NFL playoff thread

Come on, DD. If you're looking at 2012, it's not like Griffin had a better passer rating or completion percentage than Tom Brady. Aw shit, he did. It's not like he had a lower INT percentage or better TD-INT ratio than Peyton Manning. Dammit, he did that too.

But it's not like he was one of the league's top 20 rushers. Fuckin' A, he was!

OK, but he didn't run for a lot of touchdowns. Goddammit, he was 15th in the league in that!

But really, his team didn't go anywhere except the playoffs for the first time in five years.

So, all in all, a nice rookie season but nothing really to get excited about.

 

So the answer is to fuck it up more?

 

Yeah, but Favre emerged healthier.

 

Exactly. Hey, let everybody in!

How diluted will it get?

 

I have mixed feelings... I don't believe the bye is much of an advantage. I think there have been many recent instances where the bye, sometimes combined with coaches resting starters late in the season results in the team that was the best during the regular season being rusty in the Divisional round, especially against a team riding the high after a big playoff win. I think if you took away the bye, that might change...

But the bottom line is the bottom line... Four additional playoff games will add a ton or revenue without having to expand the season. It's too easy for the league to do, and while some of the matchups might not exactly be great, are people really going to complain about more playoff football?

 

Well, it would be the same (almost) as the NHL and the NBA...

 

I'm not sure I buy this idea his career will be ruined even with a bum knee that takes away his breakaway speed. It's not like he's early-career Mike Vick in terms of accuracy. He completed nearly 66 percent of his throws this year, right? Let's say he's very seriously hurt and doesn't not return until midseason next year. Can't he be a very good quarterback still simply by making great throws and reading defenses and moving around in the pocket? One of the things that really impressed me about Griffin watching him this year is he was accurate even when he didn't set his feet. He has a strong arm, but also great touch. I think this idea that the Redskins might have completely fucked his career might be a little overdone. They certainly may have ruined one element that made him special, but there is a lot about him that makes him a potentially great player.

Unless you're Mark, and then Griffin = Tebow, maybe.

 

And those playoff seasons approach 2 months.

I'm not necessarily pining for these "old" days ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986%E2%80%9387_NFL_playoffs

... but it seemed to mean a little more during the season to have to fight to get those 2 wild cards.

I get the whole more money thing. But it's also just, for the lack of a better word, blah.

 

Even without the zone read and the designed runs, Griffin can use his mobility in a Shanahan offense for bootlegs and the occasional scramble. Plus as you say, he is an incredibly accurate passer. Go in the wayback machine and put him in there for Jake Plummer, and the Broncos win the Super Bowl in 2005.

 

Idea mentioned in Peter King's MMQB follow-up today....

One extra wild-card for each conference that gets in if it has a better record than a division winner. For example, Tennessee would have gotten last year at 9-7 over Denver, which won its division at 8-8.

Not the BEST idea, and it won't happen, but it's an interesting one.

 

Also known as the Northern Illinois exception.

So we wouldn't even know how many playoff teams there are going to be until after the season is over?

 

How the fuck would you bracket THAT?