Really?

Really, 11 wins doesn't get a team into the playoffs in a league where 37.5% of the teams make the playoffs? That's ridiculous. If I were a Patriots fan, I'd be pretty sore about this. Since I hate the Patsies, and think this is the football gods exacting revenge for running up the score every week in 2007, I say to you: you shoulda won 12 games. 11-5 and sitting at home while 8-8 San Diego is the 3 seed. Really?

Really, there's 3 first-year head coaches in the playoffs? Sparano with the 'Fins, Harbaugh with the Ravens, and Smith with the Falcons? And this is no Mike Tomlin situation, getting handed a playoff-calibur team from the get-go. These 3 teams combined to win 10 games last year. 2 of these 3 started rookie QBs all season. These 3 teams combined for 33 wins this year. That's a combined 230% improvement! Really?

Really, 11-5 Atlanta and 12-4 Indy have to play on the road against 9-7 Arizona and 8-8 San Diego? If they're going to let 8-8 teams in over 11-5 teams, maybe they should give out seeds based on record rather than division winners. Here's the current seeding:

AFC
1. Titans (13-3)
2. Steelers (12-4)
3. Dolphins (11-5)
4. Chargers (8-8)
5. Colts (12-4)
6. Ravens (11-5)

NFC
1. Giants (12-4)
2. Panthers (12-4)
3. Vikings (10-6)
4. Cardinals (9-7)
5. Falcons (11-5)
6. Eagles (9-6-1)

Re-seeded, it'd look like this:

AFC
1. Titans (13-3)
2. Steelers (12-4)
3. Colts (12-4)
4. Ravens (11-5)
5. Dolphins (11-5)
6. Chargers (8-8)

NFC
1. Giants (12-4)
2. Panthers (12-4)
3. Falcons (11-5)
4. Vikings (10-6)
5. Eagles (9-6-1)
6. Cards (9-7)

On both sides, the first round matchups would be the same teams, except location would be flipped. Thus, the teams with better records would have actually earned a home playoff game with that record rather than being penalized for playing in a tough division. Right now, all 4 road teams in the first round are favored according to footballlocks.com. With a re-seeding due to record, these teams would all be playing the home game they earned. Also, since the worst seed to win plays the #1 seed, a re-seeding would probably help the #1 seeds.

Despite all this ridiculousness, it should be a very interesting 2008 NFL playoffs. If I get a chance before leaving for Raleigh tomorrow, I'll post my picks.