In no surprise to Hawk fans, President and Gm Tim Ruskell does not support the reseeding proposal that would allow wild card teams a home game if they have a better record than division winners. According to Ira Miller and USA today, in this article, Ruskell is quoted as saying...
"The present system "has worked for us for so long," said Tim Ruskell, president of the Seattle Seahawks. "I'm a proponent of 'Why fix it if it's not broken?'"Many of you may think I am paranoid, but in many ways this proposal is a shot across the bow of teams like the Seahawks. This is meant to devalue the division championship, which is code for, if you play in a crappy division and win it, it doesn't mean you should get a home playoff game, especially if you have a tough home field advantage and might win.
And if you think I am taking this too far, then watch NFLN Total Access tonight, assuming you get NFLN. When Adam Schefter, at around 30 minutes in, is talking about how this is being presented so teams who have better records don't have to play on the road against winners of weak divisions, they are simultaneously showing Leonard Weaver run for a 5 yard TD against the Rams.
UPDATE--For those of You who want to see what ruffled my feathers, the video is right here. It is right around the the 2:40 mark. It is kind of upsetting though I warn you.
i think its a pretty legit issue. While the Hawks are actually a good team there is no denying how pathetic the division has been. Its called the NFC worst for a reason.
ReplyDeleteno your not paranoid at all. The league would rather we not be thought of all it seems...Often times it feels like we are the kid who never got the prize until we figured out how to play the game and then they changed the rules because they didn't like it when "that kid" starts to win..
ReplyDeleteI can handle the lack of notoriety (under the radar) for the most part..but aren't we a team/organization that the league is used to being able to bully and just ignore? I mean I too would like the AFC East schedule against miami, jets, and bills twice each! now that's a crappy division!! oh, hi, I am new here, but not to my resentment of real or perceived league treatment...and no, this isn't the "no respect" line... :)
Does this take into account the strength of schedule? We may beat up the Lambs and 9ers a few times a year, but we play some tough non-divisional opponents, too. (NE and Dallas to name two for this year).
ReplyDeleteI see a couple of things:
1.A ridiculous attempt to weed out us as a smaller market team with less national draw (read: TV money).
2.We draft and mould our teams often specifically to beat our division opponents with the goal of winning the division. Moves like disabling the Lambs in signing Wistrom or Fisher; or the 9ers by nabbing J.P. has a double impact with that goal in mind.
I could go on with this for awhile, but I'll finish by saying that Division titles should mean something. We gained parity through reorganizing the divisions, the Hawks changing to the NFC West, and the salary cap. Let that be enough.
I might support this proposal if I was a fan of, oh say, the Eagles, Redskins, Giants, or Cowboys, but I'm not and I don't.
ReplyDeleteYung Hawk
I'm sure that they will get enough votes to block this proposal (they only need 9 out of 32)...
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing though.. teams from different divisions play very different schedules. What if you have a very TOUGH division that looks like this:
Division A
1. 11-5
2. 10-6
3. 9-7
4. 8-8
and another division with TWO great teams and two crappy teams?
Division B
1. 14-2
2. 12-4
3. 6-10
4. 3-13
Should the #2 team in division B get a home game over the #1 team in division A? I don't think so.
Ruskell is right: There's no glaring injustice to the current system, so why change it?
Plus, how many "ill gotten" home playoff games have the Seahawks gotten from playing in a crappy division?
Ummmm.. that would be ZERO.
2004: 9-7 record better than 8-8 Rams
2005: #1 seed and HFA
2006: 9-7 record identical to Dallas' 9-7 mark
This actually brings up an unanswered question for the proposed rule change: If a division winner and wild card team have the same record, who gets the home game? What is the tiebreaker?
2007: 10-6 record better than DC's 9-7 record.
So it's not like the Seahawks have been getting a bunch of home playoff games they didn't "earn" anyway.
What about this: In the "nightmare scenario" where an 8-8 division winner hosts a 11-5 wild card team... does anyone actually think the 8-8 team would still have a significant advantage playing at home? They're EFFING 8-8!
Anyway, it's all moot since the Seahawks are going 12-4 or better this season. :-]
Note to the NFL: Don't blame the Hawks for the crappy NFC West.
ReplyDeleteThe Hawks went 5-1 in the division with a +94 point differential. The division was weak and the Hawks kicked the crap out of it. This is was good teams do, they beat the crap out of crap teams.
Either way, GO HAWKS!! and hey..the M's are 1-0 :)
Great point DKSB. Home field advantage is important, but it can only take so far. If the 11-5 team is so much better than the 8-8 team they should no matter where the game is played.
ReplyDeleteYou know the NFL has a blackout rule if you don't sell out your stadium they will blackout your team from the local media. I have always felt that those who paid those outrageous prices should get what they pay for. And that should be a real game that has the players that they love playing in it. Instead they have to sit through a pre-season game. I think this will ad to the quality of the product at the end of the season.
ReplyDeleteLet's say late next season, the Seahawks clinch the NFC West in week 13 or so, and you have tickets to see a home game in week 16...
ReplyDeleteIf you are upset that the Hawks are resting some guys up and it won't be a "real"/"competitive" game... you sir, are an idiot. You would prefer the Hawks have to keep the hammer down to clinch a home playoff game even though they've already clinched the West?
Ugh. Just duuuuumb.
For the record, I think you go all out to win until you can no longer improve your playoff position. After that, I think it's perfectly OK to rest some guys... You've earned it.
Anon -
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your tune changes if Hass/Walt/Lofa or any other crucial cog to the team falls to injury in the sake of a playing a "real" meaningless game. If we have the opportunity to rest players at the end of the year then I'll a happy man! Oh and a blackout, are you kidding?
Yung Hawk
if this happens then there will be no point to having Divisions. sort of like the Pro Bowl -- completely meaningless.
ReplyDeletewhy not take it one step further and get rid of Conferences too? just take the 12 teams with the best win-loss record and let them duke it out bracket-style: worst four play the first weekend to settle two spots, then the Elite Eight play the next weekend, then the Fearsome Foursome play the following weekend, then two weeks to the Super Bowl. it could work.
The last post before me describes a system similar to what European soccer leagues use. However, these leagues also force their teams to play a home-and-home against every other team in the league. This would be too many games for the NFL season which makes it unworkable, since there would still be disparity in strength of schedule. The division system has worked so far, why mess it up for an equally imperfect alternative?
ReplyDeleteAdam Shefter is a KNOW IT ALL punk..Its funny he will try to talk like he knows about the game and then 1 of there actual NFL player will shoot down Shefters analysis..He doesnt like his ideas overidden by the other guys....lol
ReplyDeleteA) I like Schefter; he usually gives good info
ReplyDeleteB)Now THERE's an idea. Cut it back to a 15-game schedule, and have every team play all thier conference opponents once a year (The Super Bowl would be like the World Series used to be.. the only time inter-conference teams played each other)... No divisions + top 8 teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Sounds fun to me :-]
I aggree with misfit all the way
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is a good rule. Thats how the cookie crumbles. Just because we are in a weak division does not mean we are a weak team and don't deserve the home field advantage. I think the rule is fine how it is. By the way if I ever see Adam Schefter I am going to punch him in the mouth oh and the guy editing the video.
ReplyDeleteThe teams in our division draft players just like we do,they have free agency just like we do,it's not are fault they cant put it together.
ReplyDeleteit seems as though proposed rules like this are set up to hurt teams like seattle who win their division beacause they are good and the rest of the teams in that division suck. Sounds a lot like socialism to me.
ReplyDeleteThats the answer to all of our problems. just like health care we should make football equal for every party involved. (i am being sarcastic)
I watched the video, and I didn't like the way Shefter's emphasized word, "weak" was timed by the editors to coincide with the Seahawks footage.
ReplyDeleteHowever, later in the video, I loved watching Palamolu getting pulled to the ground by his hair.
There is no mainstream organization in the United States more socialist than the NFL.. Revenue SHARING? Limits on how much employers can pay their employees?
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what? The NFL is MUCH more prosperous now than it was before it went all commie like Ivan Drago :-]
The timing of Schefter's comments in that video really, really sucks..
ReplyDeleteThe truth is the Hawks are a good team in a weak division. They are not a great team. They haven't played like a great team since 2005and there is no denying that a weak division has helped us into the playoffs the last 2 years.
There will be no respect given this team until the Seahawks start winning on the road, and against quality teams. Blowouts against the likes of Pittsburgh and Green Bay, and losses to dogcrap teams like the Falcons and Panthers only perpetuate the lack of respect.
That said, 2008 is a new year and there are some tough matchups. We have the tools to do some major damage, and the desire. This is Seattle's year for some payback!