Seahawks vs. Bears: Why Sunday's Blowout Will Lead to Playoff Reseeding in 2011

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CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 16: Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck #8 of the Seattle Seahawks attempts to avoid a sack by Julius Peppers #90 of the Chicago Bears in the second half in the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 16, 2011 in Chicag

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The Bears and Seahawks game was competitive…till the second quarter. Sunday’s blowout loss to the Bears proved what football fans and experts knew all along—the Seahawks didn’t belong there in the first place. Give them credit for the stunning New Orleans upset, but the fact that they got a home playoff game at all is a joke.

For this, and plenty other reasons, the NFL competition committee is going to think long and hard about reseeding before the playoffs. The division rule might allow Seattle a ticket to the dance(stressing the word “might”), but it won’t let them host it in their gym.

Here are 10 reasons why.

10. Tampa Bay Had To Watch from Home

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Josh Freeman #5 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is pushed out of bounds by Alex Brown #96 of the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on January 2, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Buccaneers defeated th

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Tampa Bay put together a surprising 10-6 season. Josh Freeman took leaps forward as a reliable and exciting starting quarterback.

Yet, because of the division rule, they had to watch it from home. I can guarantee football fans would have rather seen Tampa Bay than the Seahawks.

9. The Saints Had To Lose on the Road

SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 08: Will Smith #91 and Jonathan Vilma #51 of the New Orleans Saints take the field against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2011 NFC wild-card playoff game at Qwest Field on January 8, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jonathan

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Give credit to the Seahawks for getting in and making noise when they did, but playing at home was a joke. The Saints had four more wins than the Seahawks, and yet, they had to take their show on the road for the first round.

Home-field advantage should be earned—not awarded.

8. The Packers Have Three Road Games

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 15: Aaron Rodgers #12 and Brandon Jackson #32 of the Green Bay Packers celebrate as they walk off the field after the Packers won 48-21 against the Atlanta Falcons during their 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Georgia Dome on Jan

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If the Packers do make it to Dallas, they’ll have had to win three straight road games. It’s fine when teams have to do it, but had they reseeded, it’s possible the Packers get one game at home.

Again, it’s ok to have obstacles, but a team should truly deserve them.

7. Bad Games Are Bad Ratings

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 16: Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck #8 of the Seattle Seahawks is sacked by three members of the Chicago Bears defense in the first half during the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 16, 2011 in Chicago, Illino

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Let’s be honest. No one watches a blowout. By the second half of the game, there were people running errands before the Pats/Jets game.

The NFL cares about competition and having a subpar team means poor ratings.

6. More Games Means More Room for Bad

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 16: Brandon Stokley #15 of the Seattle Seahawks attempts to run after a catch as Lance Briggs #55 of the Chicago Bears attempts to tackle him in the first half in the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 16,

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If the NFL is going to extend the regular season by two games, they need to establish a rule now.

If they don’t, then somewhere down the road, they could be letting a 7-11 team into the playoffs.

How embarrassing would that be?

5. When Everyone Has a Chance…

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 26: James Jones #89 of the Green Bay Packers is tackled by Antrel Rolle #26 of the New York Giants at Lambeau Field on December 26, 2010 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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By leaving the door open for the six best teams in the NFC to get in and home-field advantage be decided based purely on record, you are opening the door for games to matter more at the end of a season.

The season is more exciting when teams have a better chance of sneaking in.

4. New Orleans Could Have Gotten Screwed

SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 08: Quarterback Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints throws the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2011 NFC wild-card playoff game at Qwest Field on January 8, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Gett

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Let’s assume for a minute the Bears had had one less win but still won their division. Is it possible New Orleans would have had the second best record in the NFC and still played on the road as the five seed.

3. All Nine Losses

SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 02: James Laurinaitis #55 of the St. Louis Rams celebrates recovering a fumble by the Seattle Seahawks during their game at Qwest Field on January 2, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

All nine losses the Seahawks had this season came by a win margin of 14 points or more. That means the Seahawks didn’t even narrowly miss chances to win. In most cases, they were blown out, as they were Sunday.

2. The Seahawks Lost to Both Wild Card Misses

SEATTLE - NOVEMBER 07: Quarterback Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants takes the snap during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field on November 7, 2010 in Seattle, Washington. The Giants defeated the Seahawks 41-7. (Photo by Otto Greule

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Both the Bucs and the Giants hammered the Hawks when they met in the regular season.

Now, evidenced by the Bears regular season loss to the Seahawks, it doesn’t count for everything, but it should count for something—especially when the teams you are leaving out had better records and beat you head to head.

1. They Were 7-9

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 31: Marcus Trufant #23 of the Seattle Seahawks defends Johnnie Lee Higgins #15 of the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 31, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Maybe it’s not worth it to argue about it, but they were just two games below the line of average. The playoffs is about having the conference best going at it. The Seahawks never qualified as that.

Having a 7-9 team ruins the integrity of the playoffs, and they’ll fix it before next season, if nothing else, just to reseed it.

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