The Detroit Lions re-submitted a proposal at this week’s NFL proprietor’s conferences that would re-shape the way in which the playoffs look.
After initially proposing that playoff groups be seeded strictly based mostly on document, doubtlessly stripping division winners the best to host a playoff recreation if a wild-card group had a greater document, the brand new proposal would shift that re-seeding to the divisional spherical.
Whereas the unique goal of the proposal was to make it so a 12-5 wild-card group would not must journey to a 9-8 (and even 8-9) division winner within the opening spherical, the NFL is pushing a brand new narrative for the proposal — to forestall extra groups from resting starters in Weeks 17 and 18 once they would possibly in any other case have already got their seeding locked in place.
It is a honest level. It would even enhance the standard of a few of the late common season video games which have sometimes been diminished to glorified preseason video games.
There’s a lot to be doubtlessly gained from it for followers, nevertheless it may also have an unintended consequence of creating divisions themselves much less vital. It would even scale back the necessity for them totally.
So this is a brand new proposal for the league to think about: If you wish to make the playoff seeding strictly based mostly on group document as a right for division winner vs. wild-card group, simply eliminate the divisions totally.
The 32 groups can be separated into two 16-team conferences, with the highest seven groups in every convention going to the playoffs. No different designations or classifications are wanted.
If successful your division would not assure you one thing important — akin to the chance to host playoff video games in opposition to groups that did not win their very own division — then there’s actually no level to having them.
Certain, the optics of a group with extra wins happening the street to face a group with extra wins beneath the present system would possibly look unhealthy, however there are extra layers to it than simply the data. The standard of the division issues. The standard of the schedule a specific division is taking part in issues.
The complete NFL schedule is presently set as much as bear in mind divisions. You play the opposite three groups in your division two instances every. Your division performs one other in-conference division and out of convention division on a rotating foundation yearly. Groups will not be taking part in the identical, balanced or equal schedules.
That may make it more durable to weigh the on-field outcomes and the standings. So let’s work to repair that.
In case you are devaluing the divisions, simply eliminate them. Each group performs the opposite 15 groups in its convention precisely one time, and two groups from the opposite convention at random.
Now everyone is taking part in, for probably the most half, the identical schedule. There may be virtually change in schedule power. You get one shot at each group, and each group will get an opportunity at you. No person can say they performed a extra favorable schedule, no person can complain they’d a more durable schedule.
It is all equal. Which is what you need to have if you’re merely going to find out playoff seeding based mostly on document.
