ESPN AFL

The playoffs start next week, but there could be too many mediocre teams sneaking in and not enough elite teams. But there could be a way to eliminate this.

Right now, the National Conference is clearly the better of the two conferences. It's possible eight of the nine teams from this conference will have .500 records or better at the end of the regular season. The only team with a losing record is Columbus, but the Destroyers seem to play close games nearly every week. However, it's another story in the American Conference. With the exception of Chicago and San Jose, there is not another elite team. Three of the six teams heading to the playoffs will have records under .500.

So here's one idea to consider: What if the AFL took the top four teams from each conference then picked the remaining four playoff teams according to their record, regardless of their division? That would put the 12 best teams in the playoffs and keep bad teams from being rewarded for being in a bad division or conference.

Still, it should be an interesting postseason this year, regardless of records. And here's one projection of who will make it and who will end up winning ArenaBowl XXII.

Wild Card Weekend

National Conference
No. 4 Orlando over No. 5 New Orleans
No. 3 Dallas over No. 6 Cleveland

American Conference
No. 4 Utah over No. 5 Colorado
No. 3 Arizona over No. 6 Grand Rapids

Divisional Playoff Weekend

National Conference
No. 1 Philadelphia over No. 4 Orlando
No. 2 Georgia over No. 3 Dallas

American Conference
No. 1 San Jose over No. 4 Utah
No. 2 Chicago over No. 3 Arizona

Conference Championships

National Conference
No. 1 Philadelphia over No. 2 Georgia

American Conference
No. 1 San Jose over No. 2 Chicago

ArenaBowl XXII

Philadelphia over San Jose

Gary Horton, a pro scout for Scouts Inc., has been a football talent evaluator for more than 30 years. He spent 10 years in the NFL and 10 years at the college level before launching a private scouting firm called The War Room.