I remember there were complaints about the Seahawks playing at home with a losing record. Fans, not the NFL, suggested basing the home team purely on record after the Saints played at Seattle. I  also remember reading complaints about the Chargers getting in with an 8-8 record while the 11-5 Patriots did not. NFL.com is wrong about this being a new issue.

 

If the NFL is going to change how teams are seeded in the playoffs, there is no reason to have eight divisions because division titles will be useless. Some anomalies will happen, but at least it makes a lot more sense than college football, where not all conferences have 12 teams and a championship game and realignment is allolwed. One reason I always preferred the NFL is the conferences are always the same 16 teams (14 or 15 when I started watching). Another is it means something to win the division. Duke won its division, but had no chance of playing in the Orange Bowl because of its record. If the NFL was like that, teams that win their divisions would miss the playoffs. Why have eight divisions if winning one does not guarantee a playoff berth?

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