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Stiegel -> RE: RE:What 3 things would you do to improve the NFL (12/26/2007 11:36:47 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Kurtis
I like this thread idea. I actually have more ways of fixing baseball than football -- I don't think football is broken. In baseball, I'd institute a rigorous steroid testing, that's everybody's #1. Number 2, I'd have teams only be allowed to block trades if they spent less money, regardless of record. That would screw the Yankees from making mid-season acquisitions and that would be a great leveler right there. #3, I'd have a lot more day games again.
Football, I'd stop screwing with the schedule. Keep MNF, but no more games on Saturday or Thursday or Sunday night. Everybody plays on Sunday. I'd get rid of the conferences and come up with a new playoff mechanism where the two teams in the championship might actually be the two best teams in the NFL, even if they're in the same conference or division now. I'd get rid of the pro bowl and just have an honor roll. Those are small things. The NFL's not broken.
When it comes to NFL commentary, there are a LOT of things I'd change, starting with the sheer volume of coverage.
Some good suggestions Kurtis. The Pro Bowl is the biggest joke all-star game that there is amongst the four major sports in the USA. The game is played after the season ends when nobody cares about the game, the players involved, or the end result. Why do they select the team after 14 games have been played? The season is 16 games long. Right now, Adrian Peterson does not deserve to go to the Pro Bowl nor do Hutchinson and Birk as OL, nor Tony Richardson as FB. The Vikings running game has been an embarrassment the past three weeks.
As far as eliminating conferences altogether and playing a championship game without regard to this limiting factor, that is a bit more controversial. ML baseball has a natural buffer for "leagues" because they play the game under different rules because of the DH in the AL. The NBA disects the conferences by demographics, while the NHL does largely the same thing.
A new playoff format for NFL football is definitely an issue for discussion and consideration. For whatever reason, the AFC has decidedly taken an edge over the NFC as far as teams with better talent and better overall records, however, there are still several teams in each conference that are simply horrendous. I would be in favor of keeping the divisional rivalries in tact and keeping the exisitng conferences in tact with respect to divisional champions automatically making the playoffs within their respective conference. However, I would also invite discussion regarding teams that qualify as "wildcard" teams. IOW, all teams seeking to qualify as wildcard candidates would be ranked by overall record with a tie-breaking formula that would be combined by conference(s). If one conference is superior to the other conference, that conference could have four wildcard representatives while the other had zero. Further, the divisional champions within each conference would be ranked by overall record, and NFC division champions might oppose an AFC wildcard opponent in the first round of the playoffs. Ultimately, if a wildcard team made it through the first three rounds of the playoffs, they could meet another team within their same conference in the Super Bowl.
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