Back in the spring, when the Patriots dealt Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second-round draft choice, you got a glimpse of what was going on with them.When Rodney Harrison retired – probably so that he could have a better chance of walking without a cane for the rest of his life – you may have surmised that a team missing two of its primary playmakers on defense might struggle a little to find its feet.Then, Tedy Bruschi retired (after seeing handwriting on the wall). Finally, coach Bill Belichick dealt Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first-round draft pick.That’s four major impact players on defense who, despite their advancing ages, played as much with their heads as with their athletic ability.And people wonder why the Patriots did not play up to the standards we’ve all come to take for granted around here.The Patriots’ stunning loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens shouldn’t have been so stunning ? not if you watched what was happening all season.There should have been a ton of questions about the Patriots coming into the season. Instead, people picked them to make the Super Bowl – something that flew in the face of reality.A lot of the blame – as well as the hope that things can get back to where they were before – rests with the coach.On the down side, Belichick can be egotistical, surly, secretive, arrogant, stubborn, and – this year, especially – petty. And certainly some of that hubris factors into this year’s collapse. Did he think his system could withstand such a massive exodus of defensive leadership without the younger players feeling growing pains that only experience can cure? Who knows? Maybe he was so into the mental challenge of tearing it down and rebuilding that he didn’t pay enough attention to this year.But if Belichick the egotist hasn’t changed his stripes, neither has Belichick the master planner. They all add up to make the coach who he is. One man’s shifty-eyed schemer is another man’s brilliant strategist. It all depends on your perspective.Salary dumping, and the tough decisions that go with it, are de rigueur in the NFL, which is not set up for long-term dominance. The salary cap limits movement, and you often have to clear space so you can address other needs.I suspect the Seymour move, for example, happened because Belichick knew he couldn’t afford both Seymour and Vince Wilfork ? and he considered Wilfork more valuable (we’ll see; Wilfork’s contract is up, as are many of the team’s front-line players).There’s also the draft, where, lately, the Patriots have come up short ? especially last year. Some of that is due to poor position (the result of continued success). That’s allowed other teams to catch up.I believe the Patriots knew this would be a transitional year and that even if everything went right, a Super Bowl would have been an awful lot to expect.Yet still, they reached double digits in wins for the eighth time in nine seasons, and they won their seventh AFC East title in nine years. Obviously, however, there needs to be somewhat of an overhaul if things aren’t to deteriorate further.The No. 1 priority should be to beef up the pass rush. I don’t care who you have in the secondary. If the quarterback has all day to throw the ball, he’s going to pick you apart.After that, they need to rebuild the offensive line, because their lack of running success is systematic. And it’s a big reason why they coughed up fourth-quarter leads so often this season. A third receiver and a rededicated Randy Moss would be nice, too.The bigger problems are off the field. The Patriots have some players who seem obtuse to the company standard (such as the Tardy Gang of Four). In an NFL-type environment, it’s imperative that everyone pulls in the same direction. That didn’t happen in 2009.And that might be why people feel Belichick is losing his grip, and that this long, impressive run of excellence is over. When your players won’t buy into a system that has a proven