NFL 2009: the end of 16 games?
June 29th, 2009 12:01 pm
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Pro Set
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NFL Season 2009 is now less than 100 days away. This is the eighth season of the eight division format, adopted with the commencement of the expansion Houston Texans. As fair as this schedule format is (teams within the division have 14 of 16 common games) the NFL may well succumb to the temptation to expand the regular season to 18 games.
Roger Goodell does nothing for his credibility by claiming that an expanded regular season is being proposed in the best interests of fans. It is a simple revenue raising exercise.
Assuming an 18 game regular season, the NFL has one chance to save face: by having two intra conference divisional crossovers. This would mean 16 common opponents and 100% scheduling parity within a division. The NFL has repeatedly stated that precedence must be retained to the importance of winning a division. The only detriment would be the fact that divisional winners would no longer meet automatically in the following regular season, no doubt to the chagrin of the networks.
A hypothetical 18 game schedule (for an NFC East team) under this proposal could proceed as follows:
- Six divisional games
- Four intra conference games v NFC North
- Four intra conference games v NFC South
- Four inter conference games v AFC East
The intra conference schedule would complete a rotation every three seasons and the inter conference would complete a rotation every four seasons. It’s not as if NFL Game Analysis has not been right before: check out this 2007 vent on the force out rule. The force out rule was abolished in time for last season.
Posted in Houston Texans, NFL, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL on television, NFL schedule |
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