NFL Playoff Seeding Should Be Changed

[AHF]

Now we lost to Green Bay and they were simply the better team yesterday. No excuses for that. We are done and deserve to be after losing that way.

Yet with all that said, the larger issue of the playoff seeding still bothers me. The #1 seed got a 10 win team. The #2 seed got a 7 win team.

Respecting division champs is all fine and good for seeding in the first round, but the #1 seed should get the worst of the surviving teams as ranked by record. Last week had Philly beaten Green Bay, the Falcons would have had Seattle since the Eagles were better seeded than Seattle.

Out of respect to the #1 seed, the NFL should simply rank the teams for 2nd round matchup purposes by the record of the playoff teams and not give bonus points for being a losing team that won their division.

While the Falcons deserved to get beat by Green Bay, Chicago got an undeserved windfall by facing the crappiest team in the entire playoffs while Atlanta faced the best team left in the NFC. That is not what the #1 and #2 seeds earned during the regular season.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

I agree. The #2 seed in this year playoffs is actually the #1 seed.

[jhay610]

I also agree but think that line of thought should extend full measure and the seeding should be based on overall record throughout, with division champions winning any tiebreaks. When they went to a four division alignment that significantly diluted the value of a division championship -- there is no way a seven win team should even be in the playoffs, much less HOST a playoff game. I would much rather have seen the Bucs or NYG this year instead of the Seahawks; at the least the Seahawks should have been the bottom seed.

Something is wrong with the format when you have an 11-5 team miss the playoffs (Patriots, 2008). This year, Baltimore (12-4) and NYJ (11-5) also had to win on the road against inferior teams -- to me, you should not be rewarded for winning a weak division.

Just think, if the Seahawks had beaten the Bears in Chicago yesterday they would have had the opportunity to host a game with a super bowl berth on the line in one of the league's toughest venues. This for a team that went 3-7 outside of its division and had to fatten up on the other West fodder in order to backpedal into the playoffs.

It is quite surprising because on a managerial level the NFL does so many things right.

[AHF]

I agree with your thoughts, jhay, but I think that the reseeding the NFL does in the second round makes it more egregious. At least if you get in as a wild card then you didn't take care of what you needed to do to ensure you enjoyed the best possible matchup. As the #1 seed in the NFC, the #1 seed has done everything it possibly could and should enjoy the best seeding.

The Bears are just living charmed lives this season.

Edited January 17, 2011 by AHF