have divisions anymore. they are from the days of the Choo Choo Trains & Buses. lol
I find divisions easier to see what is happening with your team.
In College I could see it happening sooner, there are plenty of times when there are two of the conferences best teams that are in the same division and the 2nd place in on division is better than the top team in the other division.
I think in the Pro's the divisions are more geographical (except for DALLAS).
Speaking of Dallas ...
Does anyone have the info as to WHY Dallas is in the NFC EAST, instead of one of the South or even West divisions ?
Why don't they Re Align like most other sport do from time to time.
Does anyone have the info as to WHY Dallas is in the NFC EAST, instead of one of the South or even West divisions ?
Why don't they Re Align like most other sport do from time to time.
Yes. The saying was that Dallas is the only place in Texas that cares what the east coast thinks of it.
When the NFL and AFL merged, each conference was divided into E, W and Central. The AFC owners quickly divided into purely geographically logical divisions in 10 minutes. The NFC owners argued for months, with each wanting to preserve different rivalry games and avoid playing the then good teams.
Among the biggest complainers was Dallas, which had been in the old East in the NFL, and later when the NFL went to 4 divisions, in a division with Philadelphia and Washington, and insisted on playing on the east coast a lot. Another big complainer was St. Louis, which wanted to not be with the Bears and Packers.
Eventually they gave up and the commissioner had his secretary write 6 plans down and draw one out of a hat.
Every one except the one she drew had Dallas in either the central or west and St. Louis in the central. She drew NY, Philly, Washington, Dallas, and St. Louis as the east. With Atlanta and New Orleans in the west.
In those days, of course, there was no ST, and there was still the local blackout. This often meant that Dallas would be the 4:00 game for places blacked out in the east and otherwise just on national, or close to national TV a lot more than any other team. Which is probably the source of their large number of geographically illogical fans.
Baseball aside: At the same time, baseball adopted divisions. Just like the Falcons, the Braves were put in the west. In that era, a team played 2 series at the other division and 3 at its own. The Cubs and Cardinals did not wish to play 9 more games in California because their TV presence was larger and the 9 or 9:30 CT starts hurt ratings. So they forced the Braves and Reds into the west, as both were less powerful in that time among the other owners.
Very Interesting .... Thank you.
50+ years later ... they should change to a more reasonable divisions ...
I'm looking at you Dallas ... your the only ones that are Really out of place.
As far as current rivalries, I am Sure they would form new ones with the teams that they would be playing .
Baseball has changed thier divisions many times.
Hockey has changed thiers as well ... not necessarily for the better in my opinion.
The only current NFC divisional move that would make sense geographically is to swap CAR and DAL. But, that will not happen due to the rivalries mentioned earlier....
There’s no way they will EVER pull the Cowboys out of the NFC East. Nor should they. The Cowboys-Giants/Redskins (I don’t give a f***, I said it)/Eagles have way too much historical inventory to just cast it aside because of being geographically incorrect. Moving the Cardinals out of the NFC East was much easier because they didn’t have the same historical impact that the Cowboys share with those other teams. Similarly, the Chiefs should never be separated from their AFC West brethren. All 4 teams go back to the infancy of the AFL. About 20 years ago I was a strong advocate of moving the Dolphins to the AFC South, the Colts to the AFC North and the Ravens to the AFC East to make more geographic sense. But I haven’t felt that way in years since the Steelers and Ravens evolved into one of the great NFL rivalries.
The NFL is complicated by its settlement with the city of Cleveland. The Browns must always be in a division with Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
The outliers are, as you say, Dallas, in the NFC. In the AFC, outside of the above mentioned agreement, why is Indianapolis, which is north and west of Cincinnati, in the “south”, Baltimore, which is on the east coast in the “north” and Miami in the “east”. Although business explains that one. The Dolphins don’t really draw super well, and sell a lot of tickets to displaced retirees from NYC and Boston every year; the AFC South teams do not have a lot of retirees in south Florida.
As long as they have the two leagues, baseball seems as logical as they can get. If Tampa ever moves to Montreal, they probably won’t want 2 Canadian teams in the same division. While most Canadians seem to think of Toronto as an eastern city, remember it is on the Great Lakes, same as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, etc. Which in American terms is the Midwest.
