Remove commands from loss of records
No legitimate Super Bowl champion should have a losing regular season. The Panthers, now 8-9 NFC South champions, are no exception. Since 2010, five teams with losing records have made the postseason. The 2022 Bucs became the first team to dance with a losing record since the league instituted a 17-game schedule. The NFC South did it again this season.
This is not an annual problem, but it is an inherent design flaw.
Division champions earning an automatic playoff berth as well as a home game are a hot topic every season. Conventional defense is a tradition. Divisions matter. Competition matters. Storylines matter. And they do it – up to a certain point. It is very important to maintain divisions and guarantee a place in the playoffs; there is no need for a public record just for everyone. End of the season Steelers vs. Ravens matchup was electrified precisely because of what was at stake: a division title, a playoff spot, a good seed and the team's future. the league's two longest-serving coaches. But that electricity shouldn't give teams immunity. You can win your division and still not earn the opportunity to play in January. These ideas don't have to be mutually exclusive.
If you win your division with a loss, you will receive hats, banners and bonuses. What you don't want to get is a playoff game. January should belong to teams that have at least proven they can win more often than they lose. It's not radical. This can be done while maintaining that division winners retain their field if they finish above .500.
The Panthers will have a tough time in the wild card round. They have everything they need to repeat the situation in 2011.”Game “Beast Earthquake”when the Seahawks and Marshawn Lynch shocked the Saints despite a 7-9 regular season record. They have taken some big scalps this season and have already beaten the Rams. But rewarding them with a home berth against one of the conference's best after posting a losing record is wrong. If he had been traded this season, Minnesota would have been in the playoff picture over Carolina, with home court going to the team with the best record (the Rams). This seems like a fair trade.
Expand your scope of activity – but do it cleanly
There was a time when the NFL playoff structure seemed close to perfect. Twelve teams. Two goodbyes for the conference. Excellence was rewarded, mediocrity was filtered out, and this bracket made intuitive sense.
Then the format extended by 14 teams, mostly to sell another TV package, and the whole thing was starting to look warped. Seven teams in a conference with one bye is awkward. One team is resting, six are not. The reward for being an elite is negligible. There are virtually no penalties for trespassing.
There are some advantages. During the regular season, games will be more meaningful with the addition of additional teams. The two added games have real stakes. What's not to love? The Week 18 schedule, with several teams resting their starting lineups, is worth it given the weekend ahead. But the overall structure is awkward. It's designed to score TV inventory, not find a champion.
There is no return to 12 teams. The NFL doesn't negotiate contracts; it expands. If this is the direction of travel, then at least it should be done cleanly. Sixteen teams. Eight for the conference. Say goodbye to the top two seeds or discard them altogether. Maintaining home field advantage for the division champions (with a winning record) is a must in the first round. After this, the field must be reseeded to give whoever had the better home advantage in the regular season.
Eventually there will be expansion – an 18th game, possibly two new teams. When that time comes, adding an additional playoff berth to each conference will be inevitable. The league can – and should – get there sooner.
Bring danger back to kicking
It was a historic season for kickers. Records are falling in terms of range and accuracy. Pair it with new rules for starting the game And That new ball for playing balland the playing field changed dramatically.
New rules were put in place to bring the spark back to special teams while reducing the number of high-level collisions. It worked. However, the consequences of the dominoes were, albeit minor. distorted the game. The touchback is placed at the 35 yard line while quality kickers Comfortable kicking from 60 yards. Add changes to team-specific rules (such as touching the center), and kickers will be positioned within field goal range more often, allowing more freedom to make long shots. Case in point: Dallas' Brandon Aubry has made more 60-yard field goals in three years. career than every NFL kicker in the 20th century.
This is great for Jacksonville, which will have a significant advantage this postseason thanks to Cam Little's leg. This season, Little has made field goals of 70 yards (in the preseason), 68 yards and 67 yards. Kickers bring drama, but playoff games should be decided by the players who kick on 70-odd plays.
There are two possible changes. One is to add a “strike zone” similar to the “landing zone” on kickoffs. There must be a demarcation point in the kick zone (let's call it the opponent's 40-yard line) at which a team can attempt a field goal. Before that, the offense has to choose whether to punt the ball or tackle it on fourth down. This would create drama when a player goes down on fourth down and force coaches to make uncomfortable decisions.
The established zone has its disadvantages. It will look artificial and awkward. This would also remove some of the strategy from the game. And you just know that the playoff game will be decided by the team being one yard short of the strike zone, which will inevitably result in the game being overturned.
The quieter solution is probably better: narrow the posts.
Kicking is a separate skill. And we're living in glory years where even college students are turning effort at 55 yards. But now the environment allows these players to take on a huge role. Reducing the width of the posts would bring back the risk and intrigue without changing the essence of the game. Long field goals will still be attempted, but they will once again be seen as a choice rather than the default option. The tension will return. As are the consequences.
Nowadays, the talent of NFL kickers has kept the risk to a minimum. And risky football is fun. Risky football in playoffs it's what fuels group chats and debate shows. Fighting this boom would create an even greater threat.
