Should the first seed of each conference get to play on Saturday?

fryet · 2013-01-12T22:35:33-08:00

I am loving that the 49ers get 8 days to prepare for their next opponent. That extra day of rest will certainly help. But if I was a Falcons fan, I would be wondering why the Falcons didn't get to play on Saturday instead. Would it be too imbalancing to give the first seed the home field plus 8 days between Division and Conference games? Or if you wanted to balance things, you could always give the first seed the Sunday game, knowing that they won't have to travel the next week, making the 2 final games between teams that have advantages. #1 gets home field, #2 gets extra day for rest/travel. Thoughts?

Jan 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Gore_21
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I actually think the times are pre-determined and rotated yearly between the AFC and NFC.

Jan 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Gore_21
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sorry, double post

[ Edited by Gore_21 on Jan 13, 2013 at 12:03 AM ]

Jan 13, 2013 at 2:37 AM

mkmasn
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Posts: 1,329

So, the first seed would get a week off, home field advantage, play the lowest seed, and have an extra day?

Second seed gets a week off and plays the highest seed on Sunday...

Doesn't seem fair to me...

If the times are pre-determined and rotated, that's as fair as you can get it.

Jan 13, 2013 at 5:45 AM

Dr_Bill_Walsh
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Pretty sure it's set up as it is so that it's rotated fairly every other year between NFC and AFC, and between the #1 and #2 seeds...league, owners and networks have probably all agreed that this is fair

and it goes both ways if you think of it...yes the falcons would have one less day to prep for us should they win today, but they also had an extra day of rest in the playoff BYE to prep for the seahags or skins (actually since they clinched so early last month and I think they played a saturday game week 16 the falcons got an additional extra days rest)

Jan 13, 2013 at 7:18 AM

49er4life
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Originally posted by Dr_Bill_Walsh:
Pretty sure it's set up as it is so that it's rotated fairly every other year between NFC and AFC, and between the #1 and #2 seeds...league, owners and networks have probably all agreed that this is fair

and it goes both ways if you think of it...yes the falcons would have one less day to prep for us should they win today, but they also had an extra day of rest in the playoff BYE to prep for the seahags or skins (actually since they clinched so early last month and I think they played a saturday game week 16 the falcons got an additional extra days rest)

That is a very good point, that extra day of planning and practice is huge coming off the first round bye when you don't know who you are playing is until 1 week before.

Jan 13, 2013 at 7:58 PM

fryet
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Posts: 3,386

I wouldn't think that 13 versus 14 days of rest would make much difference to a team, but I would imagine that 7 versus 8 days would have an impact. This is perfect for the 49ers since they have to travel cross-country. They will have as much preparation time as if it was a regular home game.