League wide realighnment

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I am one of the holdover Colts fan. I became a Colt fan in 1973 when they drafted the Ruston Rifle. I had a family member that lived in Baton Rouge and went to LSU when he was there. 

Yeah I have been watching football since the late 70's but didn't become a Colts fan until they moved here in 1984. I was 12 going on 13 in 84, so at that point I had at least a grasp of what was going on. Different topic but what is funny is, I started following the Cubs in 1984 as well. The Cubs were great that year and always on WGN, Colts stunk their first 3 years here (84-86) but I was happy we had a team. Colts were the talk of the town in 1987 when we got Dickerson 

[PrincetonTiger]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah I have been watching football since the late 70's but didn't become a Colts fan until they moved here in 1984. I was 12 going on 13 in 84, so at that point I had at least a grasp of what was going on. Different topic but what is funny is, I started following the Cubs in 1984 as well. The Cubs were great that year and always on WGN, Colts stunk their first 3 years here (84-86) but I was happy we had a team. Colts were the talk of the town in 1987 when we got Dickerson 

I was born during football season so I was a fan since birth

[danlhart87]

I became a fan during the Harbaugh era I turn 33 in less than 3 weeks

[PrincetonTiger]

Ravens have been in Baltimore 24 years while the Colts were only there 30 and 37 in Indianapolis 

     There has been multiple generations of Colts who only know the Colts as Indiana’s team

[crazycolt1]

10 minutes ago, PrincetonTiger said:

   The Baltimore-Indianapolis rivalry and a Bears Colts rivalry kind of fall under the same umbrella     
      If I told kids today that the Colts were in originally Baltimore and the Bears had training camp in Indiana they would laugh at me

        

My parents were huge Bear fans when I was growing up. 

My father was a contractor who done some work at St. Joseph in Rensselaer for a couple of years. I was lucky to meet Dick Butkus and a few other Bears players when I was a kid. 

[danlhart87]

Baltimore will always have a rivalry with Colts but their success last 20 years winning 2 superbowls helps diminish that. I'm glad both teams are very successful since the move. 

[PrincetonTiger]

5 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

My parents were huge Bear fans when I was growing up. 

My father was a contractor who done some work at St. Joseph in Rensselaer for a couple of years. I was lucky to meet Dick Butkus and a few other Bears players when I was a kid. 

The coach who brought my Dad to TigerTown was a Bears draftee

 

  

[HectorRoberts]

7 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

I found the email I sent to the NFL.

 

 

 

Basically, I advocated adding 4 teams to make 36 total.  That would be 18 teams per conference (Eastern conference and Western Conference), and 3 divisions with 6 teams each.

 

 

Damn straight!!! Sorry colts fan I love you but if Wyoming were to get a professional anything I’d have to push you to #2 on the list!

[2006Coltsbestever]

13 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

My parents were huge Bear fans when I was growing up. 

My father was a contractor who done some work at St. Joseph in Rensselaer for a couple of years. I was lucky to meet Dick Butkus and a few other Bears players when I was a kid. 

One of my best friends is a Bears fan. He liked them before the Colts moved here. He is in his early 50's. All I heard for years was how great the 1985 Bears were from him and how Peyton couldn't win the big one. That made 2006 so sweet  . He wouldn't answer his phone for days after that game. Finally he congratulated me about a week later.

[Coltsman1788]

4 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

YES!  This is what I'm talking about.

 

I was going for East vs West (as in east of the MS River and west of the MS River), but if we swap CHI and DET, that puts the Bears in the Colts division with the rest of the (current) AFC North, and the Lions in the division with the  "Northwestern" division.

 

I like that more.  It puts the Lions in the same division as the Packers and Vikings, and they're more "north" than the Bears, geographically.  The Lions can retain their rivalries with the Packers and Vikings, while the Bears can enhance their rivalry with the Colts and AFC North.  The "Midwestern Division" will be the "Defensive Division".

 

I don’t think Bears fans would like that though.  I mean how can you separate the Bears from the Packers? That is their biggest rivalry and one of the oldest in the NFL.  
 

Also please keep the Colts far away from frigin Pittsburgh. Lol  I hate losing so often to that franchise.

[danlhart87]

3 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I don’t think Bears fans would like that though.  I mean how can you separate the Bears from the Packers? That is their biggest rivalry and one of the oldest in the NFL.  

What are your thoughts on mine?

[PrincetonTiger]

@crazycolt1

 I am not exactly sure but most fans around here were either Colts(Sam Ball) or Dolphin Fan(Bob Griese) 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 hours ago, danlhart87 said:

Southern region

 

Texans 

Cowboys

Dolphins 

Buccaneers 

Jaguars 

Panthers

Saints

Titans 

 

Northern Region 

 

Bears 

Lions 

Vikings 

Packers 

Colts

Bengals 

Browns

Ravens

 

Western Region

 

Seahawks 

Raiders 

Broncos 

Chiefs

Chargers

Rams

49ers

Cardinals 

 

Eastern Region

 

Jets

Patriots 

Giants 

Bills 

Steelers 

Eagles

Falcons 

Redskins 

 

Get rid of divisions 

alternate home and road each year

Play 4 home and 4 road in own region 

Play 4 home and 4 road other region 

 

playoffs are top 3 from each region 

 

1 seeds get bye 

3 seed plays at 2 seed

 

by the final four is based on seeding 

highest seed plays lowest seed

If all 1 seeds many factors go in 

. win percentage

. sos

etc...

 

 

 

I had to go back and read some of the posts. This is a cool concept. How many playoff teams are you talking? I am thinking 6 for the South and North, 6 for West and East

[Coltsman1788]

3 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

What are your thoughts on mine?

I actually like it.  It’s outside the box in that it does away with the AFC/NFC dichotomy.  It’s just NFL.  Kinda like in the old days.  Lol.  Most traditional rivalries are preserved and the close regional ties will likely lead to new ones.   I think Redskins and Cowboys fans would have some heart burn over seeing their long standing annual rivalry dismissed though.  But the Cowboys never should have been in the NFC East to begin with. 

[danlhart87]

12 still

top 3 in each region 

 

for example

 

North 

 

1. Ravens 

2. Colts

3. Vikings 

Vikings would play at Colts

Winner would go to Ravens 

1 minute ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I actually like it.  It’s outside the box in that it does away with the AFC/NFC dichotomy.  It’s just NFL.  Kinda like in the old days.  Lol.  Most traditional rivalries are preserved and the close regional ties will likely lead to new ones.   I think Redskins and Cowboys fans would have some heart burn over seeing their long standing annual rivalry dismissed though.  But the Cowboys never should have been in the NFC East to begin with. 

The Cowboys being in the East makes zero sense 

[PrincetonTiger]

2 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I actually like it.  It’s outside the box in that it does away with the AFC/NFC dichotomy.  It’s just NFL.  Kinda like in the old days.  Lol.  Most traditional rivalries are preserved and the close regional ties will likely lead to new ones.   I think Redskins and Cowboys fans would have some heart burn over seeing their long standing annual rivalry dismissed though.  But the Cowboys never should have been in the NFC East to begin with. 

It doesn’t help with travel for fans

    @danlhart87

        

[Coltsman1788]

6 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

12 still

top 3 in each region 

 

for example

 

North 

 

1. Ravens 

2. Colts

3. Vikings 

Vikings would play at Colts

Winner would go to Ravens 

The Cowboys being in the East makes zero sense 

Hmmm...so playoffs are division focused in the early rounds?  Why not just seed all the Playoff teams based on records and tie breakers like we do now?  Gives more variety of playoff match ups year to year.  

[danlhart87]

there would be eight games within your own region and eight in others

 

after the first year most region winners and playoff teams would square off in inter-regional play to make the playoffs different every year.

[danlhart87]

within your own region 

4 home games and 4 road alternate 

 

for example 

If we play ravens at ravens next year they come to Indy 

[Moosejawcolt]

9 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

I did like a personal dissertation on this and actually sent it to the NFL.  Unfortunately I didn't transfer it from my last PC, so it's lost.  

 

I even had a graphic with colored bubbles showing the most logical division alignment.  It looked something like the following:

 

 

If not for the traditional rivalries like Cowboys-Giants, it makes much more sense to re-align the divisions geographically.

Rivalries only develop between good teams.  There is no rivalry between the Cowboys and Giants.  A perfect example would have been the Manning lead Colts vs the Pats.  They stood in the Colts way . Now there is no rivalry, because the Pats were an excellent team and the Colts are not. Thats how rivalries develop. 

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Rivalries only develop between good teams.  There is no rivalry between the Cowboys and Giants.  A perfect example would have been the Manning lead Colts vs the Pats.  They stood in the Colts way . Now there is no rivalry, because the Pats were an excellent team and the Colts are not. Thats how rivalries develop. 

I don't agree.

Tell the Packers and the Bear fans there is no rivalry. Regardless of those teams records it is still a rivalry. 

That is like saying there is no rivalries between Indiana and Purdue. 

[PrincetonTiger]

6 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I don't agree.

Tell the Packers and the Bear fans there is no rivalry. Regardless of those teams records it is still a rivalry. 

That is like saying there is no rivalries between Indiana and Purdue. 

 The same goes for Princeton and Gibson Southern

[2006Coltsbestever]

13 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I don't agree.

Tell the Packers and the Bear fans there is no rivalry. Regardless of those teams records it is still a rivalry. 

That is like saying there is no rivalries between Indiana and Purdue. 

I agree. You ask any Bears fan who their biggest rival is they will say the Packers or any Packers fan who their biggest rival is they will say the Bears. What some people do not realize the Colts and Patriots have been huge rivals long before Peyton vs Brady. Once we won the division in 1987 both teams hated each other. Peyton vs Brady just took it to another level. Arrogant Pats fans will poo poo the rivalry now because they have beat us 6 straight times but the Colts vs Pats is definitely a rivalry. We earned that by winning the AFC East in 1987 and then going 5-1 against them for 2005-2009 and beating them in the 2006 AFC Title Game. To me I consider 3 teams a rivalry = Pats, Steelers, and Texans. The first 2 teams for obvious reasons. Texans are now because they are in our division and have earned that by winning the division 4 of the last 5 years.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

1 hour ago, danlhart87 said:

I became a fan during the Harbaugh era I turn 33 in less than 3 weeks

That's great. It takes everybody else 33 years to turn 33.

[ThinBlueLineColts]

3 hours ago, danlhart87 said:

some rivalries would change but being in same region might assist that 

 

i can't speak for everywhere but being in texas cowboys and texans are huge rivals and I could see it elsewhere too 

 

bears and colts

jets and giants 

steelers and eagles 

etc 

I lived in Texas for 5 years..and I go back every year for work..Cowboys and Texans are not rivals. Maybe moving in same division would create that but currently no. Lot of Texan fans root for Cowboys as a 2nd favorite cause they were Dallas fans before the more local city, Houston got a team. 

[danlhart87]

2 minutes ago, ThinBlueLineColts said:

I lived in Texas for 5 years..and I go back every year for work..Cowboys and Texans are not rivals. Maybe moving in same division would create that but currently no. Lot of Texan fans root for Cowboys as a 2nd favorite cause they were Dallas fans before the more local city, Houston got a team. 

They aren't rivals now because they play once every 4 years the likes of which always bring lots of attention from both fans. I can't imagine if they played 2x a year like they were in same division.

[Myles]

I would not change it.   I like 4 team divisions.  

[jimmy g]

14 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

 

 

Thank you @crazycolt1.  The Colts were one of the original and most recognizable/influential brands of the original NFL.

 

For the NFL to not only reassign the Colts to the AFC, but to put them in a division (AFC South) with not only two expansion teams (Texans and Jags) but also a relocated team (Titans) not only speaks to the NFL being willing to restructure divisions, but also completely upset traditional rivalries.

 

The history of the Colts is a perfect example of the NFL being willing to re-align for their own interests.  Dallas will not "always be in the NFC East", and KC will not "always be in the AFC West" if the NFL decides to re-align.

The NFL didn’t reassign the Colts to the AFC.  In the 1970 merger, the NFL offered $150,000.00 for three teams to voluntarily move from the NFC to the AFC. The Browns, Steelers and Colts took the offer.

[jimmy g]

Lucky, you have the Eagles and Redskins in the Northeast, but the Ravens in the Midwest. Geographically, Baltimore sits in the middle of Philadelphia and DC- 60 miles from each.  For your geographical idea to work, put Baltimore in with Philadelphia, and move Buffalo to be in with Cleveland.

[jimmy g]

7 hours ago, ThinBlueLineColts said:

I lived in Texas for 5 years..and I go back every year for work..Cowboys and Texans are not rivals. Maybe moving in same division would create that but currently no. Lot of Texan fans root for Cowboys as a 2nd favorite cause they were Dallas fans before the more local city, Houston got a team. 

Houston had the Oilers since 1960 until they moved to Tennessee

[crazycolt1]

40 minutes ago, jimmy g said:

The NFL didn’t reassign the Colts to the AFC.  In the 1970 merger, the NFL offered $150,000.00 for three teams to voluntarily move from the NFC to the AFC. The Browns, Steelers and Colts took the offer.

For one thing it was 3 million, not $150,000. 

[jimmy g]

Just now, crazycolt1 said:

For one thing it was 3 million, not $150,000. 

Don’t know why I had that figure in mind. First I thought $150 million, but I knew that was way too high for 1970.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

14 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

The history of the Colts is a perfect example of the NFL being willing to re-align for their own interests.  Dallas will not "always be in the NFC East", and KC will not "always be in the AFC West" if the NFL decides to re-align.

I have to disagree. Dallas will always be in the NFC East because like it or not they are probably the biggest brand in the league and Jerry Jones is not going to allow his team to lose their traditional rivalries with the Giants, Eagles, and Washington. Jerry Jones is probably the most powerful team owner in American sports and has a great deal of pull with how things are done in the NFL.

[crazycolt1]

18 minutes ago, Mel Kiper's Hair said:

I have to disagree. Dallas will always be in the NFC East because like it or not they are probably the biggest brand in the league and Jerry Jones is not going to allow his team to lose their traditional rivalries with the Giants, Eagles, and Washington. Jerry Jones is probably the most powerful team owner in American sports and has a great deal of pull with how things are done in the NFL.

All this is hypothetical but it's thought provoking.

Jerry Jones is 77 years old. 

Just saying. lol

[PrincetonTiger]

59 minutes ago, Mel Kiper's Hair said:

I have to disagree. Dallas will always be in the NFC East because like it or not they are probably the biggest brand in the league and Jerry Jones is not going to allow his team to lose their traditional rivalries with the Giants, Eagles, and Washington. Jerry Jones is probably the most powerful team owner in American sports and has a great deal of pull with how things are done in the NFL.

 I agree

     KC has played with Denver, Chargers, and Raiders franchise since 1960

[PrincetonTiger]

38 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

All this is hypothetical but it's thought provoking.

Jerry Jones is 77 years old. 

Just saying. lol

His son is ready to take over ala Mark Davis and Mike Brown

[chad72]

If anything, AFC East and AFC South have the best chances for re-alignment, IMO.

[ThinBlueLineColts]

2 hours ago, jimmy g said:

Houston had the Oilers since 1960 until they moved to Tennessee

Lol yes I know but there was a few year gap where fans  became Cowboys fans. I know and met several who root for the Texans because they are local but can’t get themselves to stop cheering for Dallas. 

[Moosejawcolt]

12 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

I don't agree.

Tell the Packers and the Bear fans there is no rivalry. Regardless of those teams records it is still a rivalry. 

That is like saying there is no rivalries between Indiana and Purdue. 

Packers and Bears have fielded good teams.  Do u think there would still be a rivalry if the packers made the play offs for 10 years and the Bears didnt?

[PrincetonTiger]

3 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Packers and Bears have fielded good teams.  Do u think there would still be a rivalry if the packers made the play offs for 10 years and the Bears didnt?

Yes