When the Patriots wake up from this funk, they’ll find themselves in a tremendous position to do it all over again. Aside from Belichick and Brady, the core of the Patriots’ roster is very young, led by safety Patrick Chung (25 years old when the 2012 regular season begins), tight end Rob Gronkowski (23), tight end Aaron Hernandez (22), linebacker Jerod Mayo (26), cornerback Devin McCourty (25), tackle Nate Solder (24), linebacker Brandon Spikes (25), tackle Sebastian Vollmer (28).

“We’ve got a young team,” Mayo said. “This one stings. We’ll remember it for a long time, and this offseason, we’ll get back to work real soon and try to get back to this point. It takes a lot of work to get back to this point. It will be a lot of work.”

There’s also an older generation of leaders who are still in their prime like left guard Logan Mankins (30 years old when the 2012 regular season begins) and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork (30). Of course, add wide receiver Wes Welker (31) to that list, under the strong assumption he’ll be back, either with the franchise tag or a long-term contract.

The Patriots have also amassed a strong group of role players who continued to improve this season, such as cornerback Kyle Arrington (26 years old when the 2012 regular season begins), defensive end Brandon Deaderick (25), linebacker Dane Fletcher (25), safety James Ihedigbo (28), defensive tackle Kyle Love (25), linebacker Rob Ninkovich (28), running back Stevan Ridley (23) and special teamer Matthew Slater (27).