Quote:
Originally posted by Royal Hawaiian Opihi
I could live with a smaller playoff docket... although it's always more fun with more teams! The one thing a 1-team wildcard scenario would prevent is late-season runs. In my other league (dynasty), Rich's RABID LLAMAS stunk up the first half... then ripped off 7 straight wins on way to not only a wildcard birth (3 wildcard spots in our league) but also a championship birth (and nearly won there, too!). Anyway... let's talk about this with ALL THE OWNERS in the offseason.
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It is a precarious balance between making sure the league is competitive all year (ie, having enough playoff spots to ensure that teams remain competitive since they are still in the hunt), and eliminating the importance of the regular season all together. Personally, I think the playoffs should be for the teams that have proven themselves to be the best for the whole season. While the Central Division was a little weak this season (or should I say competitively balanced?) and team was allowed to get in on the merits of half the season, the shrinking off the playoff pool wouldn't have changed much this year. I do however feel that fewer teams should be allowed to "get hot" at the end of the season, and ruin the playoffs for a team that dominated for the whole season.
But, as far as avoiding week 17, there really are only two options. Either cut a game from the regular season, which would mean either not playing one team that year, or playing one team in your own division only once (neither option I like), or cutting the playoff pool down to 4 teams. I prefer that option.