Are the Patriots at a turning point?

For a team that nearly went perfect a year ago, and almost made the playoffs this year without their franchise cornerstone, the New England Patriots are in a solid position. As long as Belichick is at the helm, things should be okay, right?

Well, we've been here before, sort of. After the 2004 seasons, the Patriots were losing keys to their three Super Bowl victories. Offensive coordinator Charlies Weis was heading to Notre Dame, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was going to Cleveland to become the head coach. They were thought of as key architects to the Patriots success. Well, four years later the Patriots are still a contender and have gone through another restructuring.

The bigger loss is personnel man Scott Pioli, who has departed to the the Chiefs to run his own show away from Belichick. He is being replaced by a combination of Nick Caserio and Floyd Reese, who took on an unspecified job as a consultant with the team yesterday. Reading between the lines, Reese is going to be handling the Draft for Pats.

Brian MacPherson seems to think that the 2009 NFL Draft will be critical. He goes down to break down Floyd Reese's contributions to the Titans, which are impressive. For as good as Reese was, he also was spotty with the Titans by the end. In particular, the 2004 and 2005 drafts were terrible. Reese was successful, but he lost his job for a reason.

We have been hearing about impending doom for the Patriots since the start of their run of dominance in the early 2000's. The one piece that doesn't change is Belichick. As long as he is running the show, the Patriots will be a contender. It takes a special set of circumstances to go 11-5, not win your division, and not make the playoffs.

That Patriots have needs. Cornerback, safety, linebacker, running back, and then that pesky quarterback situation. No team is perfect, and even with those holes the Patriots still contended this season. Look for them at the top of the AFC East again in 2009.