NFL Talks Realignment

Surprise: The realignment plans don`t appear that difficult to resolve into one.

"The NFC East and Central and the AFC East and West seem pretty well set," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said as he unveiled seven of the dozen or so plans under consideration. "The more difficult decisions are in the others." There seems to be a pretty clear consensus in the seven plans unveiled, with expansion Houston going into the AFC, and Seattle ? or perhaps San Diego ? switching to the NFC to balance the conferences.

Two NFC divisions look set.

One is the East with Dallas, the New York Giants, Philadelphia and Washington (Arizona would shift to the West.) The other is the Central as it was before Tampa Bay joined the NFL in 1976 ? the "black and blue" or "frostbite" division of Minnesota, Detroit, Green Bay and Chicago.

The AFC would keep the basic configuration of Buffalo, New England, the New York Jets and Miami in the East, with Kansas City, Denver, San Diego and Oakland in the West. Those teams, all original American Football League franchises, were aligned similarly in the AFL and have longstanding rivalries.

All are part of Option A1, which many league and team officials consider the most likely.

"I think that`s the one," said Dan Rooney of Pittsburgh, one of the league`s most influential owners.

The other divisions in that plan would be Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the AFC North (the Bengals, Browns and Steelers are locked together in most of the plans); Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee in the AFC South (an orphan division of new or transplanted franchises); Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco and Seattle in the NFC West; and Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans and Tampa Bay in the NFC South.

Most of the other scenarios are minor variations of that, flip-flopping Houston and Baltimore in one plan, Indianapolis and Baltimore in another. A couple would put Dallas into the NFC West, an unlikely scenario favored primarily by Arizona owner Bill Bidwill, who gets his only sellouts when the Cowboys come to town. Most league executives don`t seem as hardened to change as some critics claim they are. And teams that are moving seem resigned to it.

Bill Polian, president of the Colts, said he was willing to go anywhere the owners decide.

"We`ll do what`s good for the league," he said.

The same goes for an official of the Seahawks who declined to be identified, but suggested the team wasn`t happy, but was willing to do what was best.

Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy said, "We know we`re moving; we`re resigned to that."

Houston is scheduled to rejoin the league for the 2002 season. The deadline for realignment is June 1. And it`s likely to be decided either at a lengthened meeting already scheduled for Chicago at the end of May or a special meeting the first week of May.

There is also another twist: Four relocated or new teams do not have votes ? Houston, St. Louis, Baltimore and Tennessee. Those votes have been awarded to Tagliabue.

The commissioner said it hasn`t been decided if those votes would be abstentions, with just 28 teams actually voting. That would make 21 votes necessary for a plan to be approved.

If those four proxies owned by Tagliabue count, 24 of 32 would be needed, and the commissioner would have the right to cast the votes for the Texans, Rams, Ravens and Titans.

Tagliabue said he was considering giving back those votes to the teams that had them. And he said if he cast the votes, it would be more likely to block a plan he doesn`t like than to cast the deciding votes in favor of a plan. The league has already decided on the scheduling format. Twelve teams still will qualify for the playoffs: four division winners and two wild cards in each conference.

Each team will play home-and-home games against teams in its division, four games against another division in its conference and four games against a division in the other conference. The final two games would be based on the previous year`s standings ? a first-place team would play the other two first-place teams in its conference, and the other teams would do the same for where they finished.

Each team in a division would play 14 common opponents out of 16 games. Last year, the number was 10. "That`s what makes the scheduling format so good," Tagliabue said. "It means conferences will be decided on equity, not because one team has an easier schedule than another in its division."

The NFL`s Option:
AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South:
Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans

AFC East:
Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets

AFC West:
Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers

NFC North:
Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

NFC South:
Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants,
Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

NFC West:
Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

Possible Swaps Seattle for San Diego Houston for Baltimore Tennessee for New Orleans Baltimore for Indianapolis

Votes go to Commissioner proxy Baltimore Houston Tennessee St. Louis

Copyright 2001 by the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)