Ronin Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 If they really wanted to go geographical, they'd swap Buffalo with Baltimore and Indianapolis with Dallas. Purely from a geographical perspective here's what makes the most sense, and obviously it would include the Jets/Giants in the same division, which wouldn't be impossible: 1: NE, Jets, Giants, Philly 2: Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit 3: GB, Chicago, Minnesota, Indy 4: Baltimore, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta 5: Oakland, SD, SF, Seattle 6: Dallas, Houston, Denver, Arizona 7: KC, St. Louis, Tennessee, Cincy 8: Miami, TB, Jax, NO Some rivalries would be broken up, which could be solved by getting rid of the current "play one division from each conference" thing, at least for a few seasons, and have say Pitt & Baltimore play a home-away series for several seasons until the luster fades. But consider the possibilities for new rivalries. Jets v. Giants? Wow! Also, the Jets v. Eagles would ultimately be as big as the Giants/Eagles, etc. Of course us v. Pitt/Cleveland; Baltimore/Washingto; the three Florida teams; Dalllas/Houston; KC/St. Louis/Tennessee. Never happen due to NFL politics, but IMO it would improve the product and as some have said, would help sell tix, particularly in places where a short drive three times a season would entice opposing fans to hit road games thereby encouraging locals to buy more tix in order to avoid opposing fans from taking over your stadium like the Bostonians have done so often during the Brady era here. wow it is amazing and sad in some ways to think that the Miami rivalry is that dead. It was dead while Wilson was clammoring for it to continue. It died, effectively, the day that Marino retired, three seasons after Jimbo did, extended itself in a half-a$$ed manner during the Bledsoe/Fiedler era, then fell off the map because both teams suck so bad since then. In fact, in the 22 combined seasons for both teams since then, the Fins and Bills combined have posted only three winning seasons, two of them by the Fins. Only one resulted in a playoff birth, and that was in '08, the season that Brady didn't play. The Fins promply lost in the WC round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Purely from a geographical perspective here's what makes the most sense, and obviously it would include the Jets/Giants in the same division, which wouldn't be impossible: 1: NE, Jets, Giants, Philly 2: Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit 3: GB, Chicago, Minnesota, Indy 4: Baltimore, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta 5: Oakland, SD, SF, Seattle 6: Dallas, Houston, Denver, Arizona 7: KC, St. Louis, Tennessee, Cincy 8: Miami, TB, Jax, NO I like this too!! I like the idea of being in a division with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. They are similar cities and all within a 4 hour drive. It would really be great for travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Anybody who thinks that they'd put the Jest & the Gints in the same division is absolutely crazy. No way would they allow the two teams in the biggest market to be in the same conference. It makes no sense from a TV revenue perspective. Either CBS or FOX would demand a huge reduction in what they pay if they lost the NYC market. Also, although it makes no sense geographically, Jerruh & L'il Dummy Snyder would never give up the Dallas/Washington rivalry. I don't know why it would impact the TV revenue all that much except for maybe twice a year. Every week one would play at 1 and one would play at 4, just like they do now. Giant and Jets fans don't watch games of each other unless there's nothing else going on, so in today's era of "get every game" that's not the case. Agree on Dallas/Washington, but consider the rivalry that would form if say Washington and Baltimore were in the same division. No history, but IMO a better rivalry after five seasons. We have history w/ Miami, but the present day rivalry isn't anything close to what it was. Rivalries are only good when the teams involved are generally good. Who wants to see the Manuel led Bills take on a Moore led Fins or the like. That ranks under who-cares. Kinda like watching two nerds slug it out on the playground over who used more memory than they were supposed to in computer lab. I'd rather have us with Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami. That's a November/December road trip I'm up for. Who the hell wants to road trip to Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Cinci in December? LOL Touche`! Another perspective altogether. I like this too!! I like the idea of being in a division with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. They are similar cities and all within a 4 hour drive. It would really be great for travel. BTW, I forgot that St. Louis had moved back to LA. I did this years ago. So probably LA in with SD, Oakland, and SF, all California then, maybe put Seattle in where St. Louis was. You guys have WAY too much time on your hands LOL Very true. ... or we're wasting time that we shouldn't be. Edited July 20, 2016 by TaskersGhost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santana Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I think a realignment would be good at this point. It's time to create some new rivalries, have to agree with the people who would swap Buffalo to the AFC North for Baltimore coming to the AFC East but the Steelers and Ravens are one of the only good rivalries in football right now so the NFL wouldn't mess with it. I'd probably swap the Dolphins for the Colts and the Cowboys with the Panthers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) just throwing it out there... What if the NFL went with 4 Divisions: AFC North AFC South Buffalo Houston Cleveland Miami Pittsburgh Jacksonville Detroit Tampa Bay Cincinnati Carolina Chicago New Orleans Minnesota Atlanta Green Bay Tennessee NFC East NFC West New England Denver NY Giants Los Angeles Washington Seattle Philadelphia Kansas City Baltimore Oakland Dallas San Francisco Indianapolis San Diego NY Jets Arizona It is treated more like NCAA football. Play each Division team 1x. rotate home/away year to year. Pair up 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 for an extra Divisional game to make 8 Divisional games. It would also keep teams at the top of the Division duking it out once more each season. Then 4 from your other conference Division with typical home/away rotation, and 2/2 from each Division from the other conference with typical home/away rotation. Division winners get byes. #2 and #3 in each division play in the wildcard round. Edited July 20, 2016 by May Day 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santana Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 just throwing it out there... What if the NFL went with 4 Divisions: AFC North AFC South Buffalo Houston Cleveland Miami Pittsburgh Jacksonville Detroit Tampa Bay Cincinnati Carolina Chicago New Orleans Minnesota Atlanta Green Bay Tennessee NFC East NFC West New England Denver NY Giants Los Angeles Washington Seattle Philadelphia Kansas City Baltimore Oakland Dallas San Francisco Indianapolis San Diego NY Jets Arizona It is treated more like NCAA football. Play each Division team 1x. rotate home/away year to year. Pair up 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 for an extra Divisional game to make 8 Divisional games. It would also keep teams at the top of the Division duking it out once more each season. Then 4 from your other conference Division with typical home/away rotation, and 2/2 from each Division from the other conference with typical home/away rotation. Division winners get byes. #2 and #3 in each division play in the wildcard round. I like the 4 divisions but it would have to be AFC EAST / AFC WEST and NFC EAST / AFC WEST. Like basketball does that way you would have east and west champs in each conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) I like the 4 divisions but it would have to be AFC EAST / AFC WEST and NFC EAST / AFC WEST. Like basketball does that way you would have east and west champs in each conference. That would make sense. Ideally, you can just call them 4 different conferences. Once you get to a Conference Champion/final 4, they re-seed. The chances of abolishing the AFC/NFC brands though are nill Edited July 20, 2016 by May Day 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santana Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 That would make sense. Ideally, you can just call them 4 different conferences. Once you get to a Conference Champion/final 4, they re-seed. The chances of abolishing the AFC/NFC brands though are nill Oh yeah that would be cool too.....I like that idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I think it would be better for us to have Pitt, Cleveland and Cinci in division. It would be easy to fill the stadiums as people could drive from both Pitt and Cleveland pretty easily. It would be a better rivalry. I think the days of us being in with Miami should end. We did have a great rivalry with them and Ralph want to continue but he's gone now and that rivalry is largely done. I'd hate to leave the division with New England at the point where Brady and Belichick retire and we start beating them again. It would make more sense for us to be in with the other teams though This is exactly the realignment that Ralph rejected, relegating us to be the Cheats B word in the new millenium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Just make it AFC and NFC. Play every team in your conference once and one team from the other conference. Voilia16 game schedule, top 7 teams make the playoffs and 1st place gets a bye. I'd add two expansion teams (1 each in the AFC and NFC) and then the only AFC vs NFC game would be the Super Bowl. That would eliminate any strength of schedule & adverse travel mileage advantage/disadvantages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasons1992 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I'd add two expansion teams (1 each in the AFC and NFC) and then the only AFC vs NFC game would be the Super Bowl. That would eliminate any strength of schedule & adverse travel mileage advantage/disadvantages. Cities? Las Vegas IF the Raiders don't go. Birmingham/Columbus OH/Portland? TWO teams in Buffalo?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I think it would be better for us to have Pitt, Cleveland and Cinci in division. It would be easy to fill the stadiums as people could drive from both Pitt and Cleveland pretty easily. It would be a better rivalry. I think the days of us being in with Miami should end. We did have a great rivalry with them and Ralph want to continue but he's gone now and that rivalry is largely done. I'd hate to leave the division with New England at the point where Brady and Belichick retire and we start beating them again. It would make more sense for us to be in with the other teams though I agree. Swap Baltimore and Buffalo and things are better for both divisions. It'd make more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 It comes up just about every year before the season starts. I think it was Rust Belt, because I remember liking that name instead of AFC North. The other divisions had names too, but I don't remember what they were. have to dig it out after Raiders move (great memory, I can barely remember what I posted last week) And how do you think Steeler fans would feel about losing their division rivalry against the Ravens and the Bengals? How do you think Bengal fans would feel about losing their division rivalry against the Browns? How do you think Lion fans would feel losing their rivalry games with Green Bay and Chicago? I think the better way of re-aligning is to do away with conferences and divisions entirely. -Every four years the NFL declares four rivals for each team. Rivals play twice a year for the next four years, home and away. (8 games) -Every two years the NFL declares four series for each team. Series are two year matchups where teams play once a year, one year home the other away (4 games) -Every season the NFL rounds out the remaining four games with 2 home and 2 road games from non-rival / non series opponents The "rivals" leaves the established rivalries of Redskins/Cowboys, Bears/Packers, Steelers/Ravens, etc untouched. This also opens up new rivalries that didn't exist before. Dallas/Houston? Tampa/Jax? Jax/Atlanta? Cleveland/Detroit? Houston/New Orleans? The "series" allows scheduling rematches of recent games that caught everybody's attention or intriguing superstar pairings. Two years of Luck vs Newton? How about another two Seahawks/Steelers games to try and recapture that shootout from last year? Russell Wilson vs JJ Watt? Could also open up new "rivals" for the next four year round The single season matchups allow rematches of last years thrillers, pairs teams that don't have history, and just rounds out the schedule Playoffs, seed the teams 1-32. Top 14 make the playoffs with #1 and #2 getting a first round bye I don't care how they feel, it's about regionalization, new rivalries will be made. You guys have WAY too much time on your hands obviously things like that Purely from a geographical perspective here's what makes the most sense, and obviously it would include the Jets/Giants in the same division, which wouldn't be impossible: 1: NE, Jets, Giants, Philly 2: Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit 3: GB, Chicago, Minnesota, Indy 4: Baltimore, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta 5: Oakland, SD, SF, Seattle 6: Dallas, Houston, Denver, Arizona 7: KC, St. Louis, Tennessee, Cincy 8: Miami, TB, Jax, NO I believe you read my thread I like this too!! I like the idea of being in a division with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. They are similar cities and all within a 4 hour drive. It would really be great for travel. exactly! Cities? Las Vegas IF the Raiders don't go. Birmingham/Columbus OH/Portland? TWO teams in Buffalo?! London and Berlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinky finger Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Purely from a geographical perspective here's what makes the most sense, and obviously it would include the Jets/Giants in the same division, which wouldn't be impossible: 1: NE, Jets, Giants, Philly 2: Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit 3: GB, Chicago, Minnesota, Indy 4: Baltimore, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta 5: Oakland, SD, SF, Seattle 6: Dallas, Houston, Denver, Arizona 7: KC, St. Louis, Tennessee, Cincy 8: Miami, TB, Jax, NO Some rivalries would be broken up, which could be solved by getting rid of the current "play one division from each conference" thing, at least for a few seasons, and have say Pitt & Baltimore play a home-away series for several seasons until the luster fades. But consider the possibilities for new rivalries. Jets v. Giants? Wow! Also, the Jets v. Eagles would ultimately be as big as the Giants/Eagles, etc. Of course us v. Pitt/Cleveland; Baltimore/Washingto; the three Florida teams; Dalllas/Houston; KC/St. Louis/Tennessee. Never happen due to NFL politics, but IMO it would improve the product and as some have said, would help sell tix, particularly in places where a short drive three times a season would entice opposing fans to hit road games thereby encouraging locals to buy more tix in order to avoid opposing fans from taking over your stadium like the Bostonians have done so often during the Brady era here. It was dead while Wilson was clammoring for it to continue. It died, effectively, the day that Marino retired, three seasons after Jimbo did, extended itself in a half-a$$ed manner during the Bledsoe/Fiedler era, then fell off the map because both teams suck so bad since then. In fact, in the 22 combined seasons for both teams since then, the Fins and Bills combined have posted only three winning seasons, two of them by the Fins. Only one resulted in a playoff birth, and that was in '08, the season that Brady didn't play. The Fins promply lost in the WC round. This is a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Avon Lake now Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I think the divisions have gotten too watered down where it seems every year there is at least one weak division that allows teams to make the playoffs that don't deserve to be there. Also the scheduling doesn't seem to benefit weaker teams in a division since you play two divisions from each of the conferences and with New England so dominant the last decade, it has really worked to Buffalo's disadvantage. I advocate two divisions geographically aligned that balance the out of conference schedule based on previous year records. I know it is old school but it helped teams compete for a playoff spot every year. They could still have the same number of teams make it, but based on record with only two division winners with automatic chances. PS: I also believe hockey ruined the playoffs with the increased divisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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