Hey Cowboys! Want To Play In The Playoffs? Earn It!
By Jeff Magnia
Dallas Cowboys owner and general Jerry Jones has indicated that he is in favor of expanding the current twelve-team playoff system to fourteen. If that were to occur, the Cowboys would have a better chance to make the playoffs, even if they had an 8-8 season, depending upon the scenario.
For many fans, that would be great news as they would be able to claim that the team had finally stopped it’s playoff drought that followed the 2009 season. If the new playoff scenario were presented a couple of seasons ago, the ‘Boys would be playoff contenders at least one of the last three 8-8 seasons.
If you want your team in the playoffs that bad, here’s a simple solution—earn it!
For some fans, it would be a way to see the playoffs being watered down to allow more teams in. Allowing more teams in the playoffs is fine, but do they deserve it? Would the NFL get to the point of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body of high school athletic sports in Texas has? UIL allows up to four teams from a district go to the playoffs. So a team with a losing record could make it to the playoffs despite the fact that they lost more than they won?
Again, will the NFL water down the playoffs so much to the point that teams with a 6-10 record or worse could make the postseason? In the history of allowing more teams in the playoffs, I have personally seen teams with a 2-8 record make the postseason. Do I feel like they have deserved to go that far after only winning two games? Not a chance. How would high ranking teams that winning records look at the state title if a team that didn’t have a winning record were to ever win it all? Some football teams may start the season slow and lose a few games then hit their stride. Some may lose a few more than anticipated and still hit a late-season stride. Does it make it right for a team in the professional ranks?
Jones seems to think that allowing more teams in the playoffs is okay and would support it.
"“I think it’s more a question of timing, but I do get a real good feeling that at some point, we’ll have additional playoff (teams),” Jones said Monday afternoon. “I know we’re going to discuss it here. It makes a lot of sense for the NFL. We all know some of the arguing points, but our game is so popular, our league is so equal in terms of how teams compete. I don’t think there’s anything watered down with two additional teams that would be in the playoffs.”"
For this fan, it would water the NFL down even with adding just two teams. If you want your team in the playoffs that bad, here is a simple solution—earn it! Teams that make it to the playoffs should have winning records, it is the reward for a well-played season. It isn’t often now that a team with a losing record gets into the postseason. And when it does, it happens to lose rather quickly in the playoffs. Another reason that Jones and the other NFL owners will approve this move is the bottom line. The more games they can get broadcasted and be able to host at their stadiums, the more money in their pockets. For true football fans, it is not about the money, but about the game and the right to represent their team in the playoffs. That is what a winning team deserves.