2010 NFL Season

[tBBP]

Can't wait for next week's MNF showdown. Tracy Porter was ready when Atlanta came to town last time...

NO HE DIDN'T!!

C'MON MAN!!!

[BaltimoreFan]

I think alot of people underestimate how hard it is to go on the road in the NFL.

The league is 100-125 on the road if my math is right, so it doesn't look that hard. Nine teams have clinched winning road records, and another two have clinched even records.

I didn't state it clear enough, I was talking about having to go on the road multiple weeks in a row. All that travel is tough. Its just puts the team at a disadvantage. But whatever, I don't really care that much about it. I do feel the Ravens are one of the 4 best teams in the AFC and as such deserve a home playoff game, but at the same time they shouldn't have blown a couple games either.

[The_Admiral]

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

[slightly shotgunned]

The NFL has already addressed the issue of "lesser" division winners getting into the playoffs by having the lowest two division winners playing the highest two division runner-ups in a "Wild-Card Round." The reward for being the second best team in a tough division is the chance to replace the first place team from a weaker division who is rewarded for winning their division by being able to host the game. Maybe it's just me, but I've always seen the Wild-Card games as a glorified version of the NCAA's play-in game. The real playoffs start after.

[BaltimoreFan]

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

Yea, and the home team is coming to the stadium from their houses and get to play in front of their own fans in their own stadium. I'm not saying the road team is screwed, but the home team most definitely has an advantage. That's why home field advantage is the reward for the #1 seed. I heard Warren Sapp comment on this earlier this season.

Again, I could really careless about this issue, its the argument that I don't like. A team that's worse than you is telling you, oh well you should have played better. This just happens to be an odd season where one division is unusually weak and someother divisions have two very good teams.

EDIT: BTW, I'm talking about playing on the road 2-3 weeks in row. Not just one week. It's not "tough" to go on the road, but it is when you just did it the week before. That's what Warren Sapp commented on earlier this season on Inside the NFL. He predicted the Bengals would beat the Ravens in Week 2 because he said it was difficult for any team to travel two consecutive weeks.

[BlueSky]

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

Yea, and the home team is coming to the stadium from their houses and get to play in front of their own fans in their own stadium. I'm not saying the road team is screwed, but the home team most definitely has an advantage. That's why home field advantage is the reward for the #1 seed. I heard Warren Sapp comment on this earlier this season.

Again, I could really careless about this issue, its the argument that I don't like. A team that's worse than you is telling you, oh well you should have played better. This just happens to be an odd season where one division is unusually weak and someother divisions have two very good teams.

Oh, like 2008 when the 11-5 Patriots sat home while the 8-8 Chargers made the playoffs?

[Lights Out]

I mean, that year, you couldn't blame the Chargers. The Broncos choked up the division in the final weeks. The Chargers won the games they had to, won the division, and deserved their spot. Sucks for the Patriots that year, but they didn't win the division.

[IceCap]

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

Yea, and the home team is coming to the stadium from their houses and get to play in front of their own fans in their own stadium. I'm not saying the road team is screwed, but the home team most definitely has an advantage. That's why home field advantage is the reward for the #1 seed. I heard Warren Sapp comment on this earlier this season.

Again, I could really careless about this issue, its the argument that I don't like. A team that's worse than you is telling you, oh well you should have played better. This just happens to be an odd season where one division is unusually weak and someother divisions have two very good teams.

Oh, like 2008 when the 11-5 Patriots sat home while the 8-8 Chargers made the playoffs?

The Chargers were a .500 team (and beat the supposedly better Colts in the Wild Card round).

Actually having a sub .500 team make the playoffs IS a fluke.

[UnclearInitial]

The lions won their first game in the new road whites. THE CURSE IS OVER!

[rams80]

It's one thing for the NFL to reward division winners (especially those who are 7-9) an automatic spot in the playoffs, but to award them a home playoffs game over a Wild Card team who's got three or four more wins than them? something similar is going on over in the AFC as well, where both Wild Card teams will finish with better records than the botton two division winners. This is somethin the NFL has gotta look at over the offseason.

I disagree. If the division winner is so poor, shouldn't the wild card team have no problem beating them no matter where the game is played? This is a fluke season and it will all even itself out in the end after the Rams or Seahawks get bounced in the first round by the Saints.

I agree that all division winners should have an automatic spot in the playoffs. However, I believe teams should EARN homefield for the first round. Look at what;s going on now. The Saints, Ravens and Jets will all finish with 11 or 12 wins. But because they're locked in divisions with other 12+ win teams (NE, PIT, ATL), they are almost guaranteed to play all their games on the road in order to "reward" 7-8-9 game division winners home-field. It's crap.

Then why even have divisions in the first place? Why not just have two tables, take the top 6 teams and seed accordingly. I like the system the way it is. If you want a home playoff game, be the best team in your division. Who cares how great or poor the division next you is. Take care of business and beat the teams your division if you want to be the best. And guess what.... If you're the best team in your division, yet you suck, you're going to get embarrassed in front of your home fans wildcard weekend.

I have to agree with Cujo on this one. Yes, the division winner that sucks will get embarrassed at home. However the better wild card team is forced to play 3 straight road games if they want to make the Super Bowl. I know its been done before, but that's an extreme disadvantage. Now to an extent I agree with you that they shouldn't complain because they lost their division. But at the same time they may have had a much harder division to play in. I have no probably with a 7-9 division winner making the playoffs, but it does bother me some that they will be given a home game.

Solution: Don't lose to Atlanta at home by a field goal. Or ing beat Arizona and Cleveland.

Otherwise...

/Division winner will be 8-8.

I have no problem using that argument for the Packers (or whoever the first team out of the playoffs happens to be), but I don't think it applys in this situation. In this situation the Saints have proven they are a playoff team. It seems really odd for a Rams fan (I'm just using them because they are the NFC West leader at the moment) to say if you want home field advantage don't lose to the Falcons, Cardinals, and Browns. While the Rams lost to 2 of those teams and also the Lions (and 5 other teams).

I think alot of people underestimate how hard it is to go on the road in the NFL. With that said, yes the #6 seed in the NFC has no excuses for losing to the NFC West leader at home regardless. But it makes it that much harder to go on the road against the #1 seed the following week. You're penalizing them for having a harder schedule.

No, we're penalizing them for dropping the ball in the regular season. Every team controls its destiny at the start of the season and the NFL is crystal clear about what it takes to get a home playoff game; you can only blame yourself if you lose.

[tBBP]

Jeez...to read some of these comments about the division winners with suck-ass records, you'd think Chicken Little him/herself was posting up in these parts.

Look, we all know the NFL is an overreactionary league...and apparently, so are a good many posters in here. If a division winner's record chaps asses that much, how 'bout the NFL have the overreaction from hell, set up two single-table conferences, and take the best four from each? Fvck divisions, fvck wild-card games, fvck first-round byes, fvck it all to hell...just go straight to the divisional rounds. There...will that satisfy the Chicken Littles up in here?

/mini-rant

(btw...rams80, I agree with you.)

[JayJaxon]

Buc, now you know better than that. NOTHING satisfies everyone

[tBBP]

I know, I know...I'm just sayin'.

In the future, I'll just refer to infared's member title (or whatever you call the quote underneath our avatars).

[infrared41]

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

Yea, and the home team is coming to the stadium from their houses and get to play in front of their own fans in their own stadium. I'm not saying the road team is screwed, but the home team most definitely has an advantage. That's why home field advantage is the reward for the #1 seed. I heard Warren Sapp comment on this earlier this season.

Again, I could really careless about this issue, its the argument that I don't like. A team that's worse than you is telling you, oh well you should have played better. This just happens to be an odd season where one division is unusually weak and someother divisions have two very good teams.

Oh, like 2008 when the 11-5 Patriots sat home while the 8-8 Chargers made the playoffs?

To be fair BlueSky, that was only the second time it had ever happened. The first was in 1985 when my world beating Cleveland Browns won the AFC Central at 8-8 while 11-5 Denver got to stay home. Turns out Denver would end up getting the last laugh over that one eh?

[infrared41]

Jeez...to read some of these comments about the division winners with suck-ass records, you'd think Chicken Little him/herself was posting up in these parts.

Look, we all know the NFL is an overreactionary league...and apparently, so are a good many posters in here. If a division winner's record chaps asses that much, how 'bout the NFL have the overreaction from hell, set up two single-table conferences, and take the best four from each? Fvck divisions, fvck wild-card games, fvck first-round byes, fvck it all to hell...just go straight to the divisional rounds. There...will that satisfy the Chicken Littles up in here?

/mini-rant

(btw...rams80, I agree with you.)

Agree 100% Buc.

This season will be exactly the third time that an 8-8 (or possibly worse this season) team has won a division. That's three times in 45 years (we all know that the NFL didn't really exist before Super Bowl I) The thing that has everyone in an uproar is that the NFC West champ may have a losing record. It's an anomaly folks. Let's stop acting like this happens every season.

For those of you having a nervous breakdown over this I can assure you that the NFL and civilization will probably survive if a 7-9 team makes the playoffs. Relax. You'll all make it through this.

I can't wait to see this place if the NFC West champ pulls an upset and wins their playoff game. For what it's worth, that's exactly what I'm hoping for.

[tBBP]

To add to that, 'Red, lest we all forget, and as I mentioned some time ago, and though it wasn't a sub-.500 record, the last supposedly suck-ass NFC West champ ended up in and almost won the daggone Super Bowl.

Just sayin'.

[DEAD!]

I can't wait to see this place if the NFC West champ pulls an upset and wins their playoff game. For what it's worth, that's exactly what I'm hoping for.

Now that you mention it, I'm hoping for that as well.

[BlueSky]

It's one thing for the NFL to reward division winners (especially those who are 7-9) an automatic spot in the playoffs, but to award them a home playoffs game over a Wild Card team who's got three or four more wins than them? something similar is going on over in the AFC as well, where both Wild Card teams will finish with better records than the botton two division winners. This is somethin the NFL has gotta look at over the offseason.

I disagree. If the division winner is so poor, shouldn't the wild card team have no problem beating them no matter where the game is played? This is a fluke season and it will all even itself out in the end after the Rams or Seahawks get bounced in the first round by the Saints.

I agree that all division winners should have an automatic spot in the playoffs. However, I believe teams should EARN homefield for the first round. Look at what;s going on now. The Saints, Ravens and Jets will all finish with 11 or 12 wins. But because they're locked in divisions with other 12+ win teams (NE, PIT, ATL), they are almost guaranteed to play all their games on the road in order to "reward" 7-8-9 game division winners home-field. It's crap.

Then why even have divisions in the first place? Why not just have two tables, take the top 6 teams and seed accordingly. I like the system the way it is. If you want a home playoff game, be the best team in your division. Who cares how great or poor the division next you is. Take care of business and beat the teams your division if you want to be the best. And guess what.... If you're the best team in your division, yet you suck, you're going to get embarrassed in front of your home fans wildcard weekend.

I have to agree with Cujo on this one. Yes, the division winner that sucks will get embarrassed at home. However the better wild card team is forced to play 3 straight road games if they want to make the Super Bowl. I know its been done before, but that's an extreme disadvantage. Now to an extent I agree with you that they shouldn't complain because they lost their division. But at the same time they may have had a much harder division to play in. I have no probably with a 7-9 division winner making the playoffs, but it does bother me some that they will be given a home game.

Solution: Don't lose to Atlanta at home by a field goal. Or ing beat Arizona and Cleveland.

Otherwise...

/Division winner will be 8-8.

I have no problem using that argument for the Packers (or whoever the first team out of the playoffs happens to be), but I don't think it applys in this situation. In this situation the Saints have proven they are a playoff team. It seems really odd for a Rams fan (I'm just using them because they are the NFC West leader at the moment) to say if you want home field advantage don't lose to the Falcons, Cardinals, and Browns. While the Rams lost to 2 of those teams and also the Lions (and 5 other teams).

I think alot of people underestimate how hard it is to go on the road in the NFL. With that said, yes the #6 seed in the NFC has no excuses for losing to the NFC West leader at home regardless. But it makes it that much harder to go on the road against the #1 seed the following week. You're penalizing them for having a harder schedule.

No, we're penalizing them for dropping the ball in the regular season. Every team controls its destiny at the start of the season and the NFL is crystal clear about what it takes to get a home playoff game; you can only blame yourself if you lose.

Since when is winning 11 or 12 games out of 16 "dropping the ball"? Ironically, in trying to make your point you ended up making mine. If anyone dropped the ball in the regular season, it's a 7-9 or 8-8 team who is only in the playoffs to begin with because the other teams in their division happen to be worse! The point here is that home playoff games should be earned.

[BlueSky]

(Had to post separately due to "too many quoted blocks" error message in previous post)

No, travel isn't tough. You take a charter flight out the day before, stay in a nice hotel, and take a charter flight back right after the game. It's not like they walk there.

Yea, and the home team is coming to the stadium from their houses and get to play in front of their own fans in their own stadium. I'm not saying the road team is screwed, but the home team most definitely has an advantage. That's why home field advantage is the reward for the #1 seed. I heard Warren Sapp comment on this earlier this season.

Again, I could really careless about this issue, its the argument that I don't like. A team that's worse than you is telling you, oh well you should have played better. This just happens to be an odd season where one division is unusually weak and someother divisions have two very good teams.

Oh, like 2008 when the 11-5 Patriots sat home while the 8-8 Chargers made the playoffs?

To be fair BlueSky, that was only the second time it had ever happened. The first was in 1985 when my world beating Cleveland Browns won the AFC Central at 8-8 while 11-5 Denver got to stay home. Turns out Denver would end up getting the last laugh over that one eh?

Fair point, but if it happened then and is happening again two years later, and - perhaps we all agree on my next point, perhaps not - overall NFL play is getting worse, it's at least possible that this is the beginning of a trend.

I can't wait to see this place if the NFC West champ pulls an upset and wins their playoff game. For what it's worth, that's exactly what I'm hoping for.

Now that you mention it, I'm hoping for that as well.

Anything can happen, and if it's the Saints at the NFC West champ, God knows Payton's New Orleans teams have an awful habit of playing up or down to the competition. They can take out Pittsburgh in prime time one week and completely p*** their britches at home against Cleveland in another. I love Payton and the Saints but that inconsistency is maddening for fans.

On another note, we officially have a p***ing contest underway for this week's MNF matchup. From nola.com:

===

The "Monday Night Football" showdown between the NFC South rivals Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints has national pundits taking sides, and players taking offense, already.

ESPN TV analyst Trent Dilfer said in a report by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas that the Saints not only could beat the Falcons on Monday night but could come back in the playoffs and beat them again - at the Georgia Dome.

Falcons receiver Roddy White took to his verified Twitter account, @roddywhiteTV, to write, "No chance in hell the Aints come into the dome and win once trent dilfer."

Saints defensive end Will Smith, @iwillsmith, took exception: "Wondering how @roddywhitetv has the audacity to call us AINTS" with this picture attached. <<< pic was Will's SB ring

Offensive lineman Jonathan Goodwin, @jgoody76, followed up with, "Just got even more excited for Monday!"

===

[TheOldRoman]

Jeez...to read some of these comments about the division winners with suck-ass records, you'd think Chicken Little him/herself was posting up in these parts.

Look, we all know the NFL is an overreactionary league...and apparently, so are a good many posters in here. If a division winner's record chaps asses that much, how 'bout the NFL have the overreaction from hell, set up two single-table conferences, and take the best four from each? Fvck divisions, fvck wild-card games, fvck first-round byes, fvck it all to hell...just go straight to the divisional rounds. There...will that satisfy the Chicken Littles up in here?

/mini-rant

(btw...rams80, I agree with you.)

You can't just take the four or six best records. The NFL season is set up around divisional play. Each team plays 6 games in the division. Unless you change the schedule (and it will never be equal), you are going to get teams having much much easier paths to the playoffs than others.