The NFL is going to try something new next year. They put in the new overtime rule for the playoffs this year and they decided to really shake things up in 2011. They figured it’s innovative and a financial bonanza so they decided to give it a shot.
Instead of the current playoff system to determine a champion they will instead have a voting system. They will take all the information on each eligible team, throw it into a computer and see how it comes out. The first poll will come out at mid season and will continue every week until the final game. They are dubbing it the NFBS.
After the final game of the regular season all the data on the best teams in the NFBS conferences will be fed into the computer and it will spit out the two teams that will compete in the NFBS Championship game. Who needs a playoff system? Doesn’t this make more sense? It’s so much clearer, so much more concise.
Now understand not every division will be included in the NFBS. Only certain ones will qualify. The NFC West this year wouldn’t be considered for the NFBS title. I mean come on, the Seattle Seahawks won the Division with a 7-9 record. They can’t be eligible.
The NFL is still ironing out some of the details but the basic parameters are set. Once a conference is deemed “ineligible” for the NFBS title game it won’t change regardless of what takes place on the field.
Take the NFC West for example. The San Francisco 49ers could go 16-0 in the regular season next year and knock off say…the New England Patriots in the last game of the season. Yet the Niners would still not be considered because they play in an ineligible division.
Don’t feel bad for the NFC West though. The teams will still get to play in a post season game at a neutral site that will have no bearing on the NFBS Championship. They have to win at least six games to be eligible for the post season. These will be called “Bull” games. The NFL’s reasoning is that the fans will travel to see their team one last time and it will be a financial windfall for that city that gets to host the game.
Of course not only will the teams that aren’t eligible for the championship game feel left out, some that are might feel slighted as well. For instance if the Patriots, Ravens and Packers, all NFBS eligible teams, go undefeated, the computer, based on the info that is pumped into it, will produce only two teams to play for the trophy. Goodbye Ravens!
Home field advantage will no longer come into play. Forget the Bears or the Steelers hosting a playoff game in sub zero temperatures on a frigid Sunday in January. There is no playoff system thus no home field. Once the regular season is over then bam! Two teams are thrown in the title game and six weeks later, yeah six weeks, they square off.
Wild Card Sunday? Forget about it! Conference Championship games! They’re outta here!
There will be no conferences. The NFC and AFC as we know it now will be history. All that matters is the teams that qualify for the NFBS title game. It makes perfect sense.
Think how meaningful it will make every game in the regular season. That’s what the NFL is telling us. Every Sunday, Monday or sometimes Thursday will be a must win situation.
The TV ratings are huge for every game now but think how big they will be when the importance of every game is magnified. I mean who needs a playoff system when every game is a playoff type atmosphere.
Each and every game will draw the entire interest of the football nation. As for non qualifying teams like the Seahawks? It won’t matter. We all know they would never win a post season game at 7-9. They wouldn’t have a chance in the great NFBS.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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