The Real Conference Record
Hypothetical: one wildcard "bubble" club is in a tough position because of its bad record in a tough division, despite its strong record in inter-divisional play. Another bubble club is in a tough position because, while it has a good record in a weak division, it's pathetic in inter-divisonal play. They never played each other, and overall conference record will determine which gets the wildcard.
Is this fair? Should being good in a bad division translate into being good in the conference? I think one way to control for division disparities in the conference is to judge a team's conference performance not by the twelve conference games (six division - 2 each against three team, six inter-division - one each against six teams) played, but by the nine conference teams (three division, six inter-division) that the team played.
I think the inter-divisional record should play a more significant role in the conference record tie-breaker. I think the inter-division games should be weighted heavier, perhaps two-thirds, in evaluating the conference record, and the division games one-third.
This would apply only to the conference tie-breaker, and not to division standings or overall standings.
posted by Unknown @ 10:17 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
James, I agree with your idea of changing the tie-breaker for conference record. The way it stands, the division record is given twice the weight, because each team is played twice. I was thinking that the intra-division record could be divided by two, then added to the inter-division record, totalling 9 games. The overall record could then contain half-games, and would correct the weighting problems.
I've never been a fan of football's tie-breaking schemes, but do realize the necessity because they don't have the luxury of a one-game tie-breaker like baseball does. The home field advantage is also affected by an over-weighting of division games. The head-to-head tie-breaker necessarily means a worse record against inferior teams. And point differential penalizes defensive teams. Defense wins championships, but offense wins tie-breakers. Remember that Vikings game a few years back where they needed both to win and make up big points to make the playoffs? They were several TD's ahead late in the 4th qtr while throwing long bombs on hurry-up offense to beat, not their opponent, but another team not even on the field. Running-up-the-score ehtics?
Post a Comment
<< Home