Realigning the NFL Version 1

I enjoyed putting together the first post I did which delved into the distances teams travel throughout the NFL.  Check it out before you jump into this.

Geographic advantages and thoughts on league-wide realignment

When looking at the current amount of miles that NFL teams travel I kept being drawn to the west coast and trying to find a perfect situation.  The perfect situation is moving a team to Los Angeles as well as maybe San Antonio or Salt Lake City.  I’ll save that fun for a later version.

This version focuses on lowering the total miles that teams travel within the division.  In this version you’ll quickly see that lots of rivalries are lost in the shuffle although more then a few are kept intact.  No worries, this is just version 1, the next version will be a mix of current rivalries as well as geographic improvements.  Have patience because I’m confident that once we relocate a team or two that most key rivalries can be maintained.

It’s no secret that a majority of NFL teams are located in the northeast.  In order to minimize the average distance to a team’s division rivals it was imperative to group those teams in the northeast together.  I then worked my way southwest grouping teams together as best as possible.  With five teams on the West coast (including Arizona) I had to make some tough decisions but in the commentary I’ll try and justify as many as possible.

Check it out after the jump.

Here we have Version 1.  I didn’t like how the division names looked since the regions didn’t match up from AFC to NFC.  Please don’t get wrapped up in debating the names, they’re just names and most likely will change back to regional names once I can make it work.  The first number listed shows their new total miles in distance to division rivals.  The second number shows the change in their previous amount from the current NFL alignment.  Enjoy!

Key Stat

Old average distance:  2,284 miles

New average distance:  1,348 miles

AFC

All four of these teams saw big improvements in distance.  They represent the four shortest distances traveled in the entire NFL under this realignment.  The Eagles, Redskins and Giants already have great history.  Baltimore is right in the middle and would fit in nicely with the existing rivalries among all three of the other teams.  I tried to get the Eagles and Steelers together but it just wasn’t working for this version.  I also thought about putting both New York teams in the same division but that too just wouldn’t work in this version when you take the other teams in the northeast into consideration.

The Patriots, Jets and Bills have solid history and adding a team like Pittsburgh should only enhance it.  The Steelers close proximity to Buffalo should help to keep the Bills in Buffalo (for this version at least).  Pittsburgh is the first team to see an increase in their amount of distance compared to the current NFL alignment.  The key is that the distance is still about 200 miles less then the new average.  Besides the Steelers, the other teams see big improvements compared to their current NFL alignment.  Inserting the Steelers into the Patriots-Jets rivalry would be something to look forward to.

The headline here is St. Louis and the drop in their distance.  It’s the largest drop in the realignment.  They previously traveled over 5,600 miles, 1300 more then Seattle who previously had the second worst travel distance.  Indianapolis also sees a big drop with Cincinnati seeing a smaller drop.  Cleveland sees a small increase but still comes in below the new average which is 1,348 miles.  The Browns-Bengals rivalry is maintained.

Miami and Jacksonville see huge decreases in their amount of distance, registering the second and third highest decreases.  Tampa sees a decent decrease.  Carolina gets a slight increase and this time I can’t use the excuse that they’re under the average, they aren’t.  My reasoning here is that we’re starting to get into the southeast and it’s not a perfect world from here to the west.  Carolina is a new team in the NFL and their location is right in the middle the northeast, southeast and south central areas.  Putting them with the teams in the northeast didn’t make sense which was the case in the south central area as well.  This was a best case scenario for them.

NFC

These four teams stay together.  They have a rich history and happen to be located in an area that makes sense for them to stay together.  Not much to say here.

Atlanta and New Orleans stay in the same division and the addition of Tennessee should add to the foundation.  Houston and Tennessee should be an instant rivalry as well causing leftover Oilers fans in Houston to truly make a decision on which team they support.  Atlanta sees a small increase in distance but like Carolina they’ll have to live with it until a team or two relocate.

Good news first.  All four teams saw improvements in their distance compared to the current NFL alignment.  Kansas City gets big improvement in distance and the other three teams see a good amount of improvement.  The Chiefs and Broncos continue their rivalry and I think Dallas fits in nicely with those two.  Arizona could easily be matched with west coast teams but the numbers don’t work until a team or two relocates.  For now it’s a best case scenario for them as well as the other teams in this division.  Bad news last, Dallas isn't in the east.  In the next version I see them being in a better position in regards to distance.

Oakland and San Francisco see the fourth and fifth largest improvements in distance.  Seattle improves vastly as well with San Diego also getting a large improvement.  The Raiders and Chargers stay together as well as the 49ers and Seahawks.  The headline here for me is San Francisco-Oakland and the battle for the Bay.  This should be an instant rivalry that has been long overdue.

Here is an easy view of all the realigned divisions with the same numbers that I referenced above.  Below you’ll find a map of the US with all the teams on it as well as an area outline showing the groupings of new divisions.

Key Stat

Old average distance:  2,284 miles

New average distance:  1,348 miles

Four teams get to stay together, another four teams see minimal increases while the other 24 teams see a decrease of 1,328 miles on average.

The travel time is debatable for all of these teams.  Do they save time or just money by using a bus instead of plane in some cases?  Who knows but that’s not my reason for doing this.

It’s getting the fans in a position to support their team.  Putting teams in a best case scenario in regards to the distance from their rivals will only help to increase ticket sales.  By cutting the distance in half or better for most teams you’re drastically improving the chance that fans will travel more since it’s much closer.

If I’m a marketing guy for the league, I’m looking at this and suggesting that this is the way the NFL goes green.  Everything about this specific realignment focuses on efficiency.

Many rivals were maintained but think about that.  If some of the strongest rivals were maintained in this realignment then wouldn't it make sense that the strongest rivals are located near each?  Since grouping teams near each other was the focus for this realignment then I think new rivals will develop faster then you think.  If a rivalry was kept intact it was only because they were close in proximity.

That way of thinking would suggest that all of these divisions would see new rivalries born quickly due to close proximity.  I honestly feel like this is the best but I know there are plenty of other rivalries you want me to maintain so that will be the focus on the next version, mixing this with more rivalries.

Here’s a map showing the divisions connected.  It gives you a much better outlook on alternatives if any of you plan on moving some teams around.  Before you suggest something just look at the divisions on the map and be sure to tell me who will replace the teams you're moving.  Don’t just say "put the Cowboys with the Eagles, Giants and Redskins" because doing that isn’t easy and causes a domino effect.

via i43.tinypic.com

Now a map of the current alignment showing the obvious misplacement of many teams outside of their region.

via i39.tinypic.com

Hope you enjoyed.  I’ll put out the next version as soon as it’s ready.