But since news is about as scarce as a hot chick at a Harry Potter premier (which I went to last night), I figured this is about as good of a time as ever.
Who out there was upset that the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs last season? Who out there thought that they should be forced to forfeit their playoff spot with their 7-9 NFC West Championship record for one of the two (Giants and Bucs) 10-6 NFC teams that missed out on the playoffs?
I didn't, and I sort of thought the people that bashed on the NFC West so hard were a bit ignorant. Sure, the NFC West has recently gained the reputation of being the worst (and other derogatory words) division in the whole NFL. Do they deserve this title? That is up for debate.
The Seahawks shouldn't be blamed for being bad and winning their division. That just means the other teams were that much worse. Remember when the Chargers won the AFC West tiebreak over the Denver Broncos with an 8-8 record? Nobody outside Boston complained that the Patriots with Matt Cassel at the helm missed out on the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Was it somehow justified because the Chargers won four straight to close out the season (including that heartbreaking 22-21 victory over our beloved Chiefs)? Was it OK that they made the playoffs with that record because they had been to the playoffs the previous two seasons?
Since the realignment after the 2001 season, which sent the Seattle Seahawks from the AFC West to the NFC West, here are the overall regular season and postseason records for each team and division:
Overall Record | % | Playoff Record | % | Super Bowl Appearances | |
AFC East | 305-271 | 53% | 17-11 | 61% | 3 |
Patriots | 110-34 | 76% | 11-5 | 69% | 3 |
Jets | 72-72 | 50% | 6-5 | 55% | 0 |
Dolphins | 64-80 | 44% | 0-1 | 0% | 0 |
Bills | 59-85 | 41% | 0-0 | 0% | 0 |
AFC North | 289-285-2 | 50% | 15-12 | 55% | 3 |
Steelers | 93-50-1 | 65% | 11-4 | 73% | 3 |
Ravens | 82-62 | 57% | 4-5 | 44% | 0 |
Bengals | 62-81-1 | 43% | 0-2 | 0% | 0 |
Browns | 52-92 | 36% | 0-1 | 0% | 0 |
AFC South | 312-264 | 54% | 12-14 | 46% | 2 |
Colts | 109-35 | 76% | 9-8 | 53% | 2 |
Titans | 77-67 | 53% | 2-4 | 33% | 0 |
Jaguars | 71-73 | 49% | 1-2 | 33% | 0 |
Texans | 55-89 | 38% | 0-0 | 0% | 0 |
AFC West | 281-295 | 49% | 6-12 | 33% | 1 |
Chargers | 88-56 | 61% | 3-5 | 38% | 0 |
Broncos | 78-66 | 54% | 1-3 | 25% | 0 |
Chiefs | 67-77 | 47% | 0-3 | 0% | 0 |
Raiders | 48-96 | 33% | 2-1 | 67% | 1 |
NFC East | 308-267-1 | 53% | 13-17 | 43% | 2 |
Eagles | 91-52-1 | 63% | 7-7 | 50% | 1 |
Giants | 79-65 | 55% | 4-4 | 50% | 1 |
Cowboys | 78-66 | 54% | 1-4 | 20% | 0 |
Redskins | 60-84 | 42% | 1-2 | 33% | 0 |
NFC North | 269-307 | 47% | 11-11 | 50% | 2 |
Packers | 84-60 | 58% | 6-5 | 55% | 1 |
Bears | 74-70 | 51% | 3-3 | 50% | 1 |
Vikings | 74-70 | 51% | 2-3 | 40% | 0 |
Lions | 37-107 | 26% | 0-0 | 0% | 0 |
NFC South | 299-276-1 | 52% | 14-11 | 56% | 3 |
Saints | 77-67 | 53% | 4-2 | 67% | 1 |
Falcons | 77-66-1 | 53% | 2-4 | 33% | 0 |
Panthers | 75-69 | 52% | 5-3 | 63% | 1 |
Buccaneers | 70-74 | 49% | 3-2 | 60% | 1 |
NFC West | 241-335 | 42% | 11-11 | 50% | 2 |
Seahawks | 74-70 | 51% | 5-6 | 45% | 1 |
Cardinals | 57-87 | 40% | 4-2 | 67% | 1 |
49ers | 56-88 | 39% | 1-1 | 50% | 0 |
Rams | 54-90 | 38% | 1-2 | 33% | 0 |
As you can see, the NFC West does have the worst overall record of any division with only a 42% win total. But there are two other divisions with below .500 records: the NFC North (47%) and the AFC West (49%).
Now, a sub .500 record since 2002 isn't awful (I'm a Royals fan), and it's certainly not the most telling sign of the success of a division. That is why I included postseason success as well into the chart. Divisions, and even teams, may have over a .500 record in the regular season yet have well under a .500 record in the playoffs; and vice versa.
That is why I have a hard time believing that the NFC West should be made the poster-child of underachievement for the NFL.
If anything, the NFC West should be the prime example of overachieving in the NFL.
They have only a 42% win total in the regular season as a division, and yet, when it comes time for the playoffs, they have a .500 record with two Super Bowl appearances. The most a single division has is three Super Bowl representatives.
The division with the least Super Bowl representation is our very own AFC West, with the lowly Raiders being our only team to make it to the big show. And the reason that number is so low is because of the disappointment our teams face year-in and year-out in the playoffs. It seems that our division is seemingly one-and-done every year in the postseason. No matter how successful or dominant we were during the regular season, none of the AFC West teams seem capable of breaking through to that next level (Chiefs fans remember this problem from the 90s).
It is this inexplicable problem that has our division's postseason record at a dismal and bottom-of-the-league 33%. And that is no thanks to the Chiefs, who are 0-3 in playoff games since realignment. So if you ask me, the poster-child for underachievement shouldn't be the NFC West (although they are terrible, they seem to turn it around when it comes time for the playoffs [just ask the 2010 Saints]), it should unfortunately be the AFC West.
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