I think that the point that most of people are getting at, is that from year to year there are different amounts of teams in the top tier. This year arguably was 3. Past couple of years was most likely a couple more. No matter if its 2,4,6, or 8; There are going to be some years where some team is in the playoffs despite not being in the top level, and some years where somebody deserving will get shut out. All this, IMO.