PHILADELPHIA -- Seemingly destined to be either toppled or tabled, as league officials and team owners assembled here Tuesday for a two-day meeting, proposals which would expand the playoff field from 12 teams to 14 nonetheless retained surprising support.

The unanimous vote of the influential competition committee, to recommend against the proposals, figures to carry significant weight. Historically, at least, owners are reluctant to buck the recommendation of the committee, which debates and studies rules changes. But a survey over the past week suggested that a majority of owners might actually favor adding teams to the playoff pool.

"I think there is some sentiment that maybe it's time to expand the (playoff) pool," said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who authored one of the proposals for doing just that. "I wouldn't doubt that more than half (the owners) are in favor."

That said, a majority isn't nearly enough in the NFL, where a three-quarters vote of the membership, or 24 of 32 owners, is required to pass most major issues. Owners voted by a 17-14 count in March (with the Oakland Raiders abstaining) to alter overtime rules for the coming season, but the initiative was still seven votes shy of approval.

One owner unalterably opposed to broadening the playoff pool is Jeff Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles.

"To me, you want qualifying for the playoffs to be difficult, and in our league that is definitely the case," Lurie said. "Why cheapen things? The way that we determine our playoff teams, it means that every game counts, that fans have to either come out to the stadiums or watch on television. A two-game losing streak, in our league, is a critical thing. And that's, in part, because we've got just 12 (playoff) spots."

Word is that head coaches favor a change but, unfortunately for them, they don't vote.

ESPN.com has been told by two coaches that a "straw vote" back in March indicated support for playoff expansion. One coach said the straw vote was 27-5 for lengthening the playoff field, while another cited it as 26-6.

"The problem is," said one owner on Tuesday morning, "that the momentum was killed a bit by delaying a (formal) vote. Even some owners who favored the proposal have cooled some now in the last two months. My guess is, if we vote, it won't pass. But it's going to happen eventually, and the straw votes in March surprised some people who felt like the support wasn't there yet."

Those straw votes will mean little, though, if owners conduct a formal ballot Wednesday afternoon. There remain some intramural splits, between a team's coach and owner or owner and general manager, and that won't help the measure. There is also a chance that the proposal will be tabled until a later date.

And on Tuesday afternoon, commissioner Paul Tagliabue strongly suggested there might not even be a vote on the playoff proposals. Tagliabue cited the results of the competition committee study of an expanded playoffs and stopped just shy of conceding the proposals don't have sufficient votes. He noted that, historically, if it appears that a proposal will be defeated, vote isn't even conducted.

"I think it's quite likely it would be a waste of time," Tagliabue said.

When the league underwent a dramatic realignment and scheduling format change before the 2002 season, the consensus was that it would wait two years, and study the results of its remaking, before possibly adding playoff qualifiers. In fact, in a memo to owners, the competition committee recommended the issue being studied again after this season.

"It just seems premature to be doing it," said Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, the co-chairman of the competition committee.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.