Allen’s take on seeding proposal

Had a quick chat with general manager Bruce Allen earlier today, and it's clear where the Bucs stand on the league's proposal that calls for a dramatic change to the way teams are seeded in the playoffs.

The proposal, if passed at the owners meetings next week, would mean seeds 3 through 6 in each conference would be determined by overall record. That means the division champs would no longer be assured a top-four seed in the postseason. It also means the Bucs would have been seeded behind the Giants and played on the road in 2007.

The Bucs are not going to vote in favor of this and are likely to try to influence others, too.

"It's a strange time to make this proposal," Allen said. "Two of the last three Super Bowl winners (the Steelers and Giants) have (gotten there) by playing on the road. We've always, as a league, treated division champs as special. I really don't know what they hope to accomplish."

The Bucs are clearly protecting their interests here, which is their right. The NFC South is often won by a large margin, so the winner would have the luxury of resting key players like the Bucs did in '07. The fear is the Bucs could be in a similar position this fall and have this rule be applied to them. Knowing their position on resting starters heading into the playoffs, guess it's kind of predictable where they'd come down on this issue.