Everyone today seems to be up in arms about the "pesky" Seahawks making the playoffs with a 7-9 record. They clinched the NFC West division crown with a home victory over the St. Louis Rams, who, with the loss, finished the season with a 7-9 record.
The Seahawks won by a final score of 16-6, and the game itself was pretty ugly. The only thing that made it tolerable was that it was a win-or-go-home game for both teams.
The Seahawks won by a final score of 16-6, and the game itself was pretty ugly. The only thing that made it tolerable was that it was a win-or-go-home game for both teams.
It really doesn't bother me that much though. I don't even know how the current Seahawks team even won that many games. So the fact that they did, and that it actually got them into the playoffs, is admirable if you ask me.
Listen, folks. Don't blame the Seahawks. Blame the system that put them in the playoffs. Though not nearly as flawed at the infamous BCS, the NFL playoffs system appears to have a flaw. One that Seattle happened to stumble upon. It's not like this happens every year, and so it's really not that big of a problem. Actually this is the very first time this has ever happened. So there's no need to go tearing out pages of the NFL rulebook just yet.
The Saints are most likely going to win this game, and maybe even blow the Seahawks out. But you also can never be sure when it comes to the NFL. That is what makes this upcoming wild card game in the least bit watchable, for me. Lisa Olson, of Fanhouse, writes:
Lately his "Win Forever" motivational mantra has seemed more like a punch line around here, but imagine if Carroll can get these Seahawks to knock off the defending Super Bowl champions. The Saints are beat up, they've played their share of mediocre ball, and instead of the comfy familiarity of their dome they have to survive the eardrum-destroying 12th man of Qwest. New Orleans has never won a road playoff game, one of those NFL quirks that makes Saturday all the more compelling.
"I hear that this has never happened before. I think that's kind of cool," Carroll said. "If you've ever followed my track record and thought about the systems that you've played in, where it's college and the BCS or here in the NFL system, this is the system. I don't give a crap about that. We just played it out and this is what happened."
Pete Carroll's got the right idea. Who gives a crap about if Seattle "took advantage of" or found a loophole in the system. It's the system we have. They did everything that was asked of them, as a football team.
Now if sub-.500 teams start winning divisions, say, every other year...then it could become a problem that needs to be addressed by the league.
[ Fanhouse ]
