While the post by Randy and his personal ghostwriter, Mr. Easterbook, generated a great deal of attention, little of it had to do with, you know, the piece’s actual content.

EasterBrown argue that the NFL should have a league-wide playoff system so as to deal with the unfairness of good AFC teams going home after next week while mediocre NFC teams play on.

I disagree for reasons of practicality and history.

As BrownBrook observe, there is sentiment attached to the divisional system (which is why, by the way, the divisional system is not aligned in a logical, geographic, way — despite the division names). It’s both a practical way to organize the league (and thus schedule) and it preserves little things like divisional rivalry. But the logic of wiping out conferences also argues for wiping out divisions — why should it be allowed that a team in a mediocre division be allowed to advance to the post-season instead of a better team in a tougher division?

Another interesting take on the issue comes from Aaron Sokoloff at The Sports Aficionado:

But the best argument against a seeded playoff system came on the very day of Easterbrook’s column, December 18. That night saw the prime-time showdown between the Colts and Bengals. And much of the drama came not only from wondering what each of the teams’ electrifying offenses would do, but from the fact that whichever team lost would have some serious work to do in terms making the playoffs. Having a system that doesn’t allow all good teams into the postseason means that November and December will be full of good teams fighting tooth and nail to qualify. And do the teams who miss out really have a right to complain? Wherever you draw the line between qualifying and not qualifying, there will be borderline cases and room for argument. But a team that’s maybe 10th or 11th best in the NFL can’t claim it got robbed because the 13th or 14th best team got in instead, because if it really deserved that spot, it should have done better than 10th best. Under the current system, teams with excellent regular seasons – 11 wins or better – are playoff locks. Teams with merely good regular seasons – 8 to 10 wins – have to hope the chips fall the right way. And to keep both the regular season and postseason stocked with meaningful matchups between strong teams, that’s the way it should be.

Yep.