Bitter

Originally I was going to write about how awful the Rams are, because if I am honest, they will be lucky to win 2 games this year. However, after watching the Cardinals roll over for Indy and seeing the Seahawks and 49ers find a way to lose; I decided instead I would talk about how terrible the NFC West is. Sure, the Cardinals made the Super Bowl last year. The Seahawks would be doing better without injuries. The 49ers were a Favre throw away from remaining undefeated for the season. But as a whole, the Division has only 1 win against non-conference teams.

I know it is only the third week of the season and that there are plenty of games left, but I can’t help wondering what the NFL would do if a division ended up with a losing team as their playoff representative. Before we get all loopy and cry “impossible” we should just take a glance back to last season when San Diego made the playoffs with an 8-8 record. In fact, Arizona, having gone 6-0 in the division, would have qualified for the playoffs with a 7-9 record. The Patriots were already spurned by having to go golfing after posting an impressive 11-5 without Tom Brady. Imagine the outcry had a team with a sub .500 record made the playoffs!

Initially, I had high hopes for teams in the NFC West, but with injuries plaguing the Seahawks, Arizona looking flaky, the Rams just being terrible and San Fran losing Gore, it could be a repeat of last year. While I think that 3 of the 4 teams still have a decent chance of ending with a winning record, it would please me greatly to see a losing team make the playoffs.

Why? Because it would force the NFL to look at their playoff structure. I’ve never understood exactly why every division must have a representative in the playoffs. If a team doesn’t deserve to go, then they shouldn’t go. You might think that what this is all leading to is a proposal of some kind that somehow fixes the playoff system. You’d be wrong. I’m just giddy that I’ve found a reason to cheer against everyone in the NFC West but the Rams.

Since the Rams are going to be horrible for the 3rd straight year in a row, I’ll be cheering for the entire NFC West to continue losing. Here is to the least terrible team in the NFC West making the playoffs!

Cheers,
-Nate