who else thinks the NFL should expand its playoff field to 14 teams?

Question

the main reason why i think it should is because that type of playoff bracket would only give one team from each conference a bye week and in my opinion, i don't think being the second best team in your conference should get you a bye week in the playoffs.

Answer 1

I would prefer expanding the regular season to 18 games, contracting the preseason to 2 games and keeping the playoff teams at 12.

That way, the last 2 games of the season will be playoff games for teams on the brink.

Answer 2

I don’t see the NFL adding more teams to the playoffs, unless the league expands by 4 or more teams. Unlike the NBA and NHL, the NFL plays 16 regular season games instead of 82. So each win carries about 5 times as much weight as a win in the other sports. I like the wildcard concept for the NFL because it keeps interest high for a lot of teams, often until the final weekend. But, it’s not fair that division winners have to play an additional game against a wildcard qualifier. The winner of a tough division can get screwed by having 1 more loss than the winner of a weak division. I liked it better when there were 6 divisions with 2 wildcard teams from each, basically playing a game to decide which one actually qualifies for the playoffs. I think the season is long enough. I wouldn’t like it but I can see maybe reducing the number of preseason games by 2 and adding 2 to the regular schedule. The league used to have 6 preseason games, and that was way too many. I think the 4 they have now is probably needed for teams to properly evaluate their talent, etc. They are boring to watch tho. Another way the league could add 2 games and keep the season length the same is by eliminating 2 of these: The bye week, the extra week before the SB, or the wildcard week (and having only the 8 division winners make the playoffs).

Answer 3

If they do that, then a 7-9 team would get in from the NFC and God forbid a 6-10 team could sneak in. The current format is great. With it this way, every game matters! In other sports where the season is longer and more teams get in the playoffs, half the games dont really mean squat. If you win 45 games in the NBA (which is little over .500 ball) you go to the playoffs because 16 out of 30 teams make it in. And the Colorado Rockies are proving that in baseball if you get hot at the right time, you can be in the World Series, and you can even win it if you're the St. Louis Cardinals. The current format is fine. What needs to be axed is two of those preseason games. Two games is plenty to evaluate talent and crush the hopes & dreams of the other 45 players you have on the roster that you never really wanted anyway.

Answer 4

I don't think they should expand the playoffs.
I agree that the 2nd best team in the conference might not deserve a bye in the 1st round of the playoffs, but that also could mean that a team with a 8-8 or 7-9 record could be in the playoffs. Don't want to see that, do you??

Answer 5

I don't think so. The last few years, there have been alot of unworthy teams that somehow were able to make it into the playoffs (the 2006 Giants for example). The last thing the NFL needs to do is to permit more mediocre teams to water down the quality of the playoffs.

If we look back to recent history of some of the #2 seeds, there were alot of deserving teams that got such seeds. For example, in 2004, the Steelers went 15-1, so New England at 14-2 (same record as the year before) got the #2 and a bye. Or last year, when the 13-3 Ravens (who had actually beat the Chargers head-to-head) got the #2 and a bye (though they blew it with sloppy offensive play; of course, they did score a touchdown in which the referees falsely called the player who intercepted the ball out of bounds and there was a penalty that cost them an offensive drive on which they almost scored, as well as repeated calls in favor of the Colts; this phenomen of refs favoring the Colts had been seen in 2005 in the Colts-Steelers game and was seen again in last year's AFC Championship game in which the Patriots were cheated out of the AFC Title).

Answer 6

Not me. This would be a terrible idea for the reasons that others have already stated: too many bad teams would make the playoffs, and too many teams period would make the playoffs.

I think it's good that currently, the second seed gets rewarded with a bye.

Answer 7

I don't agree. The playoff field is watered down enough as it is. Last year the 8-8 Seahawks made the playoffs. I don't think there should be teams making the playoffs without a winning record.

Answer 8

I agree with the people above, especially because can you imagine adding more teams from the NFC (right now; in a few years it will be the AFC with the weak teams) One more weak team clogging the playoffs when another team from the other conference deserves a shot isn't a great idea

Answer 9

I think there are too many teams and divisions right now. I would like to go back to the old way. I don't want it to become like the NBA and NHL where the regular season doesn't mean anything because almost all teams go to the playoffs.

Answer 10

then you would have too many 8-8 teams get in that dont deserve to be there in the first place i say they need to keep it the same way, even as it is theres always 1 team that sneaks in that has no business getting in (like the chiefs last season) lamar hunt has been crying for years to get that passed because he know the chiefs were alway mediorcre and needed the extra spot, we wouldent want this to turn into the nba would we?