Listening to sports radio heading to the gym this morning, the topic was the East, and is it fair a team with such a bad record makes the playoffs AND would host in Week 1. Merriman said it’s completely unfair, especially when you look at the West and several teams looking good.
I know we may be biased given our current standing and what some of us believe looks like an uptick in play/performance. But even said that, regardless of the year or a division being down, I think that’s the beauty of the league: that even if a team under performs or has a record that is 500 or even a bit lower, they can still make the playoffs because of how their division looks.
I don’t think it’s a slam dunk, either, to say that a team from the East would be a walkover in a playoff home game, all things considered.
What’s BBI think? With Merriman and it’s time to revamp the playoff configuration? Or leave it as is?
if we win the East i see us winning a playoff game.
In 2010 the Giants went 10-6 and missed the playoffs, the Seahawks went 7-9 and won a playoff game. It happens.
The Giants went 11-5 in 2016 and did not win the division.
Regardless, sports shows cry about this EVERY YEAR.
If you don't want to play a road playoff game then WIN your division. It's pretty simple. Not sure what all the crying is about.
With added talent and a good draft, we certainly can be a force to be reckoned with moving forward, Continued patience is a must. We’re not THAT far off, imv.
Serious, first thing I thought of. Who cares what this walking steroid thinks
Teams should be licking their chops that a mediocre team gets into the playoffs, not bitching about it
Is that Home game still the case, or did the NFL change that with some of the other recent changes?
1988 or 2010? Both sucked!
What is nice about NFL....is the balance in league....and the ebbs and flow of strength and weaknesses
Going 10-6, tied with the Eagles for first, but their 6-2 conference was one better than the Giants 5-3.
2010, yeah - Giants 10-6 and Seattle got in at 7-9.
Playoffs are supposed to represent the leagues best teams. Sub-500 doesn't cut it.
Exactly. If there are divisions, the winner gets a reward. If you disagree with that, then you have to be a proponent of the league going to a Conference format where there are no divisions, no games twice against opponents and a strict ranking from 1 to the number of teams who qualify.
I'd hate that format, but if you want equality - that's what has to happen. I'm fine with divisions.
What I would not be opposed to is following the current seeding , but then having the team with the better record host the game. So if the Giants won the East and had to play a wild card team like Arizona with a better record, the game would be in Arizona. That way winning the division matters, but being a better team (record-wise) in a tougher division also matters.
If the NFL deems after this season, the NFC East scenario is a bad look for the league, change it going forward, there is certainly precedent for the league overreacting to a perceived inequity and doing that.
Personally it happens so rarely that I believe it would be a bad decision to diminish the benefit of winning your division.
And part of the reason they added another playoff team. You should get a home playoff game if you win division, but you also shouldn’t be left home of you finish 10-6. Which theoretically could still happen, but will be a pretty rare occurrence.
Assclown.
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if you are not going to award a playoff spot to the winner?
Exactly. If there are divisions, the winner gets a reward. If you disagree with that, then you have to be a proponent of the league going to a Conference format where there are no divisions, no games twice against opponents and a strict ranking from 1 to the number of teams who qualify.
If they did that it would make almost every Thursday night game unwatchable. Usually the only good ones are division games, so no shot of that happening
I personally believe this stuff is cyclical. The NFC South has had years when it has been terrible. Same with the AFC South and the NFC West
Merriman is not speaking on behalf of the NFL, but the NFL doesn't seem to mind as it will dilute its product adding an extra wildcard team to increase revenue.
Now this year who cares because of the crowds will not be there but I do not like 7-9 team getting home field on a 10-6 team who had to get a wild card spot.
If it were my Decision I would have each division winner get in plus the wildcards and then seed the tourney based on Records and strength of schedule.
There is no home field advantage for the Giants if they win the division because there aren't any fans in the stadium.
Good point. The Patriots never had to worry about winning their division after 2002. The AFCE was/is so weak for so long. Even this season, the Patriots are still in contention because the Dolphins and Bills are gaff prone.
there's NOTHING anyone can do about this. Every now n then, a division struggles and the winner of that division loses 7-8-9 games. You can't change shit on the fly so people need to fucking deal with it. Once in a blue moon an average or below average team wins a division. you can't go changing the entire playoff dynamic because of a freak season like this.
These talking meatballs have nothing else to discuss so why not stir shit up and generate attn. It's all they have at this point.
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if you are not going to award a playoff spot to the winner?
Exactly. If there are divisions, the winner gets a reward. If you disagree with that, then you have to be a proponent of the league going to a Conference format where there are no divisions, no games twice against opponents and a strict ranking from 1 to the number of teams who qualify.
Good point - I sort of agree it's bullshit a 6-10 team might make the playoffs, but the alternatives are worse.
I do think they should just seed playoff teams by record, though. I don't think home games should be a given.
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has been a disaster beyond the Pats..
Good point. The Patriots never had to worry about winning their division after 2002. The AFCE was/is so weak for so long. Even this season, the Patriots are still in contention because the Dolphins and Bills are gaff prone.
This isn't true - the teams in that division were roughly average the past 20 years outside of games played against the Patriots.
Doesn't change the fact that the 2020 winner of the NFC east gets the #4 seed and a home game.
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has been a disaster beyond the Pats..
Good point. The Patriots never had to worry about winning their division after 2002. The AFCE was/is so weak for so long. Even this season, the Patriots are still in contention because the Dolphins and Bills are gaff prone.
Never had to worry. This is the first year The AFC East has been competitive to the point where someone like Buffalo is probably better..The 11-5 Dolphins (during the 2008 Brady injury year, yet they still finished 11-5 but lost out for playoffs by losing to the 11-5 Dolphins who won division tiebreaker) and the 2 years of Sanchez/Ryan are basically the only competitive AFC East years in the last 20..
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In comment 15054660 Big Blue '56 said:
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has been a disaster beyond the Pats..
Good point. The Patriots never had to worry about winning their division after 2002. The AFCE was/is so weak for so long. Even this season, the Patriots are still in contention because the Dolphins and Bills are gaff prone.
This isn't true - the teams in that division were roughly average the past 20 years outside of games played against the Patriots.
Don't bother. The AFC East stinks narrative during the Patriots dominance is all that some people have left to cling to.
Two things people fail to realize - 1 - the Patriots made those other teams so bad. Look at the Patriots inter-conference and inter-division records- they are/were more dominant outside of their division and conference than in it and 2 - the AFC East teams (as a whole) weren't as horrific as people say - at least not the entire time there was usually at least one other competitive team - and many times two AFC East teams in the playoffs.
This year, with no, or little home crowd, it doesn’t make as much of a difference, but in normal years it does. I think any division winner under .500 should forfeit home field (unless, of course, the WC is somehow under .500).
The NFC East for many years was the best division in football while other divisions like the NFC West was an annual joke. It’s cyclical. Let’s not act like we have always been in a position to benefit, we have absolutely been on the other end and I don’t remember the NFL changing the rules and I don’t remember Giants fans overwhelmingly suggesting that they should. I’m sure there were some, but I don’t think it was really discussed much while the Giants had to go through a gauntlet each season. I’m sorry, I don’t feel bad that the shoe is on the other foot for a few seasons
When the 7-8-1 Panthers hosted the 11-5 Cardinals, the Panthers were favored, and they were facing Ryan Lindley at QB. Each year, there are things that happen, whether injuries, weather or records that impact the playoffs.
Haha...too bad!