Brian Cook Can See The Future
So a day after Brian capably shot down the whole 'Arizona Cardinals are a good example of how playoffs are faulty too' argument, SI.com's reliably inept Stewart Mandel writes a column saying exactly that.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/01/22/card…
Perhaps the most stunning part of the article comes at its conclusion:
'If the Cardinals played in college, they might have finished their season in the hometown Insight Bowl. Last month, two 7-5 teams -- Minnesota and Kansas -- played in that relatively low-profile game.
It's funny. In college, we complain when mediocre teams like the Gophers and Jayhawks are rewarded with bowl berths. In the pros, the system rewards comparable teams with a shot at the championship.'
Exactly which playoff model would have Minnesota and Kansas in the field, Stewart?
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 PM ^
Also, Arizona won their division so that means they would be in the BCS in the hypothetical "If the Cardinals played in college" game.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:14 PM ^
There are so many places to go with this what-if.
I would posit that if the Cardinals played college ball, Penn State would file an injunction promising that Alan Branch come no more than 100 yards from their quarterbacks.
http://info.detnews.com/pix/sports/2006/um/UMvPSU_1014/UMvPSU12.jpg
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:46 PM ^
While Stewart is off by saying that a playoff would give teams like Kansas and Minnesota a shot at the championship, he makes a very valid point on the second page when he is talking about Virginia Tech. If anything, I think the points he makes about VT actually disprove the argument Brian made.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:28 PM ^
If VT made the playoffs and were able to beat Florida, USC and Oklahoma in three consecutive games, then more power to them. I have to say, I don't get why the Arizona Cardinals being in the Super Bowl is a bad thing.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:03 PM ^
Another point:
The NFL is built for parity. There is not much difference between the 12th best team and the 1st. This is not true in college football; not saying there aren't upsets, but it'd be highly unlikely to see a middle-of-the-pack team run through 3 top 10 teams in consecutive weeks. And, as Brian noted, the qualifiers for a college playoff would be more elite than in the NFL where nearly half the teams get in.