Super Bowl Losers: Coincidence or Trend?

Last night in Washington, the Bears fell 24-16 to the Redskins to fall to 5-8; for all intensive purposes eliminating them from the NFC Wild Card race. That will mark the sixth time in seven years that the losers of the Super Bowl will miss the playoffs the following season, and the Seahawks should have been the champions in my mind against Pittsburgh, but that's another article for another time. When something like this goes on for several years, it makes me wonder what's actually behind something that's been going on for so long. It's been going on for too long to be a coincidence; there has to be some reasons behind it. I posed the question to Matt Williamson of Scouts' INC, and he said that a combination of many factors answers this big question:
"Could be many reasons: Usually their roster gets picked apart somewhat and they only have late draft picks to restock. Players can also get the feeling that they have reached their goal and don't realize that getting back is as tough as it really is. Lastly, winning is tough in this league- it's that simple. I think the competitiveness of this league is sometimes overlooked a bit. Brutal to stay on top."
Williamson makes many good points. The Super Bowl loser usually loses many parts the following season. This year's Bears team doesn't have starting RB Thomas Jones who was traded to the Jets, and Tank Johnson who was a large part of their run stuffing defense last season who now plays for Dallas after various offseason problems forced Chicago to cut him. Many Bears rookies played big roles when they won the NFC, but the young players this year haven't made the kind of impact that they were probably looking for. I don't know if I agree with the sentiment of complacency among the players who made it so far only to lose on the biggest stage. I believe that would be a sort of motivational factor for the SB losers. Once you taste success, and once you've gotten so far, you want to get back to capture the ultimate prize. But Williamson then says that players may not realize how difficult it is to get back to the postseason. With highly competitive balance in free agency and the draft coupled with the wild parity that goes on during the season, it's so hard to win year in and year out without a down season along the way. There are 31 other teams who want that prize just as badly as you do, if not an even bigger desire to thrive. You have to have such a well rounded organization from the top all the way down. From the ownership willing to keep the team together, for GM's and directors of player personnel to deal with the constant roster turnover, down to the coaching staff to not only teach the system to the players, but to adapt with the latest schemes and to adjust their styles along with the times. Not to mention the players who actually have to succeed on the field. It's certainly interesting that six out of the last seven Super Bowl losers missed the postseason the following year, but with all the factors laid out, maybe it shouldn't be so surprising. Coincidence or trend? It's a combination of so many factors that maybe we shouldn't be so shocked when it happens. The climb to the top of the mountain is as hard as it gets.