Packers fans better get used to hearing about NFC Championship collapse

Typically, the storylines surrounding the Packers as the season draws closer focus on three things:

  • Newly drafted players
  • Second or third-year players poised to become good or great players
  • How the Packers will fill the gap at (insert position group)

It’s fun getting to know the newest Packers and speculating which young guys already on the roster might break out. It’s also fun to second-guess general manager Ted Thompson a bit and wonder how the Packers will fare at (insert position group) with no shiny new outside free agent on the roster to help.

But this offseason, the storylines surrounding the Packers have been different, and I don’t expect it to change any time soon. Everyone is still talking about the meltdown in Seattle. They want to know how the Packers are going to respond. What changes will be made to prevent it from happening again? What did the Packers learn? Can they recover? Will they use it as motivation? How in the hell did that happen?

Yes, it gets old hearing about that miserable day over and over again. But we better get used to it, because we’ll be hearing about it for a while. The usual Packers pre-season storylines will still be there, but they’ll take a back seat to the “How will the Packers get over what happened in Seattle” angle.

To think that the Seattle debacle will just go away to make room for another story on the Packers fourth-round draft pick or Casey Hayward is wishful thinking. This Seattle storyline is sticking around for a while. To wish otherwise is the equivalent of wishing that only the positive aspects of government receive media coverage instead of only the scandals. You might have a point, but the scandals and negativity will garner more attention than the feel-good stories each and every time. That’s just the way it is.

If hearing more about the Seattle loss in the buildup to the 2015 season annoys you, you might want to steer clear of Packers’ coverage before the the opener vs. Chicago. The Seattle storylines will be coming fast and hard. And even if (when?) the Packers win 10-13 games — several in memorable fashion — in 2015, the Seahawks meltdown storyline will still be there come playoff time. That’s just the way it is.

Besides not letting a similar meltdown happen again, there’s nothing the Packers can do to stop it.