2012 NFL Season Thread

[pmoehrin]

So no more kickoffs potentially and we may get rid of what I think is the best playoff system of any of the four major sports. Awesome job NFL.

[TheOldRoman]

And it adds just one week of playoffs, but there's no byes, obviously. I think the only way you do this is with 16. How would 14 even work? You can't have everyone play the first week, because you'd end up with 7 the next. Would the top seeds get two-round byes?

Yes, with 14 teams, only the one seeds would get a first round bye. And with 16 teams, there wouldn't be an additional week. There would just be four more games during wildcard week, with the teams that used to have byes playing 7 and 8 seeds.

I hope this doesn't happen, but I imagine it will. The thing is, the NFL has been smart and deliberate with most of its big decisions. Their games are either on Sundays when everybody's off of work, or in primetime. You know the days they are going to play, it's an easy sport to be a fan of. It is the only sport which broadcasts all its playoffs nationally with no overlap. However, this would go against that.

There would be four games on Saturday and four on Sunday if they went to 16 teams. That would mean that the NFL, for the first time I can think of, would be airing playoff games head-to-head. The only way around it would be to have the East champions play at 11 am EST, North/South champs play at 3:15 est and 6:30 est, and West champs play at 9:30 est. But they wouldn't do that because 1) they wouldn't want the Patriots, Giants or Cowboys to start at 11 am, they want them in primetime, 2) there is a chance those East champs could be playing a west coast team, for whose fans the game would start at 8 am, 3) the networks would be pissed about potentially having to broadcast a thrilling Seahawks/Lions game in primetime, and 4) having a game start at 9:30 est on a Sunday is galling, even by NFL standards.

Assuming they stick with schedule they use in the regular season (1 est, 4:25 est and 8:30 est games), CBS and FOX would still be airing games simultaneously at noon, meaning fans would have to choose which to watch. That would devalue those games, decrease ratings and decrease the haul from advertisers. It doesn't seem like a savvy move.

[Rockstar Matt]

The 12 team playoff is perfect. No need to change it.

[The_Admiral]

I don't have a problem with 14 teams. Puts more emphasis on finishing first in the conference, and 16 games is a small sample size.

[NEW.ERA]

I'd be alright with a 14 or 16 team format. Opens the show up and gets rid of the bye, never was a fan and now it's an obvious hindrance.

[Sport]

If they expand the playoffs the Steelers are never going to miss the playoffs again. They'll be the NFL's Detroit Red Wings.

Is that what you want, people? More of that?

[Rockstar Matt]

If they expand the playoffs the Steelers are never going to miss the playoffs again. They'll be the NFL's Detroit Red Wings.

Is that what you want, people? More of that?

This made me laugh.

I just don't see the point of expanding the playoff field. The way it's constructed, it gives teams incentive to win the division and finish in the Top 2 in each conference. Also, it ensures that the two Wild-Card teams actually deserve to be there.

And why would anyone want to see this current Jets team get destroyed by the Texans or the Patriots? Or see teams like the Chargers, Dolphins and Bills, who are one game out of the playoffs in a 16-team format, make the postseason?

[NJTank]

I think a 16 team playoff would work and would be even more exciting

[TheOldRoman]

I think a 16 team playoff would work and would be even more exciting

How would it work? As I said, think about the logistics. Having sixteen teams is going to require them to air two games head-to-head to fit in four games each day of wildcard weekend. Either that or have a playoff game on Thursday and Friday of that week.

[Sport]

The Bengals are the dumbest team in the NFL.

[Island_Style]

Me likey Andy Dalton. The Bengals are set at QB.

[NJTank]

The Bengals are the dumbest team in the NFL.

The Eagles would like to argue that

[NJTank]

I think a 16 team playoff would work and would be even more exciting

How would it work? As I said, think about the logistics. Having sixteen teams is going to require them to air two games head-to-head to fit in four games each day of wildcard weekend. Either that or have a playoff game on Thursday and Friday of that week.

Well here is my idea,add a second bye week for every team giving us 18 weeks of the regular season. Top eight team in each conference make the playoffs, add a bye between the end of the season and start of the playoffs this will help the new college Bowl playoff hold spotlight.

Now you do 1-8 re seeding like the NBA based on record only and play a game on Thursday, a game on Friday, triple header on Saturday and Sunday

Bing zang zooom more great football for everyone.

[NEW.ERA]

It's not rocket science. 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm. It's for one weekend only, I think it'd be cool and it wouldn't tarnish the game at all.

[Gothamite]

10pm eastern? You'll kill the ratings that way, with a game that goes past 1am.

[ninersdd]

Another thing is that it isn't guaranteed to be a Pacific team winning the West division. The game could start at 8PM local time(Arizona and Denver) or even 9PM (Kansas City and St. Louis).

[TheOldRoman]

10pm eastern? You'll kill the ratings that way, with a game that goes past 1am.

Not only that, but NFL games haven't finished in a tidy three hours for about 10 years. Normal games take over three hours, and the playoffs have longer commercial breaks, I believe. The NFL normally leaves at least 3.5 hours between playoff game starts. If there were games starting every three hours, most of the nation would miss the start of the last three games because they would be watching the end of the previous one (provided the games were close). And that might not seem like that big of a deal to some fans, but it would be a huge deal to the networks which would be getting screwed out of 15-30 minutes of viewership.

[pmoehrin]

So Skip Bayless was not the dumbest guy on First Take yesterday.

It was nice knowing you Rob Parker. Say hi to Mariotti. That was just one of the all-time open mouth insert foot statements I've ever heard to come from a sports journalist.

[illwauk]

So Skip Bayless was not the dumbest guy on First Take yesterday.

It was nice knowing you Rob Parker. Say hi to Mariotti. That was just one of the all-time open mouth insert foot statements I've ever heard.

Is it me, or do Parker's words just not come out the least bit natural... as if someone (Bayless?) put him up to saying them.

[Sport]

First Take is a joke and I hope this is a step towards ending its reign of terror.

There's only so many things you can fabricate before your contrived debate show hits a snag.

Those guys are creating issues that don't exist and they've been doing it for a long time. I don't know how anyone watches one episode of that show, let alone every day.