NFL likely to expand playoff teams to 14

[dead_poet]

SI's Peter King says it's "more likely than not" that the NFL will expand to 14 playoff teams for the 2015 season.

At this point, it's merely a matter of when the expansion will take place, not if it will happen. Under the new format, only one team in each conference would get a bye and there would be six games on Wild Card Weekend (two seed vs. seven seed, three vs. six, four vs. five). At least one of those games would be on Monday night. The one seed would host the lowest remaining seed in the Divisional Round, just like they do now.
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/03/17/nfl-repla ... arterback/

[Mothman]

SI's Peter King says it's "more likely than not" that the NFL will expand to 14 playoff teams for the 2015 season.

At this point, it's merely a matter of when the expansion will take place, not if it will happen. Under the new format, only one team in each conference would get a bye and there would be six games on Wild Card Weekend (two seed vs. seven seed, three vs. six, four vs. five). At least one of those games would be on Monday night. The one seed would host the lowest remaining seed in the Divisional Round, just like they do now.
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/03/17/nfl-repla ... arterback/

$$$$$$$$

Oh, well, it's more football!

[S197]

So almost 44% of teams make it to the playoffs

[Mothman]

So almost 44% of teams make it to the playoffs

No, less than 56% of the teams make the playoffs. See? Doesn't that sound better?

[Demi]

No, less than 56% of the teams make the playoffs. See? Doesn't that sound better?

As long as half the league doesn't make it. Especially when you've got 7 and 8 win division winners beating out wild card teams in harder divisions.

Play 3 games 12/3/7 or around there on Saturday and Sunday. No byes.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Dumb. I guarantee that this will blow up in the NFL's face when they get two 7-9 teams making the playoffs.

[NDVikeFan]

Takes away from the regular season a bit, but we will get some epic 2 vs 7 match ups. I also like how just 1 team per conference gets the bye now.

Not against it but not really for it either.

[PurpleMustReign]

Again, by the time Goodell is done, no one will recognize the NFL anymore.

[dead_poet]

New NFLPA president Eric Winston guaranteed that an 18-game season will not happen under his watch.

"It's a safety issue," Winston said. The free agent tackle did allow that he and the player union are open to the idea of adding one playoff team to each conference, thus creating six total games on Wild Card Weekend. That change appears likely to be implemented for the 2015 season.
Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... n/6636371/

[Funkytown]

New NFLPA president Eric Winston guaranteed that an 18-game season will not happen under his watch.

Good.

[Laserman]

all about the $.

[Funkytown]

all about the $.

Sure is.

I love Cuban, and these comments made me laugh:

"I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion," Cuban said Sunday evening when his pregame conversation with reporters, which covered a broad range of topics, swayed toward football. "I'm just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they're getting hoggy. Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way.

And he sums it up pretty well:

"I'm just telling you, when you've got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That's rule number one of business."

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/i ... -implosion

Yep, the NFL sure is hoggy!

[Demi]

What a joke, means we will see lot's more 7-9 teams in the playoffs, what a smart move that will be.......... NOT!

More likely won't it mean a 9 or 10 win team that barely misses wild card will make it? A team that got beat out because a 7 win seahawk team makes it in a pathetic division like a few years ago? Still better than some of the other leagues!

I do agree with Cuban though, making rule changes for the sake of it, and overreacting because of how high up the mountain they are...if they don't start to look big picture and long term it's going to cost them.

[Eli]

Cuban's remarks about greed were aimed primarily at increasing the number of NFL games on days other than Sunday and Monday night. His concern, naturally, is the effect it will have on NBA television revenue. Or, on college football if they were hold Saturday games during the college season. I seriously doubt that Cuban cares much about in-game rule changes. The expansion of the NFL playoffs by two extra games could certainly be argued to be a product of the same greed.

I think he makes a good point, but only time will tell how much NFL football is too much for fans to tolerate. I know that right now I catch only a handful of Thursday night games, and I watch far fewer Monday night games now than when it was simply the third or fourth game you could catch on TV in a given week. Now, after Sunday, I'm pretty much sated on football for the week.

[Reignman]

I'm ok with 14 playoff teams. It WON'T increase the likelihood of more 7-9 teams making the playoffs because those flukes are always division winners. Adding an extra playoff team from each conference would mean more 9-7 or 10-6 wildcard teams making the playoffs. Plus it means 2 more playoff games each year, and you can't argue with that xD.

7th seeds the past 12 years ...

Code: Select all

          NFC                    AFC
---------------------------------------------
2013 Arizona      10-6      Pittsburgh    8-8
2012 Chicago      10-6      Pittsburgh    8-8
2011 Chicago       8-8      Tennessee     9-7
2010 N.Y. Giants  10-6      San Diego     9-7
2009 Atlanta       9-7      Houston       9-7
2008 Tampa Bay     9-7      New England  11-5
2007 Minnesota     8-8      Cleveland    10-6
2006 Green Bay     8-8      Denver        9-7
2005 Minnesota     9-7      Kansas City  10-6
2004 New Orleans   8-8      Jacksonville  9-7
2003 Minnesota     9-7      Miami        10-6
2002 New Orleans   9-7      Denver        9-7

And it looks like the Vikings missed a few more 1 and done opportunities there at the 7th seed in 2003, 2005, and 2007 lol. We would have played at #2 seed St. Louis (12-4) wildcard weekend in 2003 (lost 48-17 in the regular season meeting), at #2 seed Chicago (11-5) in 2005 (split in the regular season 1-1), and at #2 seed Green Bay (13-3) in 2007 (got swept in the regular season 0-2).