If the NFL ever realigns teams again: - cuttingteeth's Blog

cuttingteeth's Blog

If the NFL ever realigns teams again:

Posted on September 27, 2012 at 03:35 PM.

(3)

Randomly, I think about realignment for the NFL because, well, let's face it...several teams are in divisions that don't make geographical sense. I propose the following fix of just four divisions:

NFL North
Bears - Lions - Packers - Vikings - Colts - Bengals - Browns - Chiefs

NFL South
Saints - Falcons - Dolphins - Jaguars - Buccaneers - Panthers - Titans - Rams

NFL East
Bills - Jets - Patriots - Ravens - Eagles - Steelers - Redskins - Giants

NFL West
Raiders - Chargers - 49ers - Seahawks - Broncos - Cardinals - Texans - Cowboys

Now, I understand that not all rivalries are held in check, but the majority of the historical ones and/or ones that matter most are still there. The biggest reason I would prefer only four divisions, though, it's that I don't think I can stand to see another year where the wrong teams get into the playoffs. By wrong teams, I mean teams that have either losing records or lessor records compared to who should be in the playoffs instead. Four divisions instead of eight should indeed fix that. I'd hope so, anyway.

Overall, this blog is me thinking out loud, though. Say what you will, of course. I expect several folks' criticism.

Comments

# 1 Bmore Irish @ Sep 27

Interesting. You would have to rethink the playoffs though. Also have to consider conferences and how they factor into the whole system. And sometimes it's cool to see a team that is perceived as "weaker" get into the playoffs, and possibly make a good run. That's what playoffs are all about

# 2 naot2010 @ Sep 28

There would only be two games played outside of the division. Don't know if you would consider that a good thing

# 3 cuttingteeth @ Sep 28

Actually (and sorry, I should have written this in), I was thinking each team would just do the SEC/college sort of thing where they only play who's in their division one time per year - that's seven set games per season, and the other nine would fluctuate.

Also, I'm thinking there would have to be conferences, still. The North/South Conference - The East/West Conference. Keep the playoffs at six teams per conference (or better yet allow for eight best teams overall per conference). The North and South best would always play in one bracket, and the East and West best would always play in one bracket.