LIFE AFTER PIOLI

The Patriots have lost another top evaluator. First Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels bolted to take the reigns of the Denver Broncos, and now VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli is moving west to take over as GM for the Kansas City Chiefs.

It will be very interesting how the Patriots respond. Pioli is obviously one of the top executives in all of football, and his loss is a huge one for a franchise that has been so successful in the new millennium. The Patriots have already named his successor in Pioli's former assistant, Nick Caserio.

In his column on Caserio in today's Boston Globe, beat writer Mike Reiss (friend of the blog) says that the Pats were right to name an in-house replacement because of how closely Bill Belichick works with the front office. Knowing exactly what kind of player the coach likes will save Caserio tons of time and should help the Pats remain one of the better teams in the AFC for years to come. Caserio is a system guy who has worked both on the field--as an offensive coaching assistant and wide receivers coach--and in the front office. He's an extremely hard worker and should fit right in in his new role.

And as long as Belichick is in charge of the team, the Patriots will be just fine.

LET'S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY

The Patriots season came to a frustrating end yesterday, even after New England shut out the Buffalo Bills, 13-0. Both the Dolphins and Ravens won, giving them the remaining two playoff spots over the Pats. So despite an 11-5 season, Bill Belichick and company will be watching the postseason from home.

While it is extremely frustrating that New England will not be playing into January for the first time in six years, let's not get carried away with the "flaws in the system." Yes, I do know that an 11-5 team was eliminated before a matchup between a 7-8 team and an 8-7 team for a spot in the playoffs. In past years though, other teams have gotten screwed out of the playoffs simply by being in a tougher division too. It's really not that big a deal. These things have a way of balancing themselves out in the long run.

In retrospect, the job Belichick and the other New England coaches did was simply amazing. Losing a franchise quarterback in the first quarter of the season, and then losing important pieces for significant time just didn't effect them the way it does most teams. That has to be a credit to the coaching staff.

If only former Pats assistant Eric Mangini had done as good a job with the Jets. Then maybe the Patriots would be preparing for a showdown with Ravens next Sunday at Gillette Stadium. And the "Mangenius" would still have a job.