I made my post season predictions after the NFL’s week 6. In full disclosure, here they are:
The AFC will be seeded thusly:
1. Patriots
2. Bengals
3. Broncos
4. Colts or Texans. One loses a playoff game on Wildcard Weekend, the other watches from the couch.
5. Jets
6. Steelers
The NFC has more competition. Here’s my projection:
1. Packers
2. Falcons
3. Cardinals
4. Winner of the NFC East
5. Panthers
6. Vikings (penciled in)
I think I picked the AFC pretty darned close. I expect to miss on one team, maybe two. The AFC South doesn’t count. The NFC… Well… If you recall, the Packers were tearing up their opponents in every way until they hit their bye week, at which point the wheels fell off. I do think they’ll win the division, but they will likely be an early out in the playoffs. And I expect them to be dismissed by the Seahawks. The horror! The Falcons were also strong at that point in the year and seem to have imploded since then. The Panthers will be the #1 seed and the Cardinals will be #2, and will win the Superbowl.
I’m already beginning my annual fuming about teams with a non-winning record HOSTING a playoff game while teams with a winning record not making the playoffs. The AFC South and NFC East are all deplorable divisions. Absolutely dreadful. The Houston Texans lead the AFC South with a 7-7 record and the Washington Redskins have the same record to lead the NFC East.
Either of these teams need to win their next 2 games in order to have a winning record on the year. If they are unable to post a winning record, they have no business winning their bum divisions. The division championship should be vacant on years where no team has won 9 out of 16 games, and that division should not be represented in the playoffs.
The NFL should just be consistent and hand out participation trophies at this point.
It’s really a travesty. Why am I decrying these two teams prior to them having a non-winning record? Do you really think the Redskins can beat BOTH the Eagles and Cowboys? OK, the Texans play the Jaguars and the Titans. That’s at least plausible. Plausible enough for me to keep my powder dry. But once the playoff picture is clear, there’s a good chance I’ll revisit this hobby horse of mine.
The NFL needs a seeded tournament for the playoffs. Preferably with games played later in the season weighted more for tie breakers. In two weeks I’ll list the teams that are adversely affected by the league’s insistence that divisions can be won by losers and these losers can then host playoff games while winning teams in stronger divisions can only watch from their couches.
