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The NFL owners' meetings are ongoing in Atlanta today, and while there's a lot on the table—the Bills' future in Buffalo, a longer NFL season, draft location for 2015 and beyond—expanded playoffs won't be one of those items.
Owners have tabled playoff expansion talks until the fall, according to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) May 20, 2014
The NFL has tabled those discussions until October 7th in Detroit, the next time some of the richest men in America get together to figure out how to squeeze a few more dollars out the beauty, violent game we so enjoy.
I don't have strong feelings about a playoff expansion in the same way I do about, say, an expanded season. Clearly the NFL believes they can goose the product by adding more playoff teams, and 14 teams wouldn't really be a huge dilution. Just last year, a dangerous and capable Arizona Cardinals team fell just short, and you can pick close to a dozen teams in the last decade who would have made things interesting had they gotten into the playoffs.
On the other hand, I'd really rather not get to the point where half or more of the league is getting in, because it profoundly damages the value of the regular season. If a 7-9 team can routinely push its way into the playoffs, why play 16 (or perhaps 18, eventually) games to set up the postseason?
In other news, the 2018 Super Bowl will be held in Minnesota. Pack longer underwear if you're going.
What do you think of a possible playoff expansion?