On Friday, news broke that the NFL owners would be voting on a major overhaul of the playoff seeding format in what could be a huge mistake. Just because something can be changed, does not mean it should be. We have seen a league like the NBA make changes left and right, and many of their changes are just flat-out terrible.
The NFL has been atop the professional sports world in this country for decades now, and they have largely done a good job at 'keeping with the times.' There are certain things, though, that just do not need to change under any circumstances, but NFL owners could be getting ready to make that major change.
NFL owners might be set to make a huge mistake
Here is more information on the proposed change:
Frankly, this would be an embarrassing and unnecessary change to a perfectly fine and workable playoff format. As it stands right now, the playoffs are seeded with the seven total teams; four division winners and three Wild Card teams.
A 9-8 division winner would have a higher playoff seed over a 12-5 team that did not win the division, and that example may be the top complain of folks who are in favor of changing the playoff format, but the NFL is such a culture-driven and intense sport that the divisions really carry a ton of meaning.
When you think of the AFC North, you think of tough, rugged, blue-collar football. With this proposed change, much of that goes away. Now yes, there is an argument that a team that finishes with a better record should have a higher seed than a team with a weaker record, but in that case, the NFL should then totally get rid of divisions, and that's when you have a total mess.
The way the NFL does the postseason format now is fine; it's good, it works, and it does not need to be changed. We'll see how this vote goes next week.