Has the regular season in the NFL become Irrelevant?

[Deberg_1990]

A 9-7 team just won the Super Bowl and nobody even thought twice about it. 15-20 years ago, it would have been an amazing, shocking, underdog upset if that would have happened.

Packers were 10-6 last season....

Steelers won it by going 10-6, 5 or 6 years ago.....Cardinals didnt win it, but played in the SB by going 9-7 a few years ago....

Does the NFL regular season truly matter anymore? Is this a trend or coincidence?

[suds79]

Still matters simply for the fact that getting into the playoffs is hard which is why the NFL is so great.

But yes, recent history shows once you make the tournament, you have a chance. Wasn't that some Carl Peterson line? ;)

[blaise]

I think the teams in the playoffs earned their spot. I think the best group of teams are generally the ones that make the playoffs, so I think the regular season does a good job of letting the cream rise to the top.

[Deberg_1990]

I think the teams in the playoffs earned their spot. I think the best group of teams are generally the ones that make the playoffs, so I think the regular season does a good job of letting the cream rise to the top.

It tells me theres not that much difference between a 14-15 win team than a 9-10 win team. That didnt use to be the case.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

The Chiefs are irrelevant? :(

[Pasta Little Brioni]

The talent gap is much smaller than in the past.

[Garcia Bronco]

This is parity. Its good.

[Bugeater]

The talent gap is much smaller than in the past.
This, and there's such a fine line between winning and losing. A freak play or a crazy bounce of the football can decide a game. Hell the Chiefs got two wins this season that they didn't really earn.

[blaise]

It tells me theres not that much difference between a 14-15 win team than a 9-10 win team. That didnt use to be the case.

That doesn't make the regular season irrelevant, though. You still need to win games to get in the playoffs. You still earn your way in.

[Sofa King]

It doesn't make the regular season irrelevant, however, regular season records are still irrelevant once you get into the playoffs.

[Deberg_1990]

That doesn't make the regular season irrelevant, though. You still need to win games to get in the playoffs. You still earn your way in.

True, but this brings up the whole flaw in the divisional system again, where you have teams sitting at home with better records than a weak division winner. Titans were 9-7 this year and you had 8-8 teams in the playoffs.

[Gonzo]

Every year a team makes it into the playoffs that's not nearly as good as a team that didn't just because they won their division.
Some could argue that overall records matter more than who wins what division. While others argue the opposite. Personally, I think if there's an 11-5 team that's going to miss the playoffs and a division winner sitting at 8-8, the 11-5 team deserves it far more.
But then again, there weren't really any huge blowout playoff games this year, (sands the Pats/Donks game). Maybe add another wildcard? :shrug:
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[Brock]

No, it's not irrelevant. Dallas had to completely shit the bed for the Giants to get in. That's entertainment!

[Sofa King]

Every year a team makes it into the playoffs that's not nearly as good as a team that didn't just because they won their division.
Some could argue that overall records matter more than who wins what division. While others argue the opposite. Personally, I think if there's an 11-5 team that's going to miss the playoffs and a division winner sitting at 8-8, the 11-5 team deserves it far more.
But then again, there weren't really any huge blowout playoff games this year, (sands the Pats/Donks game). Maybe add another wildcard? :shrug:
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What if that 8-8 division winner is in a division that consists entirely of New York Giants teams, while the 11-5 is in a division of 1 better team and two 0-16 lions teams?

What would you have to say about that mr smarty trousers?

[Bugeater]

What if that 8-8 division winner is in a division that consists entirely of New York Giants teams, while the 11-5 is in a division of 1 better team and two 0-16 lions teams?

What would you have to say about that mr smarty trousers?
That's a good point. Perhaps we need to get some computer nerds to throw together some programs that figure in SOS and some other factors and then we can also take votes from coaches and sportswriters and make them part of the formula as well!

[Sofa King]

That's a good point. Perhaps we need to get some computer nerds to throw together some programs that figure in SOS and some other factors and then we can also take votes from coaches and sportswriters and make them part of the formula as well!

I like where you're going with this.

Perhaps we should just eliminate the playoffs all together and just go with the 2 best teams as voted upon.

[kysirsoze]

Every year a team makes it into the playoffs that's not nearly as good as a team that didn't just because they won their division.
Some could argue that overall records matter more than who wins what division. While others argue the opposite. Personally, I think if there's an 11-5 team that's going to miss the playoffs and a division winner sitting at 8-8, the 11-5 team deserves it far more.
But then again, there weren't really any huge blowout playoff games this year, (sands the Pats/Donks game). Maybe add another wildcard? :shrug:
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If the goal is to make the regular season more relevant, adding another wildcard would achieve the opposite. Leave it alone.

[Wallcrawler]

This is what makes the division so important, and more importantly fuels the fires for division rivalries.

You want in the playoffs? Win your division. Dont piss and moan about how you got a better record than some team that topped a shittier division, but you have to sit home while they go to the tournament. They did what was required, they won their division. If they dont belong in the playoffs, it will be well known in the first round, but they will have earned their way in.


Division games should be games where you put everything out there. You play those teams twice. If you cant take care of business in your own division, against teams you play twice year in and year out, then you dont need to go to the playoffs to compete against teams you only play once in a while.

I think the playoff system is good how it is. There are some disappointing finishes, like missing the playoffs with an 11-5 record, while an 8-8 division winner gets in, but thats how it goes. If you go dicking around with it, adding more wildcard spots or whatever, then you begin to decrease the importance of winning the division.

[Rooster]

The system is set up for everyone to go 8-8. Parity is what the NFL wants. It's good business.

[Bearcat]

There aren't enough quarterbacks to go around, so we mostly see the elite QBs in the Super Bowl... but, at the same time, I think there's too much parity overall, so there's just not much difference between 6-10 and 10-6 or even 11-5.

IMO, it's created an incredibly mediocre league... a QB league without enough QBs. The Chiefs were in the playoff hunt with a point differential of -127. Beating the Chargers on MNF and beating the Packers were the two games that could be considered something less than garbage, and neither of those games were even that good.

Attendance has been down the past few years, but that could just be the economy plus cost of tickets, HD TV, etc... OTOH, I know several people who claim they've been tuning into more CFB in the past few years and less football on Sundays. Outside of a few regular season games, nothing really grabbed my attention this season until wild card weekend. When it got good, it was really good football... but yeah, I think the regular season is becoming less relevant and much less entertaining.

[Gonzo]

I think they should let every team in that has a winning record and set it up tourney style.
Best of 3 advances. We'd have football all fucking year.
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[whoman69]

This, and there's such a fine line between winning and losing. A freak play or a crazy bounce of the football can decide a game. Hell the Chiefs got two wins this season that they didn't really earn.

They were also a Kyle Orton pass that was intercepted in the middle of the field while Baldwin was uncovered in the corner from being division champs.

[Bugeater]

There aren't enough quarterbacks to go around, so we mostly see the elite QBs in the Super Bowl... but, at the same time, I think there's too much parity overall, so there's just not much difference between 6-10 and 10-6 or even 11-5.

IMO, it's created an incredibly mediocre league... a QB league without enough QBs. The Chiefs were in the playoff hunt with a point differential of -127. Beating the Chargers on MNF and beating the Packers were the two games that could be considered something less than garbage, and neither of those games were even that good.

Attendance has been down the past few years, but that could just be the economy plus cost of tickets, HD TV, etc... OTOH, I know several people who claim they've been tuning into more CFB in the past few years and less football on Sundays. Outside of a few regular season games, nothing really grabbed my attention this season until wild card weekend. When it got good, it was really good football... but yeah, I think the regular season is becoming less relevant and much less entertaining.
Sorry, but NFL football > college football and it's not even close. Yes, there are a fair amount of mediocre clunker games, but it's not like CFB has stellar lineups of games every Saturday. And the bowl games this year were a joke...I think I watched two of them. Meanwhile, the NFL playoffs were the best they've been for years.

[Micjones]

The Giants played well when it mattered the most.
That, in no way, diminishes the importance of the Regular Season though.

[Deberg_1990]

The Giants played well when it mattered the most.
That, in no way, diminishes the importance of the Regular Season though.

The Giants were 7-7 on Dec 18th and had just lost to the Deadskins.


Sept and Oct obviously didnt matter much to them.

[hometeam]

They got hot at the right time, its been happening always. That does not take away from the regular season. We all know the great thing about football is parity, and we can see the parity is constantly developing during the season. This is not something to lament. This is something to celebrate.

[Micjones]

The Giants were 7-7 on Dec 18th and had just lost to the Deadskins.


Sept and Oct obviously didnt matter much to them.

None of that matters at this point.
They played well enough to qualify for the post-season.
It's single-elimination from there. You win...you keep playing.

[Bearcat]

Sorry, but NFL football > college football and it's not even close. Yes, there are a fair amount of mediocre clunker games, but it's not like CFB has stellar lineups of games every Saturday. And the bowl games this year were a joke...I think I watched two of them. Meanwhile, the NFL playoffs were the best they've been for years.

A good NFL game can be much better than an CFB game... like I said, when it started to get good, it got really good. And yeah, the bowls weren't that good this year, and the NFL playoffs will always beat them in both format and entertainment.... but, I was mostly talking about the regular season.

Comparing a random NFL week vs CFB, there are usually at least couple of good CFB matchups, and they can always be found on my tv or at least espn3, while there might be one or two good NFL matchups and I'm lucky if I get it on TV. I know it would be different if I had Sunday Ticket or was in a market that didn't get AFCW games every week, which is part of the frustration.

[whoman69]

This year is going to be a bit of an aberration to begin with. There was some horrible play and most teams were very inconsistent. Just look at the Giants. With their d-line they finished 27th in defense. The running game of Jacobs/Bradshaw finished last. That was a mix of injuries and no camp.

[tooge]

It makes the regular season even more relevant. It lets you know that every win counts because if you can even just sneak in, you have a chance to win it all.

[ChiTown]

It makes the regular season even more relevant. It lets you know that every win counts because if you can even just sneak in, you have a chance to win it all.

THIS

You just have to get hot and start hitting on all cylinders at the right time. Just get in and hope to keep it rolling/catch teams not playing well. It accentuates just how shitty the Chiefs have been that they can't even get 1 fucking playoff win in the last 18+ years. Fuck this complete abortion of a Sports Franchise.

[Deberg_1990]

It accentuates just how shitty the Chiefs have been that they can't even get 1 ****ing playoff win in the last 18+ years. **** this complete abortion of a Sports Franchise.

and yet they are still "technically" doing better than the Royals ZERO playoff appearances in 26 years. : )

[ChiTown]

and yet they are still "technically" doing better than the Royals ZERO playoff appearances in 26 years. : )

Baseball is completely fucked up. MLB is the have's and have not's. NFL = Salary Cap = Equivalency

[lcarus]

An 8-8 or 9-7 team might have their average record due to early injuries, or perhaps they just started to "gel" towards the end of the season. Maybe they had some unfortunate close losses. The Eagles could have won that division if not for injuries and some early close losses.

In a nutshell, it's just parity. Lots of close games, a lot of game changing injuries. Things of that nature. If a 9-7 or 10-6 team occasionally misses out because they're in a good division/good conference, so be it. It happened to us in Vermeil's last year when we were 10-6. It sucked, but it is what it is.

[listopencil]

This is parity. Its good.

^

[saphojunkie]

It makes the regular season even more relevant. It lets you know that every win counts because if you can even just sneak in, you have a chance to win it all.

Nailed it.

Regular season is 100% relevant up to the point that the postseason begins. Then all bets are off.

[Mile High Mania]

Regular season is still incredibly meaningful... a 9-7 team finally winning it doesn't discount the entire season. This is their 2nd title in 5 years, they have a very nice team and overall much better than NE as they proved by beating them twice this season.

NFC > AFC at this point... maybe 9-7 in NFC = 10-6 or 11-5 in AFC

Patriots beat 1 team that ended the regular season with a record above .500 ... and it took a missed gimme FG in the AFC Title game to give them that victory.

[Rain Man]

I hope it's not irrelevant, because it's the only thing we've got.