In my opinion, fuck them. What did they expect would happen when the league went to 4 divisions instead of 3? If they are mad an 8-8 Chargers team will get in the playoffs over them they should have played better than the other two AFC wild card teams.

Here is the story
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-playoffdebate122408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Edited on December 25, 2008 at 2:36 PM. Reason : mad not made]

12/25/2008 2:19:21 PM

Quote :

"PATRIOTS can clinch AFC East with a win/tie AND a Dolphins loss PATRIOTS can cinch a playoff berth with/tie AND a Ravens loss"

The Pats would be 11-5 if they win next week.

It would suck not to make the playoffs after going 11-5

12/25/2008 2:31:19 PM

they got their ass handed to them by that 8-8 Chargers team. They got no room to talk.

12/25/2008 2:41:02 PM

^ that's what I was about to say.

If they would have beaten the Chargers when they played them, they would be going to the playoffs and SD wouldn't.

12/25/2008 3:34:51 PM

their owners agreed to the system same as the rest, so...tough shit

12/25/2008 3:37:04 PM

What a stupid fucking article. Every one of you knows, that if the Panthers (or your team) was 11-5 and didn't make the playoffs, you'd be upset too.

Or wait, no. I am sure every Panthers fan would rise up as one unified nation and say... "Boy, those other 6 teams sure played a hell of a year, and although we have better records than some of them, and are arguably better than most, and the fact that we won 11 games with a QB that had never played an NFL game in his life, well we are just as excited as can be to just be where we are."

12/25/2008 4:13:48 PM

In other news, Cardinals fans wouldn't change a thing about the NFL playoffs

12/25/2008 4:36:39 PM

This just in, sports aren't perfect.

12/25/2008 5:01:29 PM

How many 10+ win teams have missed the playoffs since the 2002 realignment?

I know the Browns did last year

12/25/2008 6:33:54 PM

They probably thought last years Super Bowl was unfair too.

12/25/2008 7:52:10 PM

There isn't one quote from a Patriots fan in that article.












At all.

[Edited on December 25, 2008 at 10:46 PM. Reason : a]

12/25/2008 10:45:41 PM

taping other teams practices and signals isn't fair either...tough shit

12/25/2008 10:50:20 PM

they got their ass handed to them by that 8-8 Chargers team. They got no room to talk.

12/25/2008 11:10:47 PM

Hmmm, looks like the Chargers are finally gonna eliminate the the Patriots after being eliminated by them each of the last 2 years. I'd rather they beat em in a game, but I'm not complaining.

[Edited on December 25, 2008 at 11:32 PM. Reason : 2]

12/25/2008 11:15:36 PM

hey they could get back in the record books

2007 first team to win go undefeated in a 16 game regular season

2008 second team to miss the playoffs with 11 wins

12/25/2008 11:32:22 PM

Oh thank God, I thought this thread was about Patriots fans wanting a BCS system.

12/25/2008 11:41:32 PM

its ok for them to say its not fair, if it was the panthers instead this board would be lit up

but yea, this is the way it is and they can deal with it

12/25/2008 11:51:43 PM

if it was the panthers, i for one wouldnt be complaining...there were fans of certain AFC teams i cant recall who were saying similar stuff a couple years ago...basically since they were fans of AFC bubble teams who barely missed the playoffs, and the AFC was stronger than the NFC, they didnt think it was fair that a bad 8-8 or 9-7 NFC team should go over them...they wouldnt be complaining though if the other conference was a lot stronger and they got in with a weak record...its like if you barely miss the ncaa tourney, there are always teams that complain

12/26/2008 12:11:41 AM

^ But Florida State really deserved to go in 2007.

12/26/2008 12:19:10 AM

i think auburn shouldve played for the title in 2003(?) but college football doesnt even have a playoff to be left out of

12/26/2008 12:21:41 AM

why even have divisions then? Lets just have two 16 team conferences

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 12:42 AM. Reason : 1]

12/26/2008 12:42:08 AM

imo think the NFL playoffs are completely fine the way they are

12/26/2008 12:45:44 AM

^^^2005

And GL in the playoffs, Arizona Cardinals. Nice game last week vs. the Patriots. You definitely proved your worth as a Super Bowl-caliber team.

It's too bad that the BCS doesn't have a playoff system as fair as the NFL's.

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 12:47 AM. Reason : ^]

12/26/2008 12:47:29 AM

Quote :

"why even have divisions then? Lets just have two 16 team conferences"

Fuck that, one 32 team conference and the top 24 teams go to the playoffs and the other eight teams play in a hypothetical BCS playoff.

12/26/2008 12:50:46 AM

they talked about this on PTI the other day. basically, if you get rid of the divisions then you are eliminating too many of the teams too early. i think its a good idea cause you get better late season matchups. plus it builds rivalries which is pretty hard to do in pro sports.

12/26/2008 1:03:43 AM

I think the system the NFL has is fair. I would prefer 30 teams with 6 divisions but once you expand to 32 teams you have to go to this format.

Plus a team's record is somewhat arbitrary. To say this Patriots team is 11-5 and they "deserve" to go to the playoffs leaves out important facts.

There are a lot of PUTRID NFL teams this year so the decent teams have 1-2 more wins than they should have.

It does suck that the Patriots are pretty clearly a better team than the Chargers but if you have six division games and plenty of common opponents with your division rivals then you need to come out on top in order to get a guaranteed spot.

12/26/2008 1:25:09 AM

How are they clearly better than the Chargers?

The Chargers beat them heads up badly and arguably only the Colts are playing better than the Chargers.

12/26/2008 1:31:00 AM

Well because the Chargers suck this year and the Patriots don't.

12/26/2008 1:32:02 AM

^clearly
SD 30 - NE 10

12/26/2008 1:44:07 AM

NE just beat AZ 47-7. Clearly, AZ should have a chance to contend for the Super Bowl and NE should not.

It's too bad that the BCS doesn't have a playoff system as fair as the NFL's.

12/26/2008 1:54:36 AM

patriots fans had enough fun last year.


not that there arent valid points, such as ^ in this thread


im just saying

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 1:56 AM. Reason : .]

12/26/2008 1:55:53 AM

Should the MLB & NBA just form 1 large conference also where this occurs more frequently?

tdub never ceases to amaze me

12/26/2008 1:56:33 AM

The BCS isn't a conference.

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 2:27 AM. Reason : d]

12/26/2008 2:05:14 AM

Quote :

"How many 10+ win teams have missed the playoffs since the 2002 realignment?"

2003 Dolphins
2005 Chiefs
2007 Browns

Also only 3 8-8 teams have made the playoffs since that time (but none of them won their division)

2004 Rams
2004 Vikings
2006 Giants

I would be willing to bet that the playoffs expand by 2 more teams in less than 5 years. Gives even more incentive to be the #1 seed, having home field and the lone bye, and also gives the fans triple-headers on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately I could also see more 7-9 teams getting in, and some playoff games being broadcast on NFL Network.

These aren't quite related but are good reads.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=57
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=58

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 3:39 AM. Reason : boo.]

12/26/2008 3:29:36 AM

There will never be a playoff game on the NFL network.

12/26/2008 11:18:33 AM

The NFL should not change a damn thing. It's the most popular pro sport for a reason.

12/26/2008 11:30:53 AM

Quote :

"Well because the Chargers suck this year and the Patriots don't."

Arizona is the only playoff team the Patriots have beaten this year. They are not good. I am counting on San Diego beating Denver next week to knock Denver out of the playoffs.

12/26/2008 7:20:38 PM

Would anybody say that the Patriots are like the Detroit Red Wings in that they play in a pansy division?

12/26/2008 9:04:12 PM

As a Patriots fan I am not upset by an 8-8 team making the playoffs over an 11-5 Patriots. For one I thought the season was over as soon as Brady's knee exploded, getting to 11-5 is amazing. Watching this team scrap like the 2001 team was a fun change of pace from the 42-7 blowouts of last year (not that watching your team win isnt fun). Matt Cassel is a great story, he is Tom Brady of 2001 and will lead some team to the playoffs for years to come.

Some of the players interviewed earlier in the week said it best, they have no room to complain because they lost those five games. And yes, as previous posts painfully point out if they had beaten SD this would be irrelevant.

Complaining about the useless BCS is one thing, but complaining about the NFL playoff system is just dumb. I hate it that they might not make it to the playoffs, any fan would hate it, but they didn't get screwed, they just should have won more games, period. Of course it is easy to say all of this after watching the Patriots win 3 super bowls and knowing that Brady is back next year.......Besides if the Patriots don't make it I can always pull for Carolina to bring a Super Bowl to NC or pull for old Phillip if he beats Denver Sun night.

12/26/2008 9:09:42 PM

Quote :

"Would anybody say that the Patriots are like the Detroit Red Wings in that they play in a pansy division?"

No. That's pretty fucking stupid to say.

The AFC East has at least the same number of net wins (36) than any other team in the AFC. (AFC North: 28, AFC South: 36, AFC West: 19).

At some point, every team in the division has been in the playoff hunt. With one game to play, 3 teams are still in the hunt for the playoffs. No other AFC division can claim this.

Two other divisions (should) have 4 "gimme wins." The Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, and Raiders. The closest thing to this in the AFC East is Buffalo, who will still finish at least 7-9.

The AFC East is arguably the #1 division in the AFC, and at the very least #2. Your argument holds no water whatsoever.

12/26/2008 10:24:16 PM

Cool deal. Didn't feel like fishing for the info.

12/26/2008 10:26:42 PM

Quote :

"As a Patriots fan I am not upset by an 8-8 team making the playoffs over an 11-5 Patriots."

ZOMFG they won on the 29th?

12/26/2008 10:27:15 PM

^No shit they haven't won yet, the article is about the possibility of the Patriots GOING 11-5 and not making the playoffs, my point is that IF that happens it is not because of an unfair playoff system.

and the game is the 28th not the 29th

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 11:02 PM. Reason : .]

12/26/2008 10:58:14 PM

nyj, mia, and buf are .473 against non-pats opponents in the brady era, prior to this year (obviously worse if you factor in the pats)

.473 ain't super-shitty, but it's not like the pats have been been playing in a tough division prior to this year. in his time, mr belichick has feasted upon the metaphorical cupcakes as well as literal ones.

[Edited on December 26, 2008 at 11:02 PM. Reason : like]

12/26/2008 11:01:55 PM

I guess I was under the impression that this thread was about this year.

12/26/2008 11:21:08 PM

I like PacknFL's perspective

It seems like he's appreciative of his team's success, so he's not being pissy about the possibility that they miss the playoffs this year with a good record

12/27/2008 12:08:26 AM

its kinda messed up how the patriots have a better record than like 5 playoff teams or something

12/27/2008 12:11:55 AM

16 team playoff

Everybody's happy. Hell, 64 team playoff. Grab some baseball teams that aren't doing anything that day.

12/27/2008 2:37:30 AM

well the Patriots DID miss the playoffs at 11-5, and I still don't feel like we were cheated or wronged by a bad playoff system. The author of the original article was way off base. All the Patriots interviews I have seen have been positive in that at least we got this far without Brady and the other starters that got on IR this year.... GO PANTHERS/GO RIVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and don't worry the Patriots will be back next year to win a 4th Super Bowl before this decade is out.......

12/29/2008 8:38:19 PM

Quote :

"Everybody's happy. Hell, 64 team playoff. Grab some baseball teams that aren't doing anything that day."

lol

12/29/2008 9:38:54 PM