Is It Really Fair?

It's sad: The Seattle Seahawks at 7-9 will be in the playoffs

I do not know which is worse, the fact that a 7-9 team can make the playoffs, or the current BCS bowl system. Both are unfair and at the end of the day many people are disappointed.

The Seattle Seahawks made history late sunday, when they defeated the 7-8 (at the time) St. Louis Rams. If the Rams won they would be 8-8 which is .500, and also be one of the only teams in NFL History to go from the #1. pick in the draft to the postseason.

That wasn't the case though this sunday.

The 7-9 Seahawks beat the Rams to make the Rams also 7-9. The Seahawks controlled the tiebreaker, and are playoff bound, and set to play the reigning super bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints.

The Seahakws beat the Rams 16-6 thanks to a big defensive performance that ranks 30th in the league. Also they shut down star rookie quarterback Sam Bradford by picking him off once, forcing a fumble, limiting him to 155 passing yards and 0 touchdowns.  Seattle got an early touchdown in the 1st quarter when quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, his Mike Williams in the endzone for 4 yards. That would be enough to win the game, but they tacked on 9 more points on 3 field goals by Olindo Mare.

The game ended with much controversy due to a terrible spotting by the officials late in the game, which gave the seahawks a 1st down rather than a 3rd and 2 or 1. Seattle ended up killing the clock and kicking a field goal which clinched the win, because it was a 2 possession game now with only 1:37 left.

Now comes the argument.

Do the Seahawks deserve to make the playoffs when the 10-6 Bucs and 10-6 Giants didn't. Also recall that the Giants beat the Seahawks 41-7 and didn't even try in the 2nd half. Also lost to Tampa Bay 38-15 just last week. The Seahawks rank in the 20's or worse in defensive and offensive stats.

Yes, i do know it has always been that the best team from each division makes the playoffs, but in most cases, that team is actually "good". Obviously that rule will never get switched but can the NFL at least consider a few switches in the division. I know there are many rivalries but those would not be impacted. For example why does Dallas play in the East, why do the Rams play in the West, and why does Miami play in the East not the South? I know they are on the east coast but they are the most southern team in the NFL.

In addition, many of these division are uneven. The NFC East rarely has a bad team and has had 3 teams make it to the playoffs in 1 year. Also the AFC North with the Ravens and Steelers, and the NFC South with the Bucs, Saints, Panthers, and Falcons who won the division this year, are all power conferences while the AFC West, NFC West, and to some level the AFC South were weak this season.

This was the play that potentially
killed the Giants season

Being a Giants fan, i am even more upset with this outcome. Yes i will admit that they chocked again this season like the Mets do every year, but a 10-6 record should be good any year to make the playoffs, especially when you beat a team 41-7. Giants were also top 10 in most stats including passing yards, rushing yards, opposing rush, and opposing passing yards. The team was even plagued with many injuries and played in one of the toughest divisions in football and still ended up with 10 wins. They also had another big win over the Bears 17-3, who are in the playoffs with a 1st round bye. The Giants also hung tough will the Eagles in both games this year, and could have easily won both if it weren't for sloppy decisions.

Now the Giants are screwed.

They do not have a good draft pick, they aren't in the playoffs, fans are going crazy, and the Jets made the playoffs. The good news is that the owners are saying that Head Coach, Tom Coughlin's, job is safe. Many Giants players and some fans backed Coughlin when the team was struggling, and when they were eliminated from the playoffs. He wasn't the one who choked, miss placed a kick, or struggled to win games down the stretch. He brought them a super bowl back in 07 and what's a better accomplishment then that?

Back to the Seahawks though, it is really misfortunate that they will be playing this postseason over the Giants and Bucs. A 7-9 team that only wins divisional games and teams that are sub.500, is not a quality team. I hope they get crushed by the Who Dat nation this sunday because they certainly do not deserve it. Even more bazaar, the Seahawks get home field advantage vs the Saints because of the divisional win. That's o.k. though because home field didn't help them out when they played the Giants.