John Mara not a fan of expanded playoffs
Giants owner John Mara speaks to the media in East Rutherford, N.J. (Dec. 30, 2013) Credit: AP
Atlanta - Giants president and co-owner John Mara is not a fan of expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams. But he understands he's in the minority on that one, and admits playoff expansion might happen as soon as the 2015 season.
"I've always been against it," he said at the league's annual May owners meetings. "I just like it the way it is right now. I think we’re diluting it too much [if the league adds playoff teams]. It also creates other issues. You’re going to play one of those games on a Monday night and the prospect of doing that in January is not all that appealing. But most importantly, I like the way it is right now.
"We had a great opening wild card weekend this year and it seems like we have that every year and I’m not sure what this is going to bring."
The subject of expanded playoffs was tabled today, and owners are likely to take up the issue at their fall meetings in October in Detroit.
Mara said he didn't think approving the playoffs was "a sure thing at all," since it would require a vote of 24 of the league's 32 owners. "But I would probably say it's more likely than not. It still requires 24 votes, and that's never a sure thing."
Mara said no straw poll was taken today, "so I really don't know what the rest of the membership thinks."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said yesterday that he believes there is a big enough group of owners in favor of expanding the playoffs to push the measure through.
Mara said the prospect of a team with a losing record getting into the playoffs doesn't appeal to him.
"Teams can go from 9-7 to the Super Bowl, as we’ve seen," he said, referring to the Giants' 2011 Super Bowl run. "Can they do it from 7-9 or 8-8, I don’t know. You tell me."
