The NFL is considering changing its playoff format so that seeding is based on records, not on division titles.

The discussion comes after the 9-7 Bucs hosted a playoff game against the 10-6 wild-card Giants. From the story, it seems the NFL also is hoping that teams that already have clinched their division play through Week 17.

On the surface, it seems like a good proposal, but you must ask, does winning a division become less important? Since each division only has four teams (a departure from the 5- and 6-team past), maybe it has. Division winners still would make the playoffs, they just wouldn’t be guaranteed a home game.

I’m not sure I like the proposal. Yes, teams with better records should be rewarded, but if the NFC East, for example, becomes a bloodbath next year and its winner finishes 10-6, should it be penalized for playing in a better division than say, a Cardinals team that somehow went 11-5 but got four of those wins against the Rams and 49ers. It’s an extremely hypothetical case, but in the NFL, these extremes sooner or later happen.