Chargerhonk wrote: I hate it! It cheapens the product and it will make the NFL like the NBA.

It will reward owners like Dean Spanos for being bad owners and will encourage them to not invest more in their own product.

I like European soccer....they really penalize teams for losing. I think if an NFL team loses a certain amount of games over a certain determined amount of time, there should be a penalty...it would definitely make owners more accountable to the fans...and coaches like Norv wouldn't be allowed to run a team year after year after year.

1ARTIST wrote: Under the CURRENT playoff system we already have 7-9 teams making the playoffs. So, changing the format to 14 or 16 teams would only increase the numbers.

Although it serves to give more teams and fans HOPE.....I tend to agree that it waters down the regular season importance significantly.

You can look at this two ways:

1. It creates more parity in the league, instead of the normal year to year variety.

Example, a team starts 4-0, then the injury bug hits, they go 1-8 their next 9 games, starters come back and they win out, 8-8 make the playoffs, and go on to win a championship...

Example 2. NY football Giants.... what was it, 9-7, 10- 6 or something like that? SB champs...TWICE...

Example 3. Seattle Seahawks....7-9, make the playoffs because the NFCW was horrible, and beat the heavily favored Saints in the Wildcard round....

The people that will think in this realm are more likely to be sympathetic to an 8-8 or 7-9 team getting in, especially a team riddled with injuries, because that cant possibly be an owner's fault, right?
They will cite that " anything can happen on any given Sunday, Saturday, Monday or Thursday"

Or you can look at it this way:

Its a horrible idea, because if a team wasnt competitive in the regular season, why would they be allowed to not be competitive in the postseason?

I tend to think with the latter side of the house on this one, but I will take it a step further....

I think this is all a give me more money type idea from Emperor Palpatine- I mean Goodell, and its hypocrisy at its finest....

You fine defensive players for hits on defenseless players, citing player safety...Ok I can buy that...
You fine players for hitting QB's, below the waist, or above the shoulders, or just at all apparently, citing player safety....Imm iffy on this one, I can see below the waist/knee area....
You move kickoffs up to the 35 yard line, in order to limit the amount of kickoff returns, citing player safety in regards to 250 lb men running full speed at each other...Cant buy this one....
You are trying to get rid of kickoffs all together, citing player safety, yet you want to keep punt returns...cant buy this one...

All this in the name of player safety, yet you want to add an extra game, add 4 more teams to the playoffs, in the process erasing first round byes of teams who worked and played their asses off to get there, and you want to sell me player safety?

CMON MAN

LightEmUp1 wrote: NO FRICKIN WAY!!!

Unfortunately as a fan of the Chargers these guys have shown me all to well what caliber of team and mindset does not deserve to be in the playoffs. Calling a 8-8 season a "winning season" or using the excuse for 9-7 seasons of "you make the tournament and see what happens" I dont want that kind of team in the playoffs.

You could literally choke away 1/2 your games and still make the playoffs?

Rewarding .500 ball is a joke. Owners like Spanos are already content playing the slim odds a 9-7/8-8 team will wild card, you give them this and goodbye to expectations all together.

I'm actually for lowering the teams that make the playoffs. I want to see more competition in the regular season. And if not, quit jacking up the ticket prices and cost to go to a game if literally 1/2 of the games will not matter to get you into the playoffs.

TERRIBLE IDEA.

LightEmUp1 wrote: I heard one of the arguments for it was a guy that said it would give fans whos teams never make the playoffs something to look forward to.

If we agree with that how long until the playoffs start to lose some of the luster due to half the field making it?

1ARTIST wrote: Under the CURRENT playoff system we already have 7-9 teams making the playoffs. So, changing the format to 14 or 16 teams would only increase the numbers.

Although it serves to give more teams and fans HOPE.....I tend to agree that it waters down the regular season importance significantly.

Chargerhonk wrote: Weird how Bountygate just blew up in Goodell's face and all of a sudden Roger comes out with this whole playoff discussion. Strange, huh? Move the focus.....I got it!

HunterSTomlinson wrote: For once, everyone on the board agrees.

Goodell cannot be taken seriously about player safety when he proposes things like this.

But he works for the owners. And let's face it. You don't get as rich as an NFL owner gets by giving a s**t about the well-being of your employees.

slammer8 wrote: As a season ticket holder the Chargers have been pulling out the stops to try and keep as going.  They have had opportunities for us to go to private practices,  player signings.  conference calls with some of the players.  The bottom line it that all that crap wont work if they dont start winning.  If they want to fill the seats they need to field a winning team.