Tuesday, February 04, 2014

The Seahawks Are The Champs: The Offseason Begins For The Packers

After watching the Seahawks dominate in the Super Bowl, it might look like the Packers have an impossibly tough opponent to overcome next season. While the Seahawks were for real this season, past success doesn't guarantee it will happen in the future.

The only player of note the Seahawks were without in the Super Bowl was WR Sidney Rice (until CB Richard Sherman was hurt late in the game) and Rice's value is debatable. To repeat in 2014, the Seahawks are going to have to navigate the tricky road of future injuries and re-signing current and future free agents. They'll still be formidable in 2014 but they'll have as much trouble keeping it all together as the Packers will have at making their own team better.

The Seahawks remind me a little of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who's defense obliterated the Giants in the Super Bowl. That offseason, the Ravens made a big free agent QB signing to improve their shaky offense around a dominate defense, and they didn't make it back to the Super Bowl in 2001. They didn't even make the playoffs in 2002.

It's hard to keep a great team together. The Packers looked like a potential dynasty in 2011 after winning Super Bowl 45, but then S Nick Collins suffered a (maybe) career ending injury in Week 2 of the following season, and the defense has never been the same since.

But now onto the offseason, which begins with boring stories about ticket increases before kicking the tires on their upcoming free agents. I'll start writing about free agency later this week.

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