My Gripe: It's important Rams win next 3

[LA Rammer]

"The NFC West is raising eyebrows as it has a good shot at sending a sub-.500 team to the NFL playoffs. Should losers get to advance?"

These captions are repeatedly brought to our attention and personally offensive to me because the Rams are in the NFC West. Nobody is talking about the Colts who were 6-6 like the Rams and Seahawks. Yet phone lines are tied up with people making out scenarios with them winning out and making the wildcards. If the NFC West is mentioned comments of how they should be banned from the playoffs until they prove they can be a consistently winning division or even dissolving it into a 2 division conference. Whaaaa????

I know we won 3 games in like how many years??? but now as rebuilding process is seen and improvement on the horizon this...

There is only one solution to this problem... WE MUST WIN OUT! With Rams winning the division 10-6, 9-7 people would then be forced to retract their blasphemy!

[Nick_Weasel]

FWIW it's highly unlikely after last week that the winner of the NFC West won't be at least 8-8.

Here's why: we play Seattle Week 17. The winner of that game will have at least 7 wins on the season. If the winner of that game does not win the division, it would mean that the other team was at least 8-7 heading into Week 17.

So the only way to go to the playoffs at 7-9 would be if the winning team came in Week 17 6-9 and the loser came in at 6-9 or 7-8. And that means that the winner of week 17 (whoever it eventually is) would have to to 0-3 in the next 3 and the loser of week 17 would have to be either 0-3 or 1-2. And we should still consider the (admittedly small) chance that SF wins out and goes 8-8. It's possible the winner of the division is 7-8, but FAR less likely than before both Seattle and STL won last week. Of course, all of this neglects ties, but those are highly unlikely.

[rammiser]

This is just the media want this to happen so they can whine and cry how the lowly team from the NFC west went to the playoffs when a team with a better record didnt make it. I hate to be the one to rain on their parade but almost every year there is a team with as good or better record than a division winner that doesnt make the playoffs. I actually think if the Rams win the division and host a playoff game against say the Bears or Bucs that the Rams will win that game. On the Mike and Mike show the dorky Mike is just so sure the division winner is going to be 7-9 which means he doesnt think the Rams or Seahawks can win 2 of their remaining games which is asinine. I think the Seahawks will lose three of their games and it will be the next 3 they play. I think the Rams will finish either 8-8 or 9-7 and we will beat the Chiefs and Niners no question.

[Varg6]

Let them cry.

Every division changes each year. The only thing that's constant is the rule that the leader of said division will be in the playoffs, then, of course, a wildcard spot(s). Quite frankly it's a perfect system, just because one division happens to be bad doesn't necessarily mean it'll always be bad. Look at the AFC South, everyone assumed the Indianapolis Peyton Mannings would automatically win 11+. It just doesn't work that way every year. We, as the Rams, are fortunate that we're still a rebuilding team but have a chance to host a playoff game. We may look, more or less, insignificant in say, the NFC East. I think one of the most exciting aspects of the playoffs is the fact that a team like the Rams, who may possibly win the division with a .500 division or even less (depending on how everything plays out), could potentially win the SuperBowl. The ultimate underdog scenario. No one would complain then right?

[Holt Your Horses]

Ever since all these comments have been thrown out i have been hoping for the rams to make the playoffs at 7-9 and then knock the hell out of the team they play in the first round just to shut everyone up.

[Goldenfleece]

Ever since all these comments have been thrown out i have been hoping for the rams to make the playoffs at 7-9 and then knock the hell out of the team they play in the first round just to shut everyone up.

Agreed. We've seen #5 and #6 seeds make deep runs into the playoffs before. We win one game in the postseason, and all of the sudden those "they don't belong" storylines become "overcoming adversity" storylines.

[AlphaRam]

We need to focus on winning the game this weekend, not the next three games. A win in New Orleans will help alleviate concern over any remaining games.

[39WillRunYaOva]

We need to focus on winning the game this weekend, not the next three games. A win in New Orleans will help alleviate concern over any remaining games.

Agreed.But on the original topic,forget what the analyst/experts say.The winner of the NFC will be 8-8 at worst if anything 9-7.SO with that being said they need to shut up and move on because last year the Chargers won with an 8-8 records.Our division might not be a stud but we are on the rise so thats all that matters.Get in the playoffs however we can and then its anybodys game regardless of reg season record.