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NFL
Playoffs
By
Seth Taylor
The
NFL Playoffs are a
tournament consisting of the top 12 teams in professional football.
They are all striving to reach the everwanting goal of reaching the
Super
Bowl. The
team that wins the tournament is awarded the Lombardi trophy and
crowned world champions.
The
National Football
League consists of two conferences. These conferences, the
National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference
(AFC), each contain four divisions. All
division winners receive an automatic bid to the playoffs. The two
remaining spots in each conference are given to the teams with the best
record.
The teams in each conference are seeded 1-6.
The top two division winning teams are given a first week bye, and the
remaining teams play in the first round, which is called the “Wild
Card” round.
Home field
advantage is determined by seeding.
In the first round, the number three seed hosts the number six seed,
and the number four seed hosts the number five seed.
There
have been some criticism of the system that is in place, because it can
allow for a team with less wins to make the playoffs over a team with
more wins. For instance, in 2007 the Cleveland Browns fished with a
10-6 record and did not make the playoffs, while the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins, who both finished with a 9-7
record, did.
This is because
the Redskins and
Buccaneers both play in the National Football Conference (NFC) and they
had the two best non-division winning records in that conference, while
the Browns fell in at number three in the American Football Conference
(AFC).
Another criticism is that teams with a
lower record often get home field advantage over teams with a better
record. For instance, following the 2007 season the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers with a 9-7 record hosted the eventual tournament winner New
York Giants, who held a 10-6 record.
It has also
been said that the teams who are given a first week bye are sometimes
thrown off their rhythm by waiting the extra week.
While
it has not happened under the current system which has been in place
since 2002, a team with a losing record could make the playoffs over a
team with a winning record.
For instance, if a
division winner finishes
with a 7-9 record, they would receive an automatic bid to the playoffs
over a team who may have a better record, but failed to finish in the
top two of the non division winning teams within the conference. The
7-9 team would also have home field advantage in the first game!
Proposed
changes to the current system call for teams to be able to cross
conferences. Instead of inviting the two best non division winning
teams within the conference, the four best non division winning teams
would be included regardless of conference.
If this plan had been in
place after the 2007 season, the Cleveland Browns would have been moved
to the NFC conference bracket and played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
while the New York Giants would have played the Seattle Seahawks. The
Washington Redskins would have been excluded.
Another
possible (and more likely) change would be to base the seeding on
record, regardless of whether or not a team has won their division.
The
current streak for consecutive playoff appearances is held by
the
Indianapolis Colts, who have made the NFL playoffs for the last six
years
straight. The NFC team with the longest current streak is the Seattle
Seahawks with five.
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About the
Author:
Seth Taylor is the author of
the NFL Ticket Guide
an e-book that provides NFL fans with tricks and techniques to obtain
discount NFL tickets. The guide covers a variety of ways to acquire
tickets to help fans get into the game.
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