Monday, October 19, 2015

Realignment & Reassignment

Image result for NFL With the addition of the Houston Texans, perfect mathematical realignment was made possible, with four directional divisions designated for each conference. Geographic reassignment should have been a requirement, but it obviously wasn't.  My immediate reaction was, as it remains today, to ask, "How can the southernmost team in the league not be in either South division and why are the Dallas Cowboys still in the East?"
In the subsequent years, right up to present tense, there have been and are various suggestions for realigning the divisions, so that they more closely approximate the realty of their directional designations.  It should be an easy matter to look at an American map and determine which teams are East, South, North and West.  But in the same manner that American history is no longer accurately taught, I suppose that it is a safe assumption that American geography isn't, either.
There is recent and current talk about different teams relocating, which would throw any present day talk of proper directional reassignment moot through inaccuracy.  I have heard rumors of  America's second largest city and the biggest city without an NFL franchise getting a team. Image result for los angeles
Image result for st louis rams logo Could the Rams move back home?  Could the junkyard Jaguars move all the way across the country?   
Could this thought of the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders sharing a stadium in L.A. have any credence or credibility?  Image result for san diego chargers logo  NFL's Los Angeles Move Could Bring Divisional Realignment
I hope to goodness not, because that may be absolutely one of the most ridiculous proposals I've ever heard, including Bernie Sanders for President.Image result for bernie sanders
There is this 'thing' called   proposed by some organization called
Image result for 247 Sports logo which includes not only more proper placement of teams in terms of geographic location, but also conference reassignment of thirteen teams, including my home team Panthers Image result for carolina panthers, which would be stupidly confusing and/or confusingly stupid.
 
When the league was reorganized in 2002, the assigners did mange to get one division in each conference correct, the AFC West and the NFC South.  Beyond that, it looks like they've never looked at a map.
Image result for miami dolphins Starting with my lifelong beloved Dolphins, located in the southernmost metropolitan area in America, save Honolulu, they should join the Jags, the Titans and the Texans to make up the AFC South.  If that were the case today, my Miami Dolphins would be in first place in their division, even with their pitiable 2 and 3 record.
Image result for jacksonville jaguars  Image result for houston texans
That would mean moving the Indianapolis Colts, whose current South assignment is maybe even stupider than having Dallas in the East.Image result for indianapolis colts They would be reassigned to the AFC North, joining the western Pennsylvania team and the two Ohio teams.
Image result for pittsburgh steelers   Image result for cincinnati bengalsImage result for cleveland browns
And that would put the Ravens in the East to fill the void created with the reassignment of the Dolphins.  And let's face it.  Baltimore is about as east as East can be..
 Image result for baltimore ravens   
A for te NFC, let's start with the most obvious move of the Cowboys from East to West.  Image result for dallas cowboys Any team called the Cowboys should be in the West.  Sure, it would eliminate that home and away rivalry with the Redskins.   But, as political correctness will most probably, sooner than later, cause a name change for the capital city's franchise, there will no longer be even a semantical basis for such a two games a year confrontation between cowboys and Indians.
That would mean moving the Rams to the North and the Lions to the East.  Anybody who has been in the state of Missouri in the wintertime knows that St. Louis is far more North than West and Detroit is in the Eastern Time Zone.. Image result for st louis rams Image result for detroit Lions             
And that's how the NFL should be aligned, given current team locations.